This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Well, the clock says it's time to close now
I guess I'd better go now
I'd really like to stay here all night
The cars crawl past all stuffed with eyes
Street lights share their hollow glow
Your brain seems bruised with numb surprise
Still one place to go
Still one place to go
Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen
Warm my mind near your gentle stove
Turn me out and I'll wander, baby
Stumblin' in the neon groves
Well, your fingers weave quick minarets
Speak in secret alphabets
I light another cigarette
Learn to forget, learn to forget
Learn to forget, learn to forget
Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen
Warm my mind near your gentle stove
Turn me out and I'll wander, baby
Stumblin' in the neon groves (yeah)
Well, the clock says it's time to close now
I know I have to go now
I really wanna stay here
All night, all night, all night
I guess I'd better go now
I'd really like to stay here all night
The cars crawl past all stuffed with eyes
Street lights share their hollow glow
Your brain seems bruised with numb surprise
Still one place to go
Still one place to go
Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen
Warm my mind near your gentle stove
Turn me out and I'll wander, baby
Stumblin' in the neon groves
Well, your fingers weave quick minarets
Speak in secret alphabets
I light another cigarette
Learn to forget, learn to forget
Learn to forget, learn to forget
Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen
Warm my mind near your gentle stove
Turn me out and I'll wander, baby
Stumblin' in the neon groves (yeah)
Well, the clock says it's time to close now
I know I have to go now
I really wanna stay here
All night, all night, all night
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The Night We Met
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Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
This song is talking about how he doesn't want to leave this state of mind he is in. He wants to stay where he feels good and doesn;t want to return from the metaphysical world. "Learn to forget" is talking about how people need to forget everything they have been brainwashed by society so they can see the true world, not the agreed upon illusion we all live in.
All I can say is that this song is awesome!
"Let me sleep all night in your soul kitchen"
How cool is that? I wonder what the soul kitchen really is? It would be interesting to find out what this song is really about.
The Soul Kitchen was an all night soul food restaurant that Jim & friends stayed at during the college years.
The "Soul Kitchen" is actually referring to a restaraunt where the band used to go when they were still in their early stages... It was Jim's favorite place to eat. You can read it in John Densmore's book called "Riders On The Storm". A must read for any true Doors fan!
all of the meanings you can think of are correct. it's hardly possible to read too much into poetry. in fact' that's why jim's such a genius: his lyirics can be read in so many ways and mean something different to each listener. if this song had only one meaning (e.g. a dinner),it wouldn't be nothing more than the ramblings of a raveling drunk.
by the way, patti smith covers this song, highly recomendable
great song...
hmmm....... for some reason i always thought this song was about sex.... the "soul kitchen" could represent... female parts, the soul is cooked into being in the "kitchen" of the female... weird, but ive always thought it for some reason. jim morrison is god!
I was going to say the exact same thing....right on
well , man spending time with a woman , i believe he just feeling very good being with her he feels nice warm , compares her presense to soul kitchen , think kitchen , kitchen is the place where you can smell all flavour , its nice and warm there , in the house I use to love to go to the kitchen sitting there while mum was cooking , talking to her , watching her creating lovely food , smell nice flavours, yes we have nice feelings thinking 'kitchen' , but tehre is also other thought if jim was a junkie then it might b a 'kitchen' where was prepered drug , warming up spoon so on...prefer first interpretaion first is good;)
Whatever the symbolism behind this song, I dig it.
It's about this cafe he used to go to at Venice Beach in California. I looooooveee this song. It's great to listen to while closing the restaurant I work at... But man...Who hasn't ever felt like these lines...
"I light another cigarette Learn to forget, learn to forget Learn to forget, learn to forget"
@FantomeFleur Thank god for someone who knows the simple truth about this song! People are obsessed with sex and great deep meanings that are so deep and poetic you need a doctorate in literature and philosophy! Soul Kitchen - Soul Food!!! Thats about as much as you have to have the brains to realise thats why the kitchen is refered to as the Soul Kitchen. Thank you for delivering some truth to these people.. I thought every Doors fan knew the story of that song! Clearly not!