People Are Strange

Producer

In early 1967, Jim Morrison was exhibiting symptoms of depression. At the behest of guitarist Robby Krieger, they hiked Laurel Canyon to watch the sunset, at which time… Read More

Sep. 1, 19671 viewer487.4K views

People Are Strange Lyrics

[Verse 1]
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down

[Refrain]
When you're strange, faces come out of the rain
When you're strange, no one remembers your name
When you're strange, when you're strange
When you're strange

[Verse 2]
People are strange when you're a stranger
Faces look ugly when you're alone
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted
Streets are uneven when you're down

[Instrumental Break]

[Refrain]
When you're strange, faces come out of the rain
When you're strange, no one remembers your name
When you're strange, when you're strange
When you're strange
Alright, yeah

[Instrumental Bridge]

[Outro]
When you're strange, faces come out of the rain
When you're strange, no one remembers your name
When you're strange, when you're strange
When you're strange

Embed

About

Genius Annotation

In early 1967, Jim Morrison was exhibiting symptoms of depression. At the behest of guitarist Robby Krieger, they hiked Laurel Canyon to watch the sunset, at which time Morrison came up with the lyrics for “People Are Strange,” a song about alienation.

Drummer John Densmore recalled the moment in his 1991 biography, Riders on the Storm: My Life with Jim Morrison and The Doors:

[Morrison said] ‘Yeah, I feel really good about this one. It just came to me all of a sudden […] in a flash—as I was sitting up there on the ridge looking out over the city.’ His eyes were wild with excitement. ‘I scribbled it down as fast as I could. It felt great to be writing again.’ He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand and sang the chorus in his haunting blues voice.

Morrison and Krieger are credited with writing the song. It reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1967.