“Riders on the Storm” by The Doors is a hard song to define. The experimental nature of the track makes it applicable to a number of genres including psychedelic rock, jazz, and even an early iteration of goth. Despite it being a strange conglomeration of sounds in 1971, “Riders on the Storm” has since become a certified classic.
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The track is undoubtedly one of the group’s most famous offerings. Uncover the meaning behind this Doors staple, below.
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Behind the Meaning of “Riders on the Storm”
“Riders on the Storm” was Jim Morrison’s swan song. The song was released about a month prior to the frontman’s death. Even without that context though, the track is markedly haunting.
The Doors never shied away from eerie, atmospheric music making, but “Riders on the Storm” is perhaps their most foreboding. The lyrics were loosely based on the spree killer Billy Cook, who committed several murders including that of a five-person family in 1951. Morrison used the story as a jumping-off point for the lyrics to “Riders of the Storm.”
There’s a killer on the road / His brain is squirmin’ like a toad / Take a long holiday / Let your children play / If you give this man a ride / Sweet family will die, the first verse reads.
Though much of the song follows a Cook-esque serial killer, Morrison wanted to have a grander message underneath the lyrics.
“In essence, ‘Riders On The Storm’ was a very filmic song about a serial killer,” keyboardist Ray Manzarek once explained. “Jim was way ahead of his time in 1970, but he was pulled in two directions writing it. He didn’t want the song to be just about a killer hitchhiker. The last verse, The world on you depends, our life will never end/You gotta love your man – it becomes a very spiritual song.”
Despite the song being a success for The Doors – it peaked at No. 14 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart – the band’s producer, Paul A Rothchild, had strong reservations about the track. So much so, that he refused to help the group flesh it out.
“He thought ‘Riders On The Storm’ sounded like cocktail jazz, but he didn’t really listen to the darker underbelly of the song – only the lighter lounge feel,” drummer John Densmore recalled in 2013.
Meanwhile, guitarist Robby Krieger chalks up the jazzy feel of the song to bass player Jerry Scheff’s unusual playing. “When we recorded it, Jerry Scheff just played what Ray [Manzarek] was playing on the keyboard with his left hand, and that’s why it’s so distinctive,” he said. “It’s not something a bass player would come up with – it has more of a jazzy melody to it.”
Revisit the timeless Doors song below.
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