"Hyacinth House" is a song written and performed by

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

. It appears on the band's final album with frontman

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

, '' L.A. Woman'' (1971). Its lyrics were written by Morrison, while the music was composed by keyboardist

Ray Manzarek Raymond Daniel Manzarek Jr. ( Manczarek; February 12, 1939 – May 20, 2013) was an American keyboardist. He is best known as a member of the rock band the Doors, co-founding the group in 1965 with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Te ...

Composition and recording

Contrary to all the other album tracks which were recorded on a professional-quality 8-channel tape recorder, "Hyacinth House" was recorded on a 4-track machine. Morrison recorded his vocals in the studio's bathroom for the isolation it provided and for the reverberation of the tiled walls. As with the other songs on ''L.A. Woman'', the album liner notes list the track's songwriters as the Doors; but the performance rights organization

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

shows the writers as the individual Doors members. However, the music has also been attributed to keyboardist Ray Manzarek, which references

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 ] The Polonaise (dance), Polonaise in A♭ major, Op. 53 (, ''Heroic Polonaise''; ) is a solo piano piece composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1842 The piece was published in 1843, and is one of Chopin's most admired compositions and has long been a f ...

during the organ solo, and the lyrics to Morrison, written while Morrison was at guitarist

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", and " ...

's beach house.

Lyrics

"Hyacinth House" contains analogies to the upheaval in Morrison's personal life and relationships. The line "someone who doesn’t need me", refers to his troubles with girlfriend

Pamela Courson Pamela Susan Courson (December 22, 1946 – April 25, 1974) was the long-term companion of Jim Morrison, singer of the Doors. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a Paris apartment in 1971. She died three years after h ...

. According to Krieger, the line heard in the song's

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

: "I see the bathroom is clear" is a reference to an occurrence when Morrison's friend Babe Hill left the studio's bathroom so Morrison could use it to record his vocals. Krieger has also said that the line "To please the lions" was inspired after Morrison was in Krieger's house and saw a baby

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

that Krieger was keeping as a pet. Doors' drummer

John Densmore John Paul Densmore (born December 1, 1944) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the Rock music, rock band the Doors and as such is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He appeared on every recording made by the band, ...

said about Morrison's interpretation and lyrics, "He was re-examining, but not with regret. Toward the end, Jim said, 'Probably next time, I'd be a little solitary, Zen gardener working in his garden.' I don't interpret that as a regret, but he had a hunch."

Reception

In a ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' review of the 40th Anniversary edition of ''L.A. Woman'', Nathan Wisnicki commented that Jim Morrison's delivery in "Hyacinth House" is "a bit lethargic and flaccid", also describing some of the song's lyrics as "laughable". ''The Doors FAQ'' author Richie Weidman declared "Hyacinth House" as "one of the strangest Doors' songs ever recorded". Critic Ryan Leas of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'', who ranked ''L.A. Woman'' the second best Doors album, praised "Hyacinth House" as "secretly one of the Doors' finest songs" and that it "still fits into the universe of ''L.A. Woman''". Densmore acknowledged the song as one of Jim Morrison's "saddest songs". Indian ''Rolling Stone'' critic Narendra Kusnur considered it one of Morrison's 10 most underrated songs, saying that lines such as "'I need a brand new friend who doesn't bother me, I need a brand new friend who doesn't trouble me, I need someone, yeah who doesn't need me' were charged with emotion, and were an example of Morrison's intense side".

Personnel

Per 2007 reissue of ''L.A. Woman'' CD booklet: The Doors *

– vocals *

–

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

– guitar *

– drums Additional musicians *

Jerry Scheff Jerry Obern Scheff (born January 31, 1941) is an American bassist, best known for his work with Elvis Presley from 1969 to 1977 as a member of his TCB Band and on the Doors' '' L.A. Woman''. Biography Scheff grew up in Vallejo, California. After ...

– bass guitar

References

{{authority control The Doors songs 1971 songs Songs written by John Densmore Songs written by Robby Krieger Songs written by Ray Manzarek Songs written by Jim Morrison Song recordings produced by Bruce Botnick