The Doors: Break On Thru

[NickM]

This might be more appropriate in 'what songs are you listening to?' but what the heck:

 

WAY back in the day when I only had AM Stations and a crappy FM radio in my car, 'Break On Thru' used to have a line that Morrison shrieked three times;

SHE GETS!

SHE GETS!

SHE GETS!

 

Recently I sat thru my local classic rock station and now the line goes

"SHE GETS HIGH!" x 3

 

Has the song been edited all these years?

[Tim Sielbeck]

According to the "official" video he is only saying "She gets..."

 

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Sounds to me like 'She gets' three times then, 'Hiiiiiighehah'. Which tbh, is a very Jim Morrison way of exclaiming in the middle of a song, but I think he more likely was saying 'High', albeit in a matter perhaps more likely to receive air time.

Its worth remembering that that when the Rolling Stones played 'Lets spend the night together' they were forced to change the lyrics when playing on television to 'Lets spend some time together'. So, depending on what end of the 60's they were playing this, perhaps there are different cuts for different audiences.

Besides, artists often play around with their songs.  I think I remember Clapton saying he couldnt play a song in concert exactly as he recorded it, or he would get bored. Hendrix did the same thing. Im not sure thats a thing anymore.

 

[Soren Ras]

That reminds me of how Ed Sullivan wanted to get Morrison to change the lyrics to  "Light My Fire" when the Doors performed the song on Sullivan's show, as recounted by Mark Steyn here:

Quote

Just because the song needed more lyrics didn't mean everyone was on board with the ones it already had. Invited to perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show", the Doors were instructed to eschew "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" for "Girl, we couldn't get much better", which, unlike "Girl, you're starting to perspire" or "Girl, my pants are in the dryer", doesn't even rhyme. Come the big night, on live TV, Jim Morrison forgot to sing "better" and sang the usual "higher"

...

Ed Sullivan was so furious he refused to shake Morrison's hand: Man, you couldn't get much ruder. The producer said they'd never be booked on the Sullivan show again: Girl, we couldn't get re-hired.

But what did they care? Half-a-century back, it was a bizarre freakish one-off of a song that caught the ear of all kinds of folks. The boys were right: "Light My Fire" is a great title. 

--

Soren

[Stuart Galbraith]

Yes, looking it up, it was Ed Sullivan that forced The Stones to change the lyrics.

'On their The Ed Sullivan Show appearance of 15 January 1967, the band was initially refused permission to perform the number. Sullivan himself even told Jagger, "Either the song goes or you go".^[9] A compromise was reached to substitute the words "let's spend some time together" in place of "let's spend the night together"; Jagger agreed to change the lyrics but ostentatiously rolled his eyes at the TV camera while singing them, as did bassist Bill Wyman and pianist Brian Jones. As a result of this incident, Sullivan announced that the Rolling Stones would be banned from performing on his show again.^[10] However, the Stones did appear on the show again and performed three songs on 23 November 1969'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let's_Spend_the_Night_Together

How colossally arrogant do you have to be, to believe you are bigger than the rolling stones? I guess it was declining viewership that forced him to invite them back.

[R011]

11 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

How colossally arrogant do you have to be, to believe you are bigger than the rolling stones? I guess it was declining viewership that forced him to invite them back.

At the time, Ed Sullivan arguably was bigger than the Rolling Stones.  Not for much linger though.

Allegedly when the doors were told they were banned from the show, they replied to the effect that they didn't care. they'd done the show and didn't need to do it again.

[Stuart Galbraith]

11 hours ago, R011 said:

At the time, Ed Sullivan arguably was bigger than the Rolling Stones.  Not for much linger though.

Allegedly when the doors were told they were banned from the show, they replied to the effect that they didn't care. they'd done the show and didn't need to do it again.

In the US. But by 1967, the Stones were already international. Ive never seen an Ed Sullivan show, other than the clips of this or that group. He never cracked the international market in more than sound bites.

[R011]

On 4/9/2024 at 3:15 AM, Stuart Galbraith said:

In the US. But by 1967, the Stones were already international. Ive never seen an Ed Sullivan show, other than the clips of this or that group. He never cracked the international market in more than sound bites.

In 1967, the only mass entertainment market that really mattered was the US market.  Indeed, it pretty much was right up to the turn of the century when the Chinese market started to make itself felt.  And no one in America really cared if an act was big outside the US.

[NickM]

On 4/8/2024 at 3:38 AM, Stuart Galbraith said:

Sounds to me like 'She gets' three times then, 'Hiiiiiighehah'. Which tbh, is a very Jim Morrison way of exclaiming in the middle of a song, but I think he more likely was saying 'High', albeit in a matter perhaps more likely to receive air time.

Its worth remembering that that when the Rolling Stones played 'Lets spend the night together' they were forced to change the lyrics when playing on television to 'Lets spend some time together'. So, depending on what end of the 60's they were playing this, perhaps there are different cuts for different audiences.

Besides, artists often play around with their songs.  I think I remember Clapton saying he couldnt play a song in concert exactly as he recorded it, or he would get bored. Hendrix did the same thing. Im not sure thats a thing anymore.

 

I always thought he said "WOAHHHHHH" (like: woah, horsey!)

[Stuart Galbraith]

Well he does say that (a lot).

But I was just listening to it on Spotify again, and at about the 1-20 mark he says it a lot more clearly. 'She get High!'. So I suspect it largely depends on what version, and what audience it was intended for. As said, many groups in the 1960's were chopping and changing their songs according to whether they were on TV, the radio, or on a record.

As an aside, if you like the doors, this is a fascinating deconstruction of their work, from an Opera singer who knows a fair bit about singing.

 

[Stargrunt6]

I haven't watched the Oliver Stone biopic in a while. It was one of his few movies that wasn't preachy.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Yeah, its been some 3 decades that I saw it. It was best I can remember pretty good, although I cant say it really made any meaningful insights into the group or their motivation, It mainly was a series of vignettes, strung together by drugs binges and lots of sex.

Which to be fair, is probably as accurate a portrayal of a 1960's band as you are probably going to find...

[NickM]

1 hour ago, Stargrunt6 said:

I haven't watched the Oliver Stone biopic in a while. It was one of his few movies that wasn't preachy.

Are the Doors overrated? Did Morrison ever goof off on stage with his band mates,  like Ozzie with Randy Rhoades or Dave Roth with The Eddie?