[Chorus]
- And it's all over
- The war is over
- It's all over
- War is over
Annotation:
“It’s all over” is an ambiguous statement, intentionally. The phrase is often used to mean that something came to nothing or was unsuccessful. In this case it means both: It’s all over for the soldier, because he was killed, which is sad; but the war is over (for him) because he’s free and has found peace in death, which is a happy thing. The end of the song is musically exultant because the soldier has found a way out of the fighting and terror forever. Many of The Doors' lyrics celebrate death and the separation of the spirit from the body, and this is one.^[[1] https://archive.is/x8GDV | https://genius.com/The-doors-the-unknown-soldier-lyrics]
The Unknown Soldier was written and recorded by The Doors and released in early 1968. Through simple lyrics, it recalls the death of a faceless soldier in combat, while life goes on at home (“news is read” and “children fed”). The Unknown Soldier is musically segmented. It opens with Jim Morrison’s vocals before progressing into a military-style drum beat and rifle fire, presumably the shot that kills the eponymous soldier. The song’s last minute is more upbeat, with Morrison proclaiming that the “war is over” while church bells ring and crowds cheer. Many radio stations refused to play The Unknown Soldier because of its violent themes. As a consequence, it only reached number 39 on radio charts, though its sales were significantly higher. Anecdotal reports also suggest that The Unknown Soldier was popular with soldiers serving in Vietnam.^[[2] https://alphahistory.com/vietnamwar/the-doors-the-unknown-soldier-1968/]
Recorded at the height of the Vietnam War, ‘The Unknown Soldier’ was The Doors’ most political song, striking a chord at home and abroad.
Like all young, socially-aware US citizens of their era, The Doors were affected by their nation’s involvement in Vietnam War. The conflict began in 1955 and – in layman’s terms – involved a protracted battle between the Soviet Russia- and China-allied North Vietnam and the US-backed South Vietnam. However, the war drastically intensified in 1964, after the United States Congress gave the US military the power to draft young male civilians of 21 or over. The Doors’ vocalist, Jim Morrison, and drummer John Densmore only narrowly avoided shipping out in 1966, and guitarist Robby Krieger also secured an exemption after the band issued their anti-war protest song, The Unknown Soldier, in the spring of 1968.^[[3] https://archive.ph/bIDFW | https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/the-unknown-soldier-the-doors-song-story/]
The Unknown Soldier" was the first single from The Doors' 1968 album Waiting for the Sun, and was also the subject of one of the band's few, inventive music videos. The song was Jim Morrison's reaction to the Vietnam War and the way that conflict was portrayed in American media at the time. Lines such as, "Breakfast where the news is read/Television children fed/ unborn living, living dead/bullets strike the helmet's head", concern the way news of the war was being presented in the living rooms of ordinary people.
In the middle of the song, the Doors produce the sounds of what appears to be an execution; in live performances Robby Krieger would point his guitar towards Morrison like a rifle, drummer John Densmore would emulate a gunshot by producing a loud rimshot, by hitting the side of the cymbal, therefore, breaking the sticks to the drum set, and Morrison would fall screaming to the ground. After this middle section, the verses return and the song ends with Morrison's ecstatic celebration of a war being over. In the studio version of the song, the sounds of crowds cheering, and bells tolling, can be heard.
The single for "Unknown Soldier" became the bands fourth top forty hit in the US, peaking at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its modest chart position was possibly due to its controversial theme and downbeat atmosphere. However, the follow-up single from Waiting for the Sun, "Hello, I Love You", would go all the way to the top of the charts.^[[4] https://sonichits.com/video/The_Doors/The_Unknown_Soldier]