The Soft Parade

"The Soft Parade" is the ninth and final track on the fourth studio album of the same name by the rock band The Doors. Many listeners believe that this and "Shaman's Blues" are reminiscent to the old style of The Doors, as heard in the albums The Doors and Strange Days. This is mainly because the song contains both lyrical and melodic shifts. At the beginning of the song, Jim Morrison starts out with spoken words reminiscent of a raving Christian preacher. This part of the song is referred to as the "Petition the Lord with Prayer" section. The song then goes into a harpsichord driven semi-introductory piece mainly known as "Sanctuary", with lyrics such as, "Can you give me sanctuary, I must find a place to hide" referencing his then-current problems like the Miami and New Haven arrests. Afterwards, the beat picks up and the song progressively gets faster, and features a psychedelic pop section, followed by an upbeat, soft section before going into a wild blues-rock part that ends the song. The new, 2006 remastered album reinstates an intro before the 'Petition The Lord With Prayer' section where Morrison laments that he's "troubled immeasurably" by the "feather of your soft reply" of an unnamed subject.

(YES, YES) (LET'S WORK) I'M ABOUT TO GET INTO MY GENIUS WHOO, I THINK I HIT ANOTHER ZENITH SEPARATE THE DOERS FROM THE DREAMERS CAUSE THESE ARE THE DIFFERENCES THAT'S BETWEEN US WE THE FUTURE THE MOVERS THE NEW LEADERS NEVER LOSE AND WE RULE UNDEFEATED I DON'T GOTTA BEG YOU TO BELIEVE THIS I KNOW YOU KNOW WHO THE KING IS (LET EM' KNOW) I AIN'T JUST CONCEDED, I BLEED THIS PEDIGREE, THE POWER IS INTRAVENOUS SO AT HOME ON THE THRONE'S WHERE MY SEAT IS OFF WITH YOUR DOME FOR CONDONING THE WEAKNESS --------- CHORUS --------- WHEN I COME THROUGH SHUT DOWN, YEAH EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN EVERYBODY HIT THE GROUND WHEN I COME AROUND SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN SHUT EM DOWN, SHUT EM DOWN EVERY TIME I COME THROUGH SHUT EM DOWN SHUT EM DOWN, SHUT EM DOWN EVERY TIME I COME THROUGH SHUT EM DOWN ---------- VERSE 2 ---------- DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT YOU FACING? YOU LOOKING AT A LEGEND IN THE MAKING (LEGENDARY) YOU WALKING IN THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION YOU WITNESSING THE DAWN OF CREATION TRIED TO MAKE ME EAT LAST BUT I'M IMPATIENT NOW I'M COMING WITH THE POWER OF TEN NATIONS SHUT EM DOWN, SHUT EM DOWN EVERY TIME I COME THROUGH SHUT EM DOWN (LET'S WORK) (WHOO) I AIN'T COME TO PLAY AROUND (NO PLAYING) NO I AIN'T COME TO PLAY AROUND (WE AIN'T PLAYING) YOU GETTIN' OVER THROWN CAUSE THE KINGS HOME AIN'T NO STOPPING ME FROM COMING AFTER MY CROWN --------- CHORUS --------- WHEN I COME THROUGH SHUT DOWN, YEAH EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN EVERYBODY HIT THE GROUND WHEN I COME AROUND SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING SHUT DOWN SHUT EM DOWN, SHUT EM DOWN EVERY TIME I COME THROUGH SHUT EM DOWN SHUT EM DOWN, SHUT EM DOWN EVERY TIME I COME THROUGH SHUT EM DOWN (REPEAT)