Music Blog

Light My Fire Unplugged

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Song Lyric Sunday.
Here’s what I have to say.

© Wikipedia.com

This week for Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday, the theme is “Unplugged”. The challenge? To write about an acoustic version of a song that was originally performed as electric.

While there are some fabulous acoustic artists I enjoy such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Cat Stevens and Alison Krauss, I have to be in the mood for acoustic. I’m much more of an electric girl, the bigger and louder the better … and not just R&R, hard rock or heavy metal. The Big Band sound and performers such as Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. with their big, loud, bands are fantastic. But sometimes a good thing can be taken too far, such as the big electric song “Light My Fire” by the Doors. We all knew it, we loved it … until AM and FM radio stations started playing the hell out of it; that’s an excellent way to kill a song for me. The “long version” with its never-ending keyboard solo was too much and it got to the point where I couldn’t stand to hear the song anymore. Enough already! Somebody pull the plug!

And then along came something completely different.

José Feliciano is a vocalist and guitarist from Puerto Rico. Born blind as a result of congenital glaucoma, he was first exposed to music at the age of three, playing on a cracker tin while accompanying his uncle who played the cuatro … a four-stringed instrument in the lute family. When Feliciano was five, his family moved to Spanish Harlem, New York City.

Feliciano’s knack for music became apparent when, at age seven, he taught himself to play the accordion. When he was nine years old, his father gave him his first guitar. He played his guitar alone in his room for hours and learned by listening to 1950s R&R, records of classical guitarists, and jazz players. In 1963 he gained recognition in pubs, coffee houses and clubs throughout the US and Canada, especially in Greenwich Village. He was discovered while performing at Gerde’s Folk City in the Village and immediately signed by Jack Somer, an executive at RCA Victor. Feliciano recounts the story of doing an impression of Bob Dylan, only to learn that Dylan was in the audience that night.

As time went on, José Feliciano began making a name for himself. In 1968, significant international success came with the release of his acoustic version of “Light My Fire” from his album Feliciano!. Only a year after the original had been a #1 hit, his cover spent twelve weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100; debuting at #62 the week of July 27, the record peaked at #3 one month later. José’s version became a bigger hit in Australia and Canada, where it reached #1. Feliciano! was a blend of Latin influences, including a mixture of classic Spanish guitar and soul with American pop. “Light My Fire”, was originally intended to be the B side to his version of “California Dreamin’” by The Mamas & The Papas; however, when the single was released, “Light My Fire” was Side A and “California Dreamin’” was Side B.

The single helped to spur worldwide success of the album, Feliciano!, which was nominated for multiple Grammy Awards in 1969. Feliciano’s cover opened the door for many other performers, including Amii Stewart, Will Young, Minnie Ripperton, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra and even William Shatner, who all recorded their own version of “Light My Fire”. Doors guitarist and songwriter Robby Krieger said in an interview about Feliciano’s cover: “It’s really a great feeling to have written a classic. I think I owe a big debt to José Feliciano because he is actually the one, when he did it, everybody started doing it. He did a whole different arrangement on it.”

This is “Light My Fire” by José Feliciano


LYRICS

You know that it would be untrue
You know that I would be a liar
If I was to say to you, yeah
Girl, we couldn't get much higher
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire
The time for hesitation's through
There's no time to wallow in the mire
Darling we can only lose
And our love become a funeral pyre
Come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
Well, you know that it would be untrue
And you know that I would be a liar
If I was to go and tell you
Momma we couldn't get much higher
Well, come on baby, light my fire
Come on baby, light my fire
Try to set the night on fire, yeah
Yeah, come on baby light, would you light my fire, yeah
Come on baby light my fire, would you, oh it's alright
Light my fire, light my fire, light my fire
Light my fire, light my fire, light my fire, girl
You better light my fire
Come on baby, you better light, you better light my fire......
 
Written by: John Densmore, Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek
Lyrics © Doors Music Company
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

Unplugged

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to some tunes.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy’s Notes 🖊️🎶, The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, The Rhythm Section, et al., and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

53 thoughts on “Light My Fire Unplugged”

  6. Excellent choice, Nancy, at least in my book. When I started taking classical guitar lessons in my early teens, Jose Feliciano became one of my early guitar heroes.

    I got his outstanding 1970 studio album “Fireworks.” It doesn’t include “Light My Fire,” a fantastic rendition, but there are many other gems on there, including great instrumental and vocal of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood”, “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window”, “Blackbird”, “Yesterday” and “Let It Be.”

    Not only is Feliciano an outstanding guitarist from a technical standpoint, but the man’s passion is truly amazing.

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    1. Thank you for that excellent comment, Christian. I wrote about Feliciano practicing the guitar for hours alone in his room; for most of us that would be 2, maybe 3 hours but for him it was 14 hours per day! You don’t get to be as great a guitar play as José Feliciano without the dedication, determination and that passion you mentioned. Thanks for sharing your thoughts today. Much appreciated!

      I’m going to check out Fireworks.

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      1. Agree, while I practiced the guitar almost every day, typically at least for an hour, it takes a lot to get to a level like Feliciano. And without meaning to romanticize blindness, I’m also wondering to what extent the loss of sight might intensify other senses, especially hearing.

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  10. It has been years since I last listened to José Feliciano’s cover of this song, and it sounded really good to me today. Thanks for sharing your music, Nancy and for the insight into his life that you shared in your post.

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    1. Always a lot of fun participating in SLS, Jim; thanks for your comments and for keeping the blog going.

      Feliciano is such an incredible guitarist and sings with an amazing amount of soul. I always found this version of the Doors classic to be calming and a lovely way to relax, close my eyes and listen. His cover of California Dreamin’ is outstanding. Which reminds me ….. doing a covers challenge might be a fun theme. You’ve probably featured that already; I really enjoy a good cover.

      Thanks again, Jim.

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      1. Earlier this year on February 16, 2025, we had Cover song that you feel was better than the original, but we can do that again if we have a new spin on it. Like maybe a cover song that was strange or unexpected. or one that added new verses or changed the perspective of the song. Think it over and het back to me.

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  12. A fabulous choice, and I have the one in my music collection, Nancy … meanwhile down here in Aussieland, here’s a great “unplugged” from the amazing Mark Seymour (Hunters and Collectors) … I’m writing a poem about rivers at the moment, so, this song quite appropriate … https://youtu.be/_6L00YGntME

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    1. That’s funny, Clive. The video you chose won’t play here!

      As I commented to Lisa just now, José Feliciano was not my first choice; he was actually my third. There were two other songs I thought about featuring before going with Light My Fire. One, I decided, would spark a lot of political comments and I wanted to avoid that. The other was one I was sure someone else would choose. If no one goes with that song, I may add it later.

      José Feliciano is an amazing guitarist and his version of Light My Fire is quite beautiful. Hope you enjoyed it.

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  15. Great choice, Nancy. I think I may have misinterpreted Jim’s prompt, as I thought it was about an artist or group who recorded an acoustic version of his/her/their electric version of their own song. Oh well.

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    3. First off, who you are, Anonymous?

      Second, you didn’t misinterpret anything. The video you go with can be the original artist performing an acoustic version of their electric song or an acoustic cover by another performer, which is what I did. There is no right or wrong for this particular challenge.

      I hope you participate, Anon. Thanks!

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    1. Personally, I don’t get why people think the Doors are so terrific. Their music is ok and Morrison was a so-so singer. It’s all about the persona and the performance. Morrison was also pretty good looking which doesn’t hurt. We saw them perform live and it was a fabulous performance, due primarily to Morrison’s mystique and magnetism. He could have been a cult leader at some point, you know? He had that charm and “I’m cool; I’m a poet” personality. Then he got fat and it all when to shit. Then again, most things seem that much better when you’re stoned on really good weed. 😎

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      1. They’re not my favorite classic rock act by a long shot, but I can appreciate a good share of what they did.
        And I agree totally that Morrison’s aura was a huge part of the draw. And I am sure the drugs did make it all sound better LOL!
        If you think the Doors version has a long keyboard solo, you can check out Rick Wakeman’s version. It’s one big keyboard solo 😄

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