Five To One
Encyclopedia
"Five to One" is a song by The Doors
, from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun
.
said the lyrics were not political.
This would seem quite likely, at least for part of the song ("Your ballroom days are over baby/Night is drawing near/Shadows of the evening/crawl across the years"), which is patently lifted from the c19th hymn/al and bedtime rhyme Now the Day is Over ("Now the day is over,/Night is drawing nigh,/Shadows of the evening/Steal across the sky") for whatever reason of Morrison's. Similarly, Morrison quoted the Christian Child's Prayer in a live version of Soul Kitchen sung in 1969 and also altered the children's rhyme "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over The candlestick" to suit part of his poem An American Prayer ("Words dissemble/Words be quick/Words resemble walking sticks"). Lastly, Morrison was quite possibly referring to a Dylan Thomas story entitled The Fight in Thomas' Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog , where the central character reads from a poem called Warp ( " [...] Five into one, the one made of five into one, early/Suns distorted too late."). In this instance, the "five" are described by Thomas as "tears", "suns", and "inscrutable spears in the head".
The opening part ("Yeah, c'mon - I love my girl. She lookin' good...") is some of Jim's nonsensical drunk rambling. Morrison got the idea for this while waiting in the audience before performing a concert in 1967. On bootlegs of live recordings, Morrison included the phrase "fucked up" in the spoken word section at the end. He frequently swore at live shows, but the studio albums were originally either curse-free or censored.
and is depicted in Oliver Stone's film The Doors
.
During the reunion of the original lineup of The Doors sans Jim Morrison on VH1 Storytellers
, Scott Weiland
of Stone Temple Pilots
took up vocals. Before the performance Robbie Krieger said Weiland was one of the few frontmen who could "fill Jim's leather pants". Scott said that "Five to One" was what inspired him to begin a career in rock music.
In the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
it is heard on the Liberty Rock Radio station on The Lost and Damned
expansion pack.
It also appears in Miami Vice
episode "Back In The World".
released a studio cover of the song
, while Velvet Revolver
and the Russian band Splean
(Russian
: Сплин) have covered it live. The guitar solo on Pearl Jam
's "Alive" was based on Ace Frehley
's guitar solo on the Kiss song "She
", which was in turn based on Robby Krieger's solo in "Five to One". Kanye West
sampled "Five to One" to create the beat for Jay-Z
's diss song of Nas
and Mobb Deep
called "Takeover". In 2011, American band Make Love And War released their remake of the song to coincide with the peak of Arab Spring
, with a video portraying images of toppled and at-risk Middle East
dictators, as well as footage of past and present popular uprisings
.
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
, from their 1968 album Waiting for the Sun
Waiting for the Sun
Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band The Doors. It was released in 1968 and became the band's first and only number one album and spawned their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it peaked...
.
Origin
"Five to one" is rumored to be the approximate ratio of whites to blacks, old to young, or non-pot smokers to pot smokers in the US in 1967, depending on whom you ask. A further urban legend has it as the ratio of Viet Cong to American troops in Vietnam. However, when asked, Jim MorrisonJim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
said the lyrics were not political.
This would seem quite likely, at least for part of the song ("Your ballroom days are over baby/Night is drawing near/Shadows of the evening/crawl across the years"), which is patently lifted from the c19th hymn/al and bedtime rhyme Now the Day is Over ("Now the day is over,/Night is drawing nigh,/Shadows of the evening/Steal across the sky") for whatever reason of Morrison's. Similarly, Morrison quoted the Christian Child's Prayer in a live version of Soul Kitchen sung in 1969 and also altered the children's rhyme "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over The candlestick" to suit part of his poem An American Prayer ("Words dissemble/Words be quick/Words resemble walking sticks"). Lastly, Morrison was quite possibly referring to a Dylan Thomas story entitled The Fight in Thomas' Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog , where the central character reads from a poem called Warp ( " [...] Five into one, the one made of five into one, early/Suns distorted too late."). In this instance, the "five" are described by Thomas as "tears", "suns", and "inscrutable spears in the head".
The opening part ("Yeah, c'mon - I love my girl. She lookin' good...") is some of Jim's nonsensical drunk rambling. Morrison got the idea for this while waiting in the audience before performing a concert in 1967. On bootlegs of live recordings, Morrison included the phrase "fucked up" in the spoken word section at the end. He frequently swore at live shows, but the studio albums were originally either curse-free or censored.
Public performances
The song's most famous performance was at the 1969 Miami concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium. Towards the end of the performance, a drunken Morrison declared the audience "idiots" and "slaves". The concert would end with Morrison being accused of "attempting to incite a riot" among the concert goers, resulting in his arrest, and later conviction, for indecent exposure. This performance can be heard on Disc 1 of The Doors: Box SetThe Doors: Box Set
This is the first box set by the band The Doors released on October 28, 1997. The set includes previously rare and unreleased demo recordings.-Track listing:All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore, except where noted....
and is depicted in Oliver Stone's film The Doors
The Doors (film)
The Doors is a 1991 biopic about the 1960s-1970s rock band of the same name which emphasizes the life of its lead singer, Jim Morrison. It was directed by Oliver Stone, and stars Val Kilmer as Morrison, Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson , Kyle MacLachlan as Ray Manzarek, Frank Whaley as Robby Krieger,...
.
During the reunion of the original lineup of The Doors sans Jim Morrison on VH1 Storytellers
VH1 Storytellers
Storytellers is a television music series produced by the VH1 network.In each episode artists perform in front of a live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat similar to MTV Unplugged...
, Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
of Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
took up vocals. Before the performance Robbie Krieger said Weiland was one of the few frontmen who could "fill Jim's leather pants". Scott said that "Five to One" was what inspired him to begin a career in rock music.
In the video game Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 open world action video game published by Rockstar Games, and developed by British games developer Rockstar North. It has been released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and for the Windows operating system...
it is heard on the Liberty Rock Radio station on The Lost and Damned
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned is the first of two episodic expansion packs developed for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions of Grand Theft Auto IV, developed by Rockstar North. It was first released for the Xbox 360 on 17 February 2009 and on PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows...
expansion pack.
It also appears in Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
episode "Back In The World".
Cover versions
Yuya Uchida & The Flowers recorded what is possibly the first cover in 1968 for their album Challenge! although it was not released until the remaster in 2007. Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
released a studio cover of the song
Disposable Teens
"Disposable Teens" is a song by American rock band Marilyn Manson. It is the first single from their fourth full-length studio album, Holy Wood , released in 2001....
, while Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver is an American hard rock supergroup consisting of former Guns N' Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum, alongside Dave Kushner formerly of punk band Wasted Youth. Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland was Velvet Revolver's lead singer from their formation until...
and the Russian band Splean
Splean
Splean is a popular Russian rock band. They were formed and released their first album in 1994. Since then, they have remained one of the most popular rock bands in Russia and the former Soviet Union. The band's name is derived from "spleen" , and the "ea" spelling in English is a pun on the...
(Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Сплин) have covered it live. The guitar solo on Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
's "Alive" was based on Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
's guitar solo on the Kiss song "She
She (Kiss song)
"She" is a song by American hard rock group Kiss. It was released on the band's third studio album Dressed to Kill in 1975. The song was written by Gene Simmons and Stephen Coronel while Simmons was in a band called Bullfrog Bheer...
", which was in turn based on Robby Krieger's solo in "Five to One". Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
sampled "Five to One" to create the beat for Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's diss song of Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
called "Takeover". In 2011, American band Make Love And War released their remake of the song to coincide with the peak of Arab Spring
Arab Spring
The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...
, with a video portraying images of toppled and at-risk Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
dictators, as well as footage of past and present popular uprisings
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
.