Shaman's Blues

Album: The Soft Parade (1969)
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Songfacts®:

  • A shaman is a person who can cross into the spiritual world, gaining insights not available to most mortals. Doors lead singer Jim Morrison had a bit of an obsession with shamans dating back to The Doors' 1968 album Waiting For The Sun, in particular the song "Not To Touch The Earth." He had read a book called Shamanism by Andreas Lommel that piqued his interest.

    In "Shaman's Blues" he follows that theme, looking into the mind of a shaman.
  • The spoken bit at the end was created by layering various ad-lib segments from Jim Morrison's tracks.
  • On the CD version, the line "And your mind" is repeated six times rather than four.

Comments: 19

  • AnonymousMary from Farmington. Spot on. 100 pct dead on. Structures failed him. His GF from what I’ve read, was not the best personality type for him let’s just leave it at that. He was so astute. Listen to any interviews he did. His outlook and ability to see what was coming down the track for society. The drunk antics are focused on WAY too much.. Yes, his drinking hurt the band. For sure. But.. the empathetic and thoughtfulness he carried himself with.. Is what I hear when I listen to the Doors. And I listen to em a lot lol..
  • Karin from Ipswich, MaI appreciate that Tristan noted what I wanted to, about Jim repeating "and your mind" but changing the last word of the last time he sings the line from "mind" to "mine". It's subtle but definitely there. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull engages in this sort of clever word play often and I dig it!
  • Rick Brown from Cleveland, OhThe Paul's Boutique of the Doors!
  • AnonymousI can’t agree more with Sooner from Arkansas! This is the best part of the trip, the trip, I really like! (What did he say?)
  • AnonymousJim Morrison is the Hannibal Lector of Rock and Roll.
  • Sooner from ArkansasI get aggravated when people say this album was a bad one. There are some awesome songs on this album. Just because they put some musical orchestration into their stuff didn't make it bad. It worked quite well on most of them. The Soft Parade, the last song, I feel is an awesome song, on the level of a Stairway to Heaven. Listen with headphones and it's a real trip-- the best part.
  • Mary from FarmingtonYou had to be alive then, free love was the buzzword. Women threw themselves at Jim - he was beautiful inside and out just like you are (when he wasn't a drunken fool), but we all have those days. Pam just gave as good as she got and she broke his heart, no doubt as he broke hers. The lifestyle choices she made were more detrimental to the "Doors" than anything else. I always wonder what could have been if he had a supportive woman. He was stoned immaculate. In the end every structure he knew was empty to him, family, parents, religion and he never had a chance to find another avenue to stroll. And this nonsense about him being Rush Limbaugh is just revolting to me, can you imagine words like "No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn" being written by such a blowhard. Death fakers and conspiracy heads are NUTS. RIP Jim, you changed generations of us around the world. Too bad the world didn't change too. Peace.
  • Ron from Pittsburgh, PaJim wrote this after he found out his girlfriend Pam had flown to Europe to be with a new boyfriend after a fight with Jim. She wanted to get married and Jim didn't but he hid a thinly veiled promise in this song that he would consider it if she would dump him and come back. She did but Jim never followed through with it. Most of the song is Jim comparing himself to the other guy.
  • Olivia from Hannover, GermanyI had the same idea just like Esther from Amsterdam, Netherlands THIS morning when I was listening to the doors on the bus. And now I sit here and read her comment, I'm so glad! =)
  • Esther from Amsterdam, NetherlandsTo me it always felt that the lyrics were about Jim himself. I know he wrote the song but to me it seems like he sings about the point of view that another person (a friend or a lover) had on him when he broke with that person.
  • Reese from Some Were In Texas, Txdoors are very underrated when it comes to classic rock. I enjoy listening to The Doors everyday and with out The Doors I don't know what and where the world would be. All the songs are great no matter how bad you think they are. They have changed music. Just be thankful that we get to listen The Doors. The Best Band Every. RIP, Jim
  • Soulsurfer from Rio De Janeiro, BrazilWhat i like the most on this song is the way Jim says the last part, specially "The only solution-isn't it amazing?"
    The way he says it is genius!
  • Nady from Adelaide, AustraliaJim was totally a shaman in his own right, have any of you seen a concert?it's unreal, i've never been to one cos im only 17 but i have some on dvd and he was just so intense, it was like he actually entered peoples brains and took them to this far out beautiful madness, its just surreal to witness something so rare like that, it's beautiful. Long live Jim, an American poet xxx
  • Rose from Philadelphia, Paluv all doors songs but this is special to me .still trying to figure out why!!hahah
  • Tristan from Philadelphia, PaIll give it to you that the soft parade is the doors worst album. Those words seem harsh however, there are some great songs on the album and it is only because of the huge success of the other albums and the expectations for the doors that this was kind of a down play on the previous three albums. Songs like this on the album showed that the Doors where still not out of the game and that some of their best work was yet to come. I love the repeating of "And Your Mind" to "And you're Mine" after six times. a classic
  • Jim from Qinhuangdao, ChinaGreat lyrics.

    You ever notice how the ten songs on the Soft Parade were equally split between Morrison and Krieger? All of Krieger's songs have horns in them, and none of Morrison's, which seems like a strange coincidence.

    The use of horns in this record was a little contentious. I don't think Morrison or Krieger really wanted them there. The classically trained pianist and the jazz drummer did. Regardless, Krieger's said before that he wants to re-release the record minus the horns. I think that it'd be a good idea. They can lose everything but the sax solo on "Touch me" as far as I'm concerned.

    The Soft parade is by far the Doors worst album.
  • Car from Tulsa, OkI love then end part "youll be dead and in hell before im born, sure thing" it uplifts me, makes me feel good.
  • Kathy from Jasper, AlI always did like the line "Will you give another chance? Will you try a little try?" I always thought that was so cute!
  • Erica from Annapolis, MdAbout past life, jim was a shaman, im jim now. This song made me leave my mind, my old soul enterd, it was the highlight of my life......Wah YAH! COME ON! WOowowo
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