A changeling is a mythological creature who is substituted for a human baby. They're often unpredictable and can become outcasts, which is how Doors frontman Jim Morrison frames himself in this song, where you never know where he'll show up next.
Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and drummer John Densmore commented on the song in an LA Weekly piece from January 19, 2012. Manzarek observed that the song tells the story of Morrison's adventurous life in Los Angeles. Densmore said that from the time they met to the time he died, Morrison changed from "Michelangelo's statue of David" to "overweight with a beard."
Jim Morrison may have gotten the idea for this song from a student film he saw at USC in 1968 called Changeling. There have been other movies with that title as well, including one released in 2008 directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie.
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