Born in Seattle, Washington, Hendrix began playing guitar at the age of 15. In 1961, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division; he was granted an honorable discharge the following year. Soon afterward, he moved to Clarksville, Tennessee, and began playing gigs on the Chitlin' Circuit, earning a place in the Isley Brothers' backing band and later with Little Richard, with whom he continued to work through mid-1965. He then played with Curtis Knight and the Squires before moving to England in late 1966 after being discovered by Linda Keith, who in turn interested bassist Chas Chandler of the Animals in becoming his first manager. Within months, Hendrix had earned three UK top ten hits with the Jimi Hendrix Experience: "Hey Joe", "Purple Haze", and "The Wind Cries Mary". He achieved fame in the U.S. after his performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, and in 1968 his third and final studio album, Electric Ladyland, reached number one in the U.S.; it was Hendrix's most commercially successful release and his first and only number one album. The world's highest-paid performer, he headlined the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, before his accidental death from barbiturate-related asphyxia on September 18, 1970, at the age of 27.
Hendrix was inspired musically by American rock and roll and electric blues. He favored overdriven amplifiers with high volume and gain, and was instrumental in utilizing the previously undesirable sounds caused by guitar amplifier feedback. He helped to popularize the use of a wah-wah pedal in mainstream rock, and was the first artist to use stereophonic phasing effects in music recordings. Holly George-Warren of Rolling Stone commented: "Hendrix pioneered the use of the instrument as an electronic sound source. Players before him had experimented with feedback and distortion, but Hendrix turned those effects and others into a controlled, fluid vocabulary every bit as personal as the blues with which he began."
Hendrix was the recipient of several music awards during his lifetime and posthumously. In 1967, readers of Melody Maker voted him the Pop Musician of the Year, and in 1968, Rolling Stone declared him the Performer of the Year. Disc and Music Echo honored him with the World Top Musician of 1969 and in 1970, Guitar Player named him the Rock Guitarist of the Year. The Jimi Hendrix Experience was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. Rolling Stone ranked the band's three studio albums, Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, and Electric Ladyland, among the 100 greatest albums of all time, and they ranked Hendrix as the greatest guitarist and the sixth greatest artist of all time.
04-Love Or Confusion
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Will it burn me it I touch the sun, yeah
So be it so round?
Will I be truthful, yeah
In a, choosing you as the one for me?
Is this love baby
Or is it a, just confusion?
Oh, my mind is so messed up goin' round 'n' round
Must there be all these colors without names
Without sounds, babe
My heart burns with feelin' but
Oh but my mind is cold and reeling
Is this love, baby
Or is it confusion?
Oh my head is pounding pounding
Going 'round and 'round and 'round and 'round
Must there always be these colors?
Without names without sound?
My heart burns with feelin' but
Oh but my mind is cold and reeling
Is this love, or is it just confusion?
Ah you tell me baby
Is this love or confusion
We must get together and find out
Exactly what we're trying to do
Confusion
and uncertainty about love are the main themes of Jimi Hendrix's song Love Or Confusion. The lyrics contrast the heat and passion of love with the cold and confusion of the mind. The opening line refers to the uncertainty of the singer about what he sees, whether it's rain or stars, and whether he could touch the sun without getting burned. The singer wonders if he could be truthful in choosing someone as the one for him.
As the song progresses, the singer's mind becomes more confused, as he questions whether the intense emotions he is feeling are love or something else entirely. He juxtaposes the colors and sounds in his heart with the coldness and confusion in his mind. At this point, he desperately asks the listener to help him understand whether what he is experiencing is love or just confusion.
The song beautifully captures the confusion and uncertainty that many people feel when they fall in love. Hendrix's haunting vocals and guitar work create an atmosphere of both passion and confusion that perfectly complements the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Is that the stars in the sky or is it rain fallin down?
Wondering if what is seen in the sky is a meteor shower or a rainfall.
Will it burn me it I touch the sun, yeah
Asking if touching something so hot like the sun will cause burns.
So be it so round?
Indicating agreement or acceptance of something, possibly referring to the shape of things.
Will I be truthful, yeah
Questioning if honesty will be shown.
In a, choosing you as the one for me?
Asking if it is the right decision to pick someone as a partner.
Is this love baby
Or is it a, just confusion?
Questioning if the strong feelings experienced are genuine love or just confusion.
Oh, my mind is so messed up goin' round 'n' round
Expressing a state of confusion, with thoughts circling around in the mind.
Must there be all these colors without names
Without sounds, babe
Questioning why colors and sounds are present but not given names or descriptions.
My heart burns with feelin' but
Oh but my mind is cold and reeling
Acknowledging a contrast between strong emotions felt and a rational, confused mind.
Is this love, baby
Or is it confusion?
Reiterating the main question, asking if these intense emotions are love or confusion.
Oh my head is pounding pounding
Going 'round and 'round and 'round and 'round
Describing a physical sensation of dizziness or confusion.
Must there always be these colors?
Without names without sound?
Repeating the question about the presence of colors and sounds without identification.
Ah you tell me baby
Is this love or confusion
Asking for someone else's opinion of whether what is being felt is love or confusion.
We must get together and find out
Exactly what we're trying to do
Stating the need for clarity and figuring out the true situation.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMI HENDRIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jmhart5248
Listened to this album since I've been 16 or so. I'm now 55 and never get tired of Hendrix.
@faygreen8509
It's interesting, i think i started listening to this album in earnest when i was like 14 and i feel the same way. now 33
@MicrowaveWalrus
one of the very best albums ever written. top10 no doubt about it.
@KolbyDgaming
For sure. Hendrix is Zeus.
@venusmc2824
Same here! 53 and still Rockin to Jimi! 🎸🔥💯
@peterlukach310
Your a boomer but your still cool 😎
@dlphcoracl9645
Hendrix's sense of timing and phrasing are impeccable. And no one has ever made a Stratocaster sound like this.
@charleswest6372
Left us too soon
@Natharsus
@Charles West I’m 22 and grew up listening to modern day, main stream hip hop. When I heard Hendrix I didn’t understand it at first. When I was 19 I gave his stuff another listen and I haven’t been able to stop listening since then. Idk what happened but it hit me like a brick wall and now I’m a massive Hendrix fan. Gone wayyy too soon!
@white.dragon.222
@Natharsus I'm 20 years old and feel the same, once you get it you can't stop listening to it anymore! It's so great to see other people around my age loving Hendrix too, sometimes I feel like an alien listening to all the old hippie blues by myself. The spirit lives on