"My Wild Love" is a song written by all the members of The Doors

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

. It is included in their third album Waiting for the Sun

Waiting for the Sun

Waiting for the Sun is the third studio album by the American rock band The Doors. It was released in 1968 and became the band's first and only number one album and spawned their second US number one single, "Hello, I Love You". It also became the band's first hit album in the UK, where it peaked...

(1968) and it is their only song performed in a capella. Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison

James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...

's vocals are backed up by the band members vocals, performing different sorts of sounds with their mouths and clapping hands. The style evidently refers to African American work song

Work song

A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a specific form of work, either sung while conducting a task or a song linked to a task or trade which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song....

s in its severity and simplicity. The structure of the verse is based on call-and-response

Call and response (music)

In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...

 scheme. There are also typical blues motifs in lyrics.

According to the book No One Here Gets Out Alive

No One Here Gets Out Alive

No One Here Gets Out Alive was the first biography of Jim Morrison, lead singer and lyricist of the L.A. rock band The Doors, written after his death by journalist Jerry Hopkins, with later "insider" information added by Danny Sugerman. The book is largely credited with revitalizing the popularity...

, "My Wild Love" was improvised in the studio because additional songs were needed on short notice after the 17 minute track "The Celebration of the Lizard" was scrapped. The song has a spoken-word style that is similar "Whiskey, Mystics & Men

Whiskey, Mystics & Men

"Whiskey, Mystics & Men" is a song by The Doors from the compilation Essential Rarities.-Overview:The song released on the 2000 compilation is mostly a studio creation, the vocal parts of Morrison are the same as the ones in the bootleg Missing Links "Whiskey, Mystics & Men" is a song by The Doors...

", which was recorded during sessions for The Soft Parade

The Soft Parade

The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by The Doors, released in 1969.The album met with some controversy among fans and critics due to its inclusion of brass and string instrument arrangements, as opposed to the more stripped-down sound of their earlier recordings...

but was not officially released until its inclusion on The Doors: Box Set

The Doors: Box Set

This is the first box set by the band The Doors released on October 28, 1997. The set includes previously rare and unreleased demo recordings.-Track listing:All songs written by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore, except where noted....

in 1997.

Lyrics

The lyrics have been discussed and the song has no distinct explanation. Some claims that it touches upon Morrison's long-term companion: Pamela Courson

Pamela Courson

Pamela Susan Courson was the long-term companion of Jim Morrison, vocalist of The Doors. After the deaths of Morrison and Courson, her parents petitioned an out-of-state court to declare that the couple had a common-law marriage.-Early life and involvement with Morrison:Courson was born in Weed,...

's heroin addiction. "My love went riding, she rode all the day" should then be a Euphemism

Euphemism

A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...

 for the use of the drug. The following part of the song that reads "She wrote to the devil
And asked him to pay.
The devil was wiser.
It's time to repent.
He asked her to give back
The money she spent." should then touch upon the remorse she would feel after using the drug, and the devil would be a symbol for the drug.

Another simple theory is that the song is based on one of Morrison's LSD

LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...

-hallucinations.