"Five to one" is rumored to be the approximate ratio of whites to blacks, young to old, or pot smokers to non-pot smokers in the US in 1967, depending on whom you ask[clarification needed]. A further urban legend has it as the ratio of Viet Cong to American troops in Vietnam.[clarification needed] However, when asked, Jim Morrison said the lyrics were not political.[clarification needed] 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 19th-century hymnal 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". One of the interpretations has a sexual connotation, referring to the manual satisfaction, which can be quite obvious from the verses "five to one, baby, one in five, no one here gets out alive, you´ll get yours, baby, I´ll get mine, gonna make it, baby, if we try."
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.
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 Set and is depicted in Oliver Stone's film The Doors.
Five to One
The Doors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She lookin' good, come on, one more
Five to one, baby
One in five
No one here gets out alive, now
You get yours, baby
I'll get mine
Gonna make it, baby
If we try
The old get old
And the young get stronger
May take a week
And it may take longer
They got the guns
Well, but we got the numbers
Gonna win, yeah
We're takin' over
Come on!
Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawing near
Shadows of the evening
Crawl across the years
Yeah, walk across the floor with a
Flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful of dimes
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime
Come together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, gotta, get together
(Get together one more time)
(Get together one more time)
Hey, come on, honey
You go on along home and wait for me, baby
I'll be there in just a little while
You see, I gotta go out in this car
With these people and
(Get together one more time)
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, got to
Get together, got to
Get together, got to
Take you up into my room and
(Get together one more time)
Love my girl
She lookin' good, lookin' real good
Love ya, come on
The opening lyrics suggest a sense of possessiveness over a partner or loved one, praising their appearance and urging them to comply with a final request. The refrain of "five to one, baby, one in five, no one here gets out alive" has been interpreted as a commentary on the odds of survival in the midst of societal and political upheaval. The stanza suggests an almost apocalyptic outcome, where people are divided into warring factions, the old conspire to hold onto their power, and the young seek to usurp them. The imagery of the shadowy evening with the accompanying fear of unknown danger further reinforces this ominous tone. The frustration and alienation of the outsider is captured in the closing words "trying to tell me no one understands."
Line by Line Meaning
Love my girl
I love my girlfriend
She lookin' good, come on, one more
I find my girlfriend attractive and want to make love one more time
Five to one, baby
There are five of us and one of you
One in five
Only one of five people will survive
No one here gets out alive, now
None of us will make it out alive
You get yours, baby
You will get what you deserve
I'll get mine
I will get what I deserve
Gonna make it, baby
We will both survive
If we try
If we make an effort
The old get old
Old people keep getting older
And the young get stronger
Young people are becoming more powerful
May take a week
It may not take long
And it may take longer
It may take a while
They got the guns
They have weapons
Well, but we got the numbers
We have more people
Gonna win, yeah
We will emerge victorious
We're takin' over
We are taking control
Your ballroom days are over, baby
You can't continue living a luxurious life
Night is drawing near
The night is coming soon
Shadows of the evening
The darkness of the night is approaching
Crawl across the years
The night is approaching after many years
Yeah, walk across the floor
You are walking across the room
With a flower in your hand
You are holding a flower
Trying to tell me no one understands
You are trying to say that no one knows how you feel
Trade in your hours for a handful of dimes
Stop wasting your time for small amounts of money
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime
We will be successful during our prime years
Come together one more time
Let's unite once more
Get together one more time
Let's gather together again
Hey, come on, honey
Let's go, my dear
You go on along home and wait for me, baby
Please head back home and wait for me
I'll be there in just a little while
I will arrive shortly
You see, I gotta go out in this car
I have to leave in this car
With these people and
With these individuals
Take you up into my room
I will take you to my room
Love my girl
I love my girlfriend
She lookin' good, lookin' real good
My girlfriend looks stunning
Love ya, come on
I love you, come on
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: Jim Morrison, John Paul Densmore, Raymond D Manzarek, Robert A Krieger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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