I wrote about our trip to Paris after the fire at Notre-Dame, and today I am revisiting that trip on the 50th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death. First of all, there is no way my head can get around the fact of all those years. From 23 to 73 in a blink of my eye. How is that even possible?
Anyhow, when we were in Paris, we visited Pere Lachaise cemetery. I don't think we went because of anyone special who was buried there. We had heard about it, and spent a day walking through. It is truly beautiful.
Fast forward to weeks later. We were in Dublin on a bus, and saw a newstand out the window. There was a copy of Rolling Stone and Jim Morrison was on the cover. We were so excited to buy it. When we actually saw it, our happiness quickly went away. That beautiful boy, dead. Even now I can't believe it. This is my copy of the magazine. Not sure if it is the one we saw in Ireland.
And it was so strange to know we had been at the cemetery after he had been buried there. Just the idea that we could have seen his grave without knowing he had died. Gives me shivers.
So, in honor of the 50th anniversary of his death, I thought I'd post a song. It was hard to choose just which one, but here you go.
The Crystal Ship
Before you slip into unconsciousness
I'd like to have another kiss
Another flashing chance at bliss
Another kiss, another kiss
The days are bright and filled with pain
Enclose me in your gentle rain
The time you ran was too insane
We'll meet again, we'll meet again
Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly
The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, I'll drop a line
I read someone's analysis of the song, and you may read it here. All it showed me is that one cannot really analyze poetry! It is what it is to whomever is reading it.
For sure poetry is analyzed by everyone in their own way with their own thoughts and feelings. Think about a poem one day and several years later when you read the poem again you may wonder what in the world you were thinking earlier.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!
DeleteYour post brings back memories of my own, Nan. If I remember correctly, Morrison was only 29 years old when he died, and that Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin also died at 29. Joplin was from my home town, and there were rumors after her overdose death that she had been unable to get over Morrison's death.
ReplyDeleteIn the early nineties, my wife and two teenaged daughters met me in Paris for a holiday stay and one of the places we visited was Morrison's grave. What I remember most about the visit (other than that my daughters didn't have a clue as to who Jim Morrison was) was how the gravesite had become a shrine of sorts for his fans who left behind whiskey bottles, funny cigarettes, coins, etc. to mark their visit to the cemetery. I wonder if that is still happening.
They were all 27. Here are the dates. Brian Jones died July 3, 1969, at 27. Then Hendrix on September 18, 1970, at 27. And Janis on October 4, 1970. Jim Morrison, less than a year after them, also at 27. Kurt Cobain April 5, 1994, again at 27. More recently there is Amy Winehouse on July 23, 2011 (I can't believe it has been a decade). It really does seem like a curse, doesn't it. Here is a bit about the "club": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27_Club. Not Keith Richards though. haha.
DeleteI am so envious that you visited! I would really like to. And here is a cool link: https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/the-best-way-to-find-jim-morrisons-grave-in-pere-lachaise/
Thanks for correcting my memory...I knew I should have checked the age. I think (again without checking) that it was Hank Williams who died at 29, and that may have been why that number popped into my head. And now, of course, I recall that it was Hendrix that Joplin was supposedly pining over - that and the fact that Morrison had rejected her advances. She was a very free spirit even for her day.
DeleteThanks for the link, too...and I think that Keith Richards will outlast all of us despite the odds he's already beaten.
I just watched the gravesite video and see that the grave is now behind a barrier to keep people from actually touching it or leaving anything behind. I suppose that speaks volumes for just how deeply Morrison touched the lives of his fans. When we were there the flat part of the grave was just covered in sandy soil, and that's where people were mostly leaving little bits and pieces behind. We were there in late afternoon and no one else was around anywhere in the cemetery. This makes me want to see if I can find the photos I took there.
DeleteI seem to have got from 18 to 68 in a similarly brief time! So many casualties from that time, both heroes and acquaintances. All we can do is try to keep their memories alive.
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