Sigmund Freud coined the term the Oedipus complex, referring to a psychoanalytical theory in which a child has an unconscious desire to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex.

At the crux of the theory, Freud believed young boys develop a repressed sexual desires for their mother in the early ages of childhood, once they are able to make the distinctions between boy and girl and the inherent sexual relationship between the two genders. In understanding this binary, the boy’s relationship with his father becomes one of competition, as both vie for the attention of mother, in order to satisfy their desires.

The Oedipus complex plays a pivotal role in The Doors’ iconic song, the End.

Legend has it that when the Doors were an up-and-coming band, playing regular shows in L.A.’s whiskey A Go Go, there was one night in particular where Morrison ad-libbed the controversial lyrics for the End.

Morrison was said to have been found in an acid-induced stupor just moments before the band were to play their set. His bandmates had to drag him to the stage, where he somehow managed to perform. Nearing the end of the set, Morrison insisted that they perform a song that he had written about an ex-girlfriend, titled the End. The band had never performed it live, but unwilling to contest Morrison in his state, started playing the track.

The song slows down about half-way through, and, during the live performance, Morrison began ad-libbing spoken word over the quieted melody. As his bandmates had no idea what he was going to say, they just continued to play. Morrison managed to string together the following lyrics:

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
And he came to a door, and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother, I want to, f*** you all night long

The lyrics ended up losing the band their regular slot at the Whiskey A Go Go and, despite being kept for the studio version of the song, were censored by the producers.

Morrison’s ode to the Oedipus complex has changed the way the song has been interpreted, having once been about saying goodbye to an old girlfriend to eventually becoming a song about getting in touch with ones inner self. The father represents the external world that shapes the self, or something that is alien or foreign to one’s identity but exerts power over it and ultimately forms it. The mother represents the essence of the individual, that which is within, the natural self.

The song’s lyrics symbolize ridding oneself of external pressures, removing the oppressive forces that shape ones identity and getting in touch with one’s real self.