Peace Frog

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For the clothing company, see Peace Frogs.

"Peace Frog"
Song by the Doors
from the album Morrison Hotel
ReleasedFebruary 1970 (1970-02)
RecordedNovember 1969
StudioElektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles
GenreRock
Length2:50
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Paul A. Rothchild

"Peace Frog" is a song by the Doors, which was released on their fifth studio album Morrison Hotel in 1970. Guitarist Robby Krieger explained that the music was written and recorded first, with the lyrics later coming from poems by singer Jim Morrison.[1]

Lyrics[]

The majority of the song's lyrics were lifted by an old poem written by Morrison, entitled Abortion Stories; this was followed by a failure of both Morrison and Krieger to write lyrics that could match to the track's melody.[1] The other group-members recorded an instrumental version of the song, in which Morrison overdubbed his vocals after constituting the words.[2]

"Peace Frog" features lines inspired by true events surrounding the band's frontman Morrison: the line "Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven" is a reference to his onstage arrest on December 9, 1967, during a live performance in New Haven Arena.[3][4] After the guitar solo, the song enters a spoken word verse with the lines "Indians scattered on dawn's highway bleeding, Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind", which are lifted from Morrison's poem "Newborn Awakening". Another poem, "Dawn's Highway", describes an event that occurred when he was young:[5]

Me and my — mother and father — and a grandmother and a grandfather — were driving through the desert, at dawn, and a truck load of Indian workers had either hit another car, or just — I don't know what happened — but there were Indians scattered all over the highway, bleeding to death. So the car pulls up and stops. That was the first time I tasted fear. I musta' been about four.[6] Like a child is like a flower, his head is floating in the breeze, man.

Critical reception[]

Unlike the Doors previous album, The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel received positive responses by critics, and it was widely seen as a comeback in the band's quality.[7][8] "Peace Frog" was also praised and it was widely regarded as one of the album's best tunes.[9] Louder Sound ranked the song among "The Top 20 Greatest Doors Songs",[6] and Ultimate Classic Rock placed it in the third place on the list of the "Top 10 Robby Krieger Doors Songs".[10] Robby Krieger himself, included it as one of his personal favourite Doors songs on The Doors: Box Set.[11]

Many critics considered "Peace Frog" as one of the best tracks on Morrison Hotel

In a positive album review of Morrison Hotel, critic Thom Jerek of AllMusic described "Peace Frog" as "downright funky boogie".[12] Sal Cinquemani writing for Slant Magazine, declared the song as the best track on Morrison Hotel, and "one of the Doors' greatest."[9] Critic Jason Elias wrote that the song is "one of those tracks that will constantly amaze." He praised Robby Krieger's "bluesy lines" and Ray Manzarek's "eerie keyboards add to the chaos as usual."[13]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Mayhew, Jess (June 17, 2016). "Robby Krieger Explains the Story of 'Peace Frog'". Reverb. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Paul, Alan. "The Doors' Robby Krieger Sheds Light — Album by Album". Guitar World. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Weidman, Rich (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 196. ISBN 978-1617131141.
  4. ^ "New Haven Police Close 'The Doors'; Use of Mace Reported". The New York Times. December 10, 1967. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  5. ^ Davis, Stephen (2004). Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend. Ebury Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-09-190042-7.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Bell, Max. "The 20 Greatest Doors Songs". Louder Sound. No. 16. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  7. ^ "The Doors Check Into the Morrison Hotel". PopMatters. October 9, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  8. ^ Weidman, Rich (2011). The Doors FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Kings of Acid Rock. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 159. ISBN 978-1617131141.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Cinquemani, Sal (April 18, 2007). "The Doors: Morrison Hotel". Slant Magazine. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  10. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (January 8, 2016). "Top 10 Robby Krieger Doors Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  11. ^ The Doors: Box Set (Liner notes). The Doors. Elektra Records. 1997. 62123-2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Jerek, Thom. "The Doors: Morrison Hotel – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
  13. ^ Elias, Jason. "The Doors: 'Peace Frog' – Review". AllMusic. Retrieved February 20, 2021.

External links[]

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