Before you slip into unconsciousness
I'd like to have another kiss
Another flashing chance at bliss
Another kiss, another kiss

The days are bright and filled with pain
Enclose me in your gentle rain
The time you ran was too insane
We'll meet again, we'll meet again

Oh tell me where your freedom lies
The streets are fields that never die
Deliver me from reasons why
You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly

The crystal ship is being filled
A thousand girls, a thousand thrills
A million ways to spend your time
When we get back, I'll drop a line

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The Crystal Ship Lyrics as written by James Morrison Ray Manzarek

Lyrics © Doors Music Company

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The Crystal Ship song meanings

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+16
General Comment
And then I found THIS COMMENT: This song came from poetry written in Jim Morrison's notebooks. He wrote it after splitting up with his girlfriend, Mary Werbelow, in the summer of 1965. While the "Crystal Ship" is sometimes thought to represent drugs, Ken Rafferty from The Annotated Lyrics makes this case: This song has nothing to do with drugs and everything about Jim Morrison's heavy relationship with his first love, Mary Werbelow. As a poet, he did nothing more than use transparent images for his relation to the past. He (Jim Morrison) hasn't let go of her as evidenced in the first line, "Before you slip into unconsciousness, I'd like to have another kiss." That means the protagonist had already left her in the physical realm, but has not left her subconsciously. The thought of her still burdens him and he just wants another kiss to somehow make it feel better. "Another flashing chance at bliss, another kiss." Again, he cannot seem to let go of their love, their relationship, and how much she meant to him. "The days are bright and filled with pain." He's moved on and is now doing very well as a singer/songwriter in a rock band in L.A., but he still has feelings for her and this song is his testament to her that he still has feelings for her. "The time you ran was too insane." Jim was one to mock even his girlfriends- he would tease others, but mostly, he was testing them. This line very well could be a reference to a time he felt bad about verbally teasing her- knowing that it upset her. "The streets are fields that never die, deliver me from reasons why, you'd rather cry, I'd rather fly." A simple line that confirms the end of the relationship and that the protagonist is willing to move on. The streets are fields are his memories, and because they are vague memories now, they also present a reason why he can forget. And that last stanza confirms his growing popularity as a lead singer for a rock band with an ever-growing popularity. The beauty of it though is how he is saying to her that no matter how big he becomes, he will still think of her, and even call her, when he gets the chance.

And then I found THIS COMMENT: This song came from poetry written in Jim Morrison's notebooks. He wrote it after splitting up with his girlfriend, Mary Werbelow, in the summer of 1965. While the "Crystal Ship" is sometimes thought to represent drugs, Ken Rafferty from The Annotated Lyrics makes this case: This song has nothing to do with drugs and everything about Jim Morrison's heavy relationship with his first love, Mary Werbelow. As a poet, he did nothing more than use transparent images for his relation to the past. He (Jim Morrison) hasn't let go of her as evidenced in the first line, "Before you slip into unconsciousness, I'd like to have another kiss." That means the protagonist had already left her in the physical realm, but has not left her subconsciously. The thought of her still burdens him and he just wants another kiss to somehow make it feel better. "Another flashing chance at bliss, another kiss." Again, he cannot seem to let go of their love, their relationship, and how much she meant to him. "The days are bright and filled with pain." He's moved on and is now doing very well as a singer/songwriter in a rock band in L.A., but he still has feelings for her and this song is his testament to her that he still has feelings for her. "The time you ran was too insane." Jim was one to mock even his girlfriends- he would tease others, but mostly, he was testing them. This line very well could be a reference to a time he felt bad about verbally teasing her- knowing that it upset her. "The streets are fields that never die, deliver me from reasons why, you'd rather cry, I'd rather fly." A simple line that confirms the end of the relationship and that the protagonist is willing to move on. The streets are fields are his memories, and because they are vague memories now, they also present a reason why he can forget. And that last stanza confirms his growing popularity as a lead singer for a rock band with an ever-growing popularity. The beauty of it though is how he is saying to her that no matter how big he becomes, he will still think of her, and even call her, when he gets the chance.

Reason:

Karlinon June 23, 2010 Link
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@Karlin

I doubt she took his phone call :) But your interpretation makes the most sense of any. I can't get enough of Morrison's music.

SweetCheeks2on January 07, 2012

"We'll meet again, we'll meet again", Mary Werbelow said in her only interview in 2005 that the breakup with Jim would be temporary. He tried to contact her always and to get back together. "I promised it wouldn't be forever, that I'd get back together with him sometime. I never did. It's very painful to think of that. For a long time, any time I would think about him, or anyone would talk about him, I'd cry. It used to make me so sad. I never gave him that second chance. That destroyed me for so long. I let him go and never gave him that second chance. I felt so guilty about that."

msxgalagaon January 23, 2014

@Karlin Sounds like a crock, to me.

sawfish666on February 05, 2016

@Karlin A decade late, but better late...

Poets who know what they’re doing, like songwriters, can have their works mean different things to different people, and, rock lyrics are NOT poetry, so the rules aren’t the same.

So, I believe the “drug” interpretations still holds water...but this interpretation makes sense, I especially love this line, taking this meaning to be the “true” one:

“The Crystal Ship is being filled“ (he is healing and moving on, the transparent past receding into opaque memory).

“A Thousand Girls, a thousand thrills,
A million ways to spend your time”

He’s a rock star now, or just about to be, and although he laments the end of the relationship, time, tide and success are helping him become a whole person again.

force263on November 05, 2020
+9
General Comment
Stanza 1: Before you slip into unconsciousness I'd like to have another kiss Another flashing chance at bliss Another kiss, another kiss Stanza 1 talks about his lover leaving him, their love is dying & all that he has left, the memory of their love is dissapearing into his subconcious. He doesnt want it to end, he wants one last kiss to remind him of the bliss that their love brought him. Stanza 2: The days are bright and filled with pain Enclose me in your gentle rain The time you ran was too insane We'll meet again, we'll meet again Stanza 2 means that although they've broken up & hes feeling the pain he still has bright things in his life going on, reasons to be happy although hes sad (maybe the band), theres still hope even though he cant be with her. The time they had together was turbulent, too insane. The last line says that even though they have parted he believes their destined to meet again. Stanza 3: Oh tell me where your freedom lies The streets are fields that never die Deliver me from reasons why You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly She's breaking up with him in order to be "free", and her "freedom" is found on "the streets", where she can have all kinds of relationships with many different men instead of the one reliable one with Jim. "The streets are fields that never die" - saying that those relationships lead nowhere, are aimless. He's asking her to spare him from the countless reasons or excuses of her ending their relationship, he knows why she's really leaving. He'd rather fly, means he'd rather work at becoming successfull instead of wasting time crying like she is. Stanza 4: The crystal ship is being filled A thousand girls, a thousand thrills A million ways to spend your time When we get back, I'll drop a line I believe the crystal ship symbolises the band, they're beginning to become successfull, beginning to do what he always dreamt of, being filled (meeting) with people that can help him/them achieve success. Getting the band together. Hes beginning his journey. A thousand girls a thousand thrills a million ways to spend your time, is obvious, groupies, drink, drugs, hes now found other ways of filling the time he once spent with her. When we get back I'l drop a line, once hes done what he needs to do to become successfull he still hangs on to the the belief that one day they'l be together & when hes done what hes set out to do he'l contact her again. Thats what the song means to me anyways

Stanza 1: Before you slip into unconsciousness I'd like to have another kiss Another flashing chance at bliss Another kiss, another kiss Stanza 1 talks about his lover leaving him, their love is dying & all that he has left, the memory of their love is dissapearing into his subconcious. He doesnt want it to end, he wants one last kiss to remind him of the bliss that their love brought him. Stanza 2: The days are bright and filled with pain Enclose me in your gentle rain The time you ran was too insane We'll meet again, we'll meet again Stanza 2 means that although they've broken up & hes feeling the pain he still has bright things in his life going on, reasons to be happy although hes sad (maybe the band), theres still hope even though he cant be with her. The time they had together was turbulent, too insane. The last line says that even though they have parted he believes their destined to meet again. Stanza 3: Oh tell me where your freedom lies The streets are fields that never die Deliver me from reasons why You'd rather cry, I'd rather fly She's breaking up with him in order to be "free", and her "freedom" is found on "the streets", where she can have all kinds of relationships with many different men instead of the one reliable one with Jim. "The streets are fields that never die" - saying that those relationships lead nowhere, are aimless. He's asking her to spare him from the countless reasons or excuses of her ending their relationship, he knows why she's really leaving. He'd rather fly, means he'd rather work at becoming successfull instead of wasting time crying like she is. Stanza 4: The crystal ship is being filled A thousand girls, a thousand thrills A million ways to spend your time When we get back, I'll drop a line I believe the crystal ship symbolises the band, they're beginning to become successfull, beginning to do what he always dreamt of, being filled (meeting) with people that can help him/them achieve success. Getting the band together. Hes beginning his journey. A thousand girls a thousand thrills a million ways to spend your time, is obvious, groupies, drink, drugs, hes now found other ways of filling the time he once spent with her. When we get back I'l drop a line, once hes done what he needs to do to become successfull he still hangs on to the the belief that one day they'l be together & when hes done what hes set out to do he'l contact her again. Thats what the song means to me anyways

Reason:

nephilim1591on July 26, 2008 Link
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@nephilim1591

This is the most thin veneer of a doors songs response I have ever come across. I begin to doubt you've heard the song and were merely practicing your writing skills on a beautiful song. The doors are not meant to be listened to in separate verses, it is one song it tells one story not separate quips. Not one last kiss, another kiss. Love does not die, it fades in hope that it is not wounded to badly. Another kiss not one last goodbye kiss, i don't think he had intentions of his early day poetry to his first love being a goodbye song. This is a I want you back song. I'm not entirely sure what he means by unconsciousness, I speculate dreams opposed to the more hopeless subconscious. A subconscious is a guiding force, not a realm where memories of people dwell in misery. Perhaps unconsciousness is his spirits desire to Learn To Forget (x4) in order to keep Jim moving on from a spoiled love. Not rotted, love does die he always loved Mary no matter what.
As I read on, the incompetence of what you're having people read about this song is worrisome. You are analyzing them with such little insight to what The Doors were about and what they were trying to communicate it feels like this was a school project a student had to complete for class, it's just hard to believe this came from a doors fan. He's separated from Mary, why would he be writing about how much fun he is having to her? "Hey I'm writing this song to tell you how much fun I'm having,.. take me back." The days are bright and filled with pain enclose me in your gentle rain does Not mean a single thing none at all, it is one of the most beautifully poetic lines ever written that is about a boy missing a girl. Everyday sucks when you're away from your love, their too bright he just wants to hide. He wants this girl to surround him. Of course, why would you not think you're destined to meet the one you love?
God oh god why, why did you write these things? He does't know a thing about what she knows of her own freedom. He's asking her, he's begging her, he's wooing her to reveal what she truly believes in an attempt to tempt her back to him. He knows she has the soul right to do whatever she pleases. Mary's freedom is not found on the streets, she always has the freedom to be with whatever man she wants. She did not have countless reasons for ending it, he harassed her. He knew how much she loved him and he tortured her, then he bailed and went to California. In his later years he said if he could do it all over, (understand this is James Douglas, amongst others speaking) he would have lived a quiet life and written poetry. He hated himself and pushed himself to death at 27, he hated his success. Again, the streets are fields that never die is nobly another piece of poetry. "Memorize your alleys on an endless road.;"I wanna lie in an open field Want the snakes to suck my skin Want the worms to be my friends." The band hated him and then when he died they hated each other. He hated people, there is a gif of him saying he hates people. FUCK NO the crystal ship is not the band, the crystal ship is whatever you want it to be. I say its the north star, and if you're lucky you actually get to take a magic carpet ride on a crystal ship when you break on through to the other side. Only a thousand girls get on so guys find your gals :) Then again it would be wrong to say that wasn't Jim Morrisons destiny to live a life as he did. but he really truly loved Mary so it's up in the air flying around.

mcolonelloon September 17, 2014

Wow, you're an absolute Richard Head aren't you! Whose practicing their writing skills huh? Damn, you just wrote a thesis! You must have a lot of time on your hands, may I suggest you acquire a social life? Go back to YouTube, this is a discussion board for adults. Seriously out of all the comments your attempting to pick apart, was mine reallllly the one to be having a dig at? Wouldn't your helpful nuggets of turd, ahem, I mean knowledge have been more beneficial for those on here claiming that this song is about drugs!? Ive seen the doors live, I think l know slightly more about them than you son. May I also add, I wrote this 6 years ago you complete fool of a troll.

nephilim1591on September 17, 2014
+4
General Comment
I always thought that the crystal ship was a metaphore for a bottle of booze. and every kiss was another sip untill poor old jim passed out.

I always thought that the crystal ship was a metaphore for a bottle of booze. and every kiss was another sip untill poor old jim passed out.

Reason:

GitFiddleon October 17, 2004 Link
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@GitFiddle

@GitFiddle - i think your interpretation makes more sense than any of the others. no matter what deeper meaning morrison may have had here, liquor was always his first love.

c204on August 05, 2016

@GitFiddle Many others thought the Crystal Ship was a hypodermic needle.

Loraqson January 25, 2023
+3
General Comment
Probably my favorite Doors song. Its said Jim wrote crystal ship to represent his transcend into a life of fame and glory. "The Crystal ship" is a metaphor for his success, which is very like Morrison to be poetic. It's a sad love song, and to Morrison its very meaningful and personal. He's saying goodbye to a girl that he has feelings for but knows wont be there with him during his career as a singer. He's telling the girl give me one last kiss because its the last kiss you're gonna get, and maybe one day i'll give you a call and we'll meet again: "Before you slip into unconsciousness I'd like to have another kiss Another flashing chance at bliss Another kiss, another kiss. The days are bright and filled with pain Enclose me in your gentle rain The time you ran was too insane We'll meet again, we'll meet again." At the very end of the song he tells of things to come: "The Crystal Ship is being filled A thousand girls, a thousand thrills A million ways to spend your time when we get back, I'll drop a line." truly a well written song. people can say Jim was a junky, Jim was a hedonistic fool, a person who lived life fast and died young... but Jim was also very sentimental an educated person, a true poet.

Probably my favorite Doors song. Its said Jim wrote crystal ship to represent his transcend into a life of fame and glory. "The Crystal ship" is a metaphor for his success, which is very like Morrison to be poetic. It's a sad love song, and to Morrison its very meaningful and personal. He's saying goodbye to a girl that he has feelings for but knows wont be there with him during his career as a singer. He's telling the girl give me one last kiss because its the last kiss you're gonna get, and maybe one day i'll give you a call and we'll meet again: "Before you slip into unconsciousness I'd like to have another kiss Another flashing chance at bliss Another kiss, another kiss. The days are bright and filled with pain Enclose me in your gentle rain The time you ran was too insane We'll meet again, we'll meet again." At the very end of the song he tells of things to come: "The Crystal Ship is being filled A thousand girls, a thousand thrills A million ways to spend your time when we get back, I'll drop a line." truly a well written song. people can say Jim was a junky, Jim was a hedonistic fool, a person who lived life fast and died young... but Jim was also very sentimental an educated person, a true poet.

Reason:

paradise7on May 23, 2008 Link
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+1
General Comment
meh, i dont really care the meaning of the song. it's still a well written song (lyrically and musically). i loooove the piano solo in it tho. good stuff.

meh, i dont really care the meaning of the song. it's still a well written song (lyrically and musically). i loooove the piano solo in it tho. good stuff.

Reason:

El Libertador 00on October 07, 2004 Link
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@El Libertador 00
+1
General Comment
eh, many say it's all about drugs, but i feel it could have had a deeper meaning than that. it's about hope, and things that are up in the air. The ending is saying how we should be optimistic through times of uncertainty, because things always tend to fall into place in the end.

eh, many say it's all about drugs, but i feel it could have had a deeper meaning than that. it's about hope, and things that are up in the air. The ending is saying how we should be optimistic through times of uncertainty, because things always tend to fall into place in the end.

Reason:

aquarianarchiston October 24, 2004 Link
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I like your interpretation aquarianarchist. This song makes me hopeful and at ease

d82vanityon November 06, 2011
+1
General Comment
This poem has two speakers if you divide every 4 lines into different voices: "we'll meet again" is answered by "oh tell me where". I don't know if he's talking to himself or what but it's interesting. The lines "oh tell me where your freedom lies/the streets are fields that never die" are great.

This poem has two speakers if you divide every 4 lines into different voices: "we'll meet again" is answered by "oh tell me where". I don't know if he's talking to himself or what but it's interesting. The lines "oh tell me where your freedom lies/the streets are fields that never die" are great.

Reason:

alberts179on November 28, 2004 Link
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+1
General Comment
Jim Morrison wrote this song before the Doors even got a record contract. so it wasn't about Elektra or Pam...

Jim Morrison wrote this song before the Doors even got a record contract. so it wasn't about Elektra or Pam...

Reason:

cori_michelle_on April 17, 2007 Link
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+1
General Comment
I had an interesting thought about the first stanza that I wanted to get some feedback on. So, when Jim says, "Before you slip into unconsciousness" I wonder if he means the unconscious part of your mind. It seems if you are dumped, or left, by a woman/man then you will want them back, maybe just to kiss them one last time. As time goes by you think about them less and less, and then unknowingly they leave the conscious part of your mind, but stay in the unconscious part. So, he wants to kiss her one last time before his feelings for her slip away. I hope this came out as I intended. Let me know what you think!

I had an interesting thought about the first stanza that I wanted to get some feedback on. So, when Jim says, "Before you slip into unconsciousness" I wonder if he means the unconscious part of your mind. It seems if you are dumped, or left, by a woman/man then you will want them back, maybe just to kiss them one last time. As time goes by you think about them less and less, and then unknowingly they leave the conscious part of your mind, but stay in the unconscious part. So, he wants to kiss her one last time before his feelings for her slip away. I hope this came out as I intended. Let me know what you think!

Reason:

alluredworldon November 17, 2008 Link
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Sorry nephilim1591, I read your comment after posting, but it's good to know our thoughts are similar

alluredworldon November 17, 2008

I always thought it was a goodbye song to his self before fame.
Is that what you mean? Or do you mean leaving old consciousness behind in a broader sense?

noushy123on February 09, 2014

@alluredworld I love this interpretation, is just so sad but beautiful, I'm so sad and this song, and this interpretation fulls me complitly

maicol1038on May 06, 2021
+1
General Comment
Perfection... This hauntingly beautiful song is a bittersweet farewell to his previous self as he enters a new phase of life... success, fame, etc. Although he knows he will miss the how things were in the past, he remains in the present and looks forward to the limitless possibilities of the future; comforted in knowing that he has access to his memories if he ever wants to revisit them. He consciously decides to allow for a smooth transition so he can enjoy the ride - the "crystal ship" (magical journey through life)

Perfection... This hauntingly beautiful song is a bittersweet farewell to his previous self as he enters a new phase of life... success, fame, etc. Although he knows he will miss the how things were in the past, he remains in the present and looks forward to the limitless possibilities of the future; comforted in knowing that he has access to his memories if he ever wants to revisit them. He consciously decides to allow for a smooth transition so he can enjoy the ride - the "crystal ship" (magical journey through life)

Reason:

noushy123on February 09, 2014 Link
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