19 Quotes From Jim Morrison That Are as True Now as They Were Then

James Douglas Morrison, or Jim Morrison, was born on December 8, 1943 and passed away July 3, 1971. Jim Morrison was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who would end up being the lead vocalist and go-to lyricist of the rock band, The Doors. If you were around when Jim Morrison was rapidly ascending to unimaginable heights of fame, you probably heard one person or another gushing over his work. It’s largely due to Morrison’s distinct wild persona, the poetry infused throughout his lyrics, his unmistakable voice, and the ultimately dramatic elements surrounding his life and early death that made him become regarded as one of the most influential frontmen in the whole of rock history. We’ll take a look at some of the most famous quotes that Jim Morrison left behind.

1. On the mind

“Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.”

2. On fear

“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”

3. On not taking life too seriously

“I see myself as an intelligent, sensitive human, with the soul of a clown which forces me to blow it at the most important moments.”

4. On true friends

“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.”

5. On love

“Love cannot save you from your own fate.”

6. On disorder

“I’m interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos, especially activity that appears to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom.”

7. On the purpose of his poetry

“If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it’s to deliver people from the limited ways in which they see and feel.”

8. On authority

“When you make your peace with authority, you become authority.”

9. On new generations

“Each generation wants new symbols, new people, new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors.”

10. On birth

“Actually I don’t remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.”

11. On real poetry

“Listen, real poetry doesn’t say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through any one that suits you.”

12. On art

“I think in art, but especially in films, people are trying to confirm their own existences.”

13. On outliers

“I like people who shake other people up and make them feel uncomfortable.”

14. On music

“Music inflames temperament.”

15. On the unknown

“I believe in a long, prolonged, derangement of the senses in order to obtain the unknown.”

16. On being true to yourself

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask.”

17. On fearing death

“People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend.”

18. On haircuts

“Some of the worst mistakes in my life were haircuts.”

19. On the highs and lows

“I think the highest and lowest points are the important ones. Anything else is just in between.”