Minor Key Monday 45: The Doors – Take It as It Comes

I always have to stop myself when I say I like “all kinds of music”.  Because, honestly, that just isn’t true, there is really only one kind of music I like.  No, not [just] Black Metal, I’m talking about music in a minor key.  I mean, I’m a pretty happy guy, but there is something about sad, sad songs that just does it for me.  I don’t dislike Vivaldi’s “Spring” and “Fall”, but I far prefer “Summer” and “Winter” (guess which seasons he writes in a minor key).  “Satisfaction” is a fine song, but I’d rather listen to “Paint it Black” any day…you get the idea.  Basically, it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that sting [of soul crushing sorrow and sadness]

This month on Minor Key Monday I talk about a very unique Woodstock era band:

[audio:https://www.isleyunruh.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/The-Doors-Take-It-As-It-Comes.mp3|titles=The Doors – Take It As It Comes]

The Doors were one of my earliest forays into pop music (aside from a Collective Soul concert I went to freshman year of high school, a subject of which I’d rather not speak), and I’m happy to report I still think they are pretty amazing all these years later.  I still remember watching Apocaylpse Now in junior high school and asking my dad, not if he also thought they whole intercutting between the slaughtered cow thing was a little heavy handed as well, but rather what the awesome song playing was.  His response was something along the lines of “Oh, that’s The Doors…their lyrics are about as trite as this extended cow slaughter metaphor.”

Still, blue buses and really long snakes didn’t bother me so I dived right in.  Their first two albums were great, then it kind of started to go downhill for me until it all kind of sound like the parts of “Touch Me” I didn’t like.  But, really, those first two albums, you could make one hell of a solid record if you collected all the best songs onto one album!

Today’s song, “Take It as It Comes” off their first album, was one that I always felt deserved a bit more attention.  At only two minutes it is easy to over look, but it might just be the most mournfully epic song on the album (including “The End”!)  No one really sounded quite like The Doors, their blend of organ guitar and Morrison’s vocals along with very forward thinking songwriting was quite unique.  And, as this song proves, also quite minor key and fucking epic.

Hell, even the lyrics aren’t so bad, I don’t care what my dad said:

Time to live 
Time to lie 
Time to laugh 
Time to die 

Takes it easy, baby 
Take it as it comes 
Don’t move too fast 
And you want your love to last 
Oh, you’ve been movin’ much too fast 

Time to walk 
Time to run 
Time to aim your arrows 
At the sun 

Takes it easy, baby 
Take it as it comes 
Don’t move too fast 
And you want your love to last 
Oh, you’ve been movin’ much too fast 

Go real slow 
You like it more and more 
Take it as it comes 
Specialize in havin’ fun 

Takes it easy, baby 
Take it as it comes 
Don’t move too fast 
And you want your love to last 
Oh, you’ve been movin’ much too fast 
Movin’ much too fast 
Movin’ much too fast

Though, I guess, “specializing in havin’ fun” does tend to undercut the melancholically epic nature of the song.  Oh well, maybe my dad was right.