ドアーズのアルバムにはラストに長い曲が入っていたりするのだが、これらが彼らが本当はやりたかった曲なのかどうか定かではないがひとつのスタイルとして確立されている。ブラスの入ったちょっと世間受けが悪かったこのアルバムのタイトルとなっている長い曲がコレ。スタイルとしてはジムモリソンの難解な詩に合わせて演奏が自由に変化する"The End"や"When the Music is Over"を連想させる。
冒頭の強い口調で宗教倫理を否定するアジテーションから逆説的な歌詞が続く。
When I was back there in seminary school
There was a person there who put forth the proposition
That you can petition the lord with prayer
Petition the lord with prayer
Petition the lord with prayer
You cannot petition the lord with prayer!
Can you give me sanctuary
I must find a place to hide
A place for me to hide
Can you find me soft asylum
I can't make it anymore
The Man is at the door
Peppermint miniskirts, chocolate candy
Champion sax and a girl named Sandy
There's only four ways to get unraveled
One is to sleep and the other is travel
One is a bandit up in the hills
One is to love your neighbor till his wife gets home
Catacombs, Nursery bones, Winter women Growing stones
(Carrying babies to the river)
Streets and shoes, Avenues, Leather riders selling news
(The monk bought lunch)
Successful hills are here to stay
Everything must be this way
Gentle streets where people play
Welcome to the Soft Parade
All our lives we sweat and save
Building for a shallow grave
Must be something else we say
Somehow to defend this place
Everything must be this way
Everything must be this way
The Soft Parade has now begun
Listen to the engines hum
People out to have some fun
A cobra on my left
Leopard on my right, yeah
Deer woman in a silk dress
Girls with beads about their necks
Kiss the hunter of the green vest
Who has wrestled before
With lions in the night
Out of sight!
The lights are getting brighter
The radio is moaning
Calling to the dogs
There are still a few animals
Left out in the yard
But it's getting harder
To describe sailors
To the underfed
Tropic corridor
Tropic treasure
What got us this far
To this mild equator
We need someone or something new
Something else to get us through
Calling on the dogs . . .
Calling on the gogs . . .
Meet me at the crossroads
Meet me at the edge of town
Outskirts of the city
Just you and I and the evening sky
You'd better come alone
You'd better bring your gun
We're gonna have some fun
When all else fails
We can whip the horses' eyes
And make them sleep and cry
petition the lord with prayer = 祈って神に請願する
asylum = 精神病院
get unraveled = 解放される
左にコブラ、右に豹という顔ぶれでパレードをする面々とはソフトとは程遠いイメージなのだが。。。
