"HORSE LATITUDES": ANIMALS AS SYMBOLS IN 1967 ROCK

Track number 5 on The Doors' second album, "Strange Days" (released in September 1967), is "Horse Latitudes" and places an animal at the centre of its lyrics. Indeed, a horse is the protagonist of the dramatic poem that Jim Morrison recites with desperate solemnity against a backdrop of disjointed, eerie sounds.

This is an extremely innovative aspect of the album, and unprecedented in terms of both form and content for the music scene of the time. It is all the more surprising when we consider that it is a poem within a rock record, a practice that was completely unknown at that time.

The horse is used by The Doors' singer to symbolize beauty, in opposition to human behavior, which sometimes leads to destruction. The animal's presence plays a crucial role in this composition, forming a link between the deeper meaning of the poetic text and the listener.

"Horse Latitudes", although unique, is not the only example in the 1967 musical landscape that features animals in wonderful songs. We will present two examples of songs inspired by the characteristics of certain animals, written by great artists active during this fundamental year in music history.

The first is "Lucifer Sam", written by Syd Barrett and recorded by Pink Floyd in spring 1967 (link here). It was released shortly thereafter on the British band's August 1967 LP, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn".

This highly inventive psychedelic pop-rock song is about a mysterious cat that captures the narrator's imagination because it appears to possess supernatural powers. The chorus sums up the meaning of the song perfectly: "That cat's got something I can't explain".

The song flows smoothly over the pressing, dark guitar riff, which evokes a mystery known only to the cat itself. "Lucifer Sam" is also driven forward by the steady drum pattern and bold bass line (the latter devised by Roger Waters).

The second example is dated 24 November 1967, the day that The Beatles' single — not included on any of the band's albums — consisting of "Hello, Goodbye" (A-side) and "I Am the Walrus" (B-side), was released in the UK. The latter was written and recorded by John Lennon a couple of months earlier, in September 1967 (link here).

It is impossible to encapsulate this absolute masterpiece of contemporary music in a few concise words. Here we would like to highlight the dreamy interlude that opens halfway through the song, offering a magical glimpse of creativity at its finest (listen from 2:00 to 2:24).

In the lyrics of "I Am the Walrus", Lennon allows his critical and ironic side to shine through, using words that deliberately lack coherent meaning. At that time, he did not want to be confined by critics' interpretations of his lyrics.

To this end, surreal images follow one another in the stanzas until the refrain, where an enigmatic walrus suddenly appears, regardless of the previous context. This animal is thus elevated to a symbol of irrationality, freeing the artist from the shackles of conformism and the need to assign precise meaning to everything written and played.

Lennon thus chose the walrus to emphasize his desire to escape from or expand the boundaries of reality to include aspects that society considers absurd.

Animals such as a horse, a cat and a walrus allowed great artists such as Jim Morrison, Syd Barrett and John Lennon to express their feelings and emotions in 1967. These songs still shine brightly, more than fifty years later.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is available on Amazon.com, .uk, .mx, .it, etc.

Here’s a link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”