"Land Ho" is an expression used by sailors when they saw a land after being surrounded with nothing except the ocean for a long time. The song is a story of the sea that represents a quest for freedom.
Doors frontman Jim Morrison adapted the lyrics from a modified poem of his, and guitarist Robbie Krieger came up with the lick and the drop tuning. Morrison's father and his grandfather were both naval men, and "Land Ho" goes together with "Ship Of Fools." "They're both about seafaring and pioneer spirits and life on the ocean, Krieger told Louder Sound in 2023. "They're about people leaving earth, and the idea of the first people to come to American shores. 'Land Ho!' sounds biographical. I always thought he wrote it about his own grandfather, but you'd have to ask him."
Drummer John Densmore created a skiffle beat for the song. In the '50s, skiffle was a popular style in England, with amateur musicians using jugs, washboards, and whatever else they had handy to make music.
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