"The time to hesitate is through"
About this Quote
A door slam disguised as a lyric, "The time to hesitate is through" turns indecision into something you can outgrow. Morrison isn’t politely encouraging confidence; he’s staging a countdown. The line arrives like a command from inside your own head, the part that’s tired of negotiating with fear. Its force comes from its grammar: not "don’t hesitate" (a scold), but "the time...is through" (a verdict). Hesitation is framed as a phase with an expiration date, and you just missed it.
In context, it’s inseparable from the late-60s Doors universe: desire, danger, and the sense that America’s rules are either collapsing or finally visible as theater. Morrison’s persona traded in ritual and provocation, and the lyric borrows that energy. It’s less self-help than initiation. Cross the threshold or don’t; the song won’t wait for you. That’s the subtext: the world is already moving, and your caution won’t slow the music down.
The line also carries a sly moral ambiguity. "Hesitate" is what you do before you commit to something you might regret. By declaring that moment "through", Morrison romanticizes the leap past prudence, where consent, appetite, and risk blur. That’s why it still hits: it flatters the listener’s impulse toward action while refusing to sanitize what action costs. In a culture that sells endless options and calls it freedom, Morrison’s bite is the same: choose, now, and live with it.
In context, it’s inseparable from the late-60s Doors universe: desire, danger, and the sense that America’s rules are either collapsing or finally visible as theater. Morrison’s persona traded in ritual and provocation, and the lyric borrows that energy. It’s less self-help than initiation. Cross the threshold or don’t; the song won’t wait for you. That’s the subtext: the world is already moving, and your caution won’t slow the music down.
The line also carries a sly moral ambiguity. "Hesitate" is what you do before you commit to something you might regret. By declaring that moment "through", Morrison romanticizes the leap past prudence, where consent, appetite, and risk blur. That’s why it still hits: it flatters the listener’s impulse toward action while refusing to sanitize what action costs. In a culture that sells endless options and calls it freedom, Morrison’s bite is the same: choose, now, and live with it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Motivational |
|---|---|
| Source | Lyric from "The End" (song), The Doors, 1967 — line "The time to hesitate is through" attributed to Jim Morrison (songwriter/lyricist). |
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