Metaphors and Word Order in the Song Lyrics by the Doors: the Influence of Social and Cultural Reality and Hallucinogens

Jim Morrison ? a rock star, a drug addict, a martyr. One of the founders of the world famous American band The Doors. A brilliant singer, a significant lyricist, a charismatic personality. His life was far from perfect, yet his songs have still been listened to and performed by many. Morrison lyrics exhibit a great wealth of vivid and enigmatic metaphors, as well as instances of word order violations. All this, along with his shrill voice, have been taking the listeners to another dimension ? to the kingdom of psychedelia. The career of a young singer broke with his sudden death in 1971. Nevertheless, The Doors will always be a music icon and a model for future generations of musicians. The present work is an attempt to investigate the lyrics by The Doors in terms of metaphors and sentence structure violations. It is well to be remembered, however, that only Jim Morrison himself would provide the answer whether the conclusions drawn from such an analysis are appropriate.