"Not to Touch the Earth" is a 1968 song by the Doors from their third album ''

Waiting for the Sun ''Waiting for the Sun'' is the third studio album by the American rock band the Doors. The album's 11 tracks were recorded between January and May 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles. Released by Elektra Records on July 3, 1968, it became the ban ...

''. It is part of an extended performance piece called "

Celebration of the Lizard "Celebration of the Lizard" is a performance piece by American rock band the Doors, featuring lyrics written by lead singer Jim Morrison and music by the Doors. Composed as a series of poems, the piece includes both spoken verse and sung lyrics, ...

" that the band played live multiple times. A 17-minute studio recording of the complete piece was attempted during the sessions for ''Waiting for the Sun'', and the lyrics were printed in their entirety on the gatefold LP sleeve, but only the musical passage "Not to Touch the Earth" was included on the LP. The full 1968 studio recording of "Celebration of the Lizard" was released in 2003 on the '' Legacy: The Absolute Best'' compilation and the 40th Anniversary Edition CD re-issue of ''Waiting for the Sun''.

Lyrics

In the 2020 book ''Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre'', author Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith compares "Not to Touch the Earth" to "Shaman's Blues" (from the 1969 ''

The Soft Parade ''The Soft Parade'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band the Doors, released on July 18, 1969, by Elektra Records. Most of the album was recorded following a grueling tour during which the band was left with little time to compose n ...

''), since both songs lyrically seem to indicate that "Morrison was fascinated by

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

". A portion of the lyrics refer to John F. Kennedy's

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

: "dead president's corpse in the driver's car". The song begins with the line, "Not to touch the earth, not to see the sun", these are subchapters of the 60th chapter of ''

The Golden Bough ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion'' (retitled ''The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion'' in its second edition) is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by the Scottish anthropologist Sir ...

'' by James Frazer. The chapter is called "Between Heaven and Earth", with subchapter 1, "Not to Touch the Earth", and subchapter 2, "Not to See the Sun". These subchapters detail taboos against certain people (generally royalty or priests) walking upon the ground or having the sun shine directly upon them. Frazer had noted that these superstitions were recurring throughout many primitive cultures, and appeared to be related to traditions and taboos concerning

menarche Menarche ( ; ) is the first menstrual cycle, or first menstrual bleeding, in female humans. From both social and medical perspectives, it is often considered the central event of female puberty, as it signals the possibility of fertility. Gir ...

and the following female initiation rites. Frazer's work had an influence on Morrison, according to the Doors biography '' No One Here Gets Out Alive'' (1980).

Musical style

"Not to Touch the Earth" has received many characterizations and definitions by both authors and critics, concerning its musical style. Writing a review for the compilation album '' Perception'', critic Stuart Berman characterized it as an acid rock track. Author Melissa Ursula Dawn Goldsmith wrote that the song represents a conventional

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

track on ''Waiting for the Sun'', but "musically it is real part of the Doors' art and progressive rock effort." The tune has also been classified as avant-rock song, notably by British journalist Mick Wall.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Not To Touch The Earth 1968 songs The Doors songs Songs written by John Densmore Songs written by Robby Krieger Songs written by Ray Manzarek Songs written by Jim Morrison Song recordings produced by Paul A. Rothchild