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.
08 Purple Haze
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lately things they don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
Excuse me while I kiss the sky
Purple haze, all around
Don't know if I'm comin' up or down
Am I happy or in misery?
Help me
Help me
Oh, no, no
Ooh, ah
Ooh, ah
Ooh, ah
Ooh, ah, yeah!
Purple haze all in my eyes
Don't know if it's day or night
You got me blowin', blowin' my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?
Ooh
Help me
Ahh, yeah, yeah, purple haze
Oh, no, oh
Oh, help me
Tell me, tell me, purple haze
I can't go on like this
(Purple haze) you're makin' me blow my mind
Purple haze, n-no, no
(Purple haze)
The song Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix was released in 1967 and is considered one of the greatest rock songs of all time. The lyrics of the song are a bit ambiguous, but it is believed that the song is about the experience of being high on psychedelic drugs and the sensations that come with it. Hendrix describes feeling like he is in a daze, unsure of what is real and what is not. He feels like he is under a spell and cannot break free.
The first verse of the song suggests that Hendrix is experiencing a sort of mental fog, where things around him appear distorted and strange. He is struggling to make sense of his surroundings and is acting peculiarly without really knowing why. The line "Excuse me while I kiss the sky" has become synonymous with the song and is often interpreted as representing the feeling of euphoria that comes with being high.
In the second verse, Hendrix describes feeling like he is in a dream-like state, where time and reality are disorienting. He is not sure if he is happy or miserable, and he feels like he has been put under a spell by a woman. The repetition of the phrase "Help me" throughout the song suggests that he is struggling to break free from the haze that has taken over his mind.
Line by Line Meaning
Purple haze, all in my brain
I feel hypnotized and overwhelmed by the drug-induced state of my mind
Lately things they don't seem the same
My perception of reality has been altered in a profound and unsettling way
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
I'm behaving erratically due to the disorientation brought on by the drug
Excuse me while I kiss the sky
I am so high that I feel like I am transcending the limitations of my physical body and touching the heavens
Purple haze, all around
The psychedelic influence of the drug has penetrated all aspects of my environment
Don't know if I'm comin' up or down
I cannot decide if the drug is causing me to feel euphoric or depressed
Am I happy or in misery?
I am experiencing conflicting emotions that I cannot readily interpret or understand
What ever it is, that girl put a spell on me
My disorienting state is caused by the effects of the drug, but I am attributing it to a particular girl who I am fixating on
Help me
I am overwhelmed and struggling to come to terms with the intensity of the drug's influence on me
Ooh, ah
I am experiencing uncontrollable sensations of pleasure and pain
Ooh, ah, yeah!
The drug is alternately making me feel joyous and despairing
Purple haze all in my eyes
The drug-induced state of my mind is interfering with my ability to see clearly or navigate my surroundings
Don't know if it's day or night
I cannot discern basic temporal distinctions due to the overwhelming effects of the drug
You got me blowin', blowin' my mind
The drug has pushed my mind to a point of extreme cognitive and perceptual overload
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?
I am experiencing a profound sense of detachment from time and reality
Ahh, yeah, yeah, purple haze
The drug's influence over my mind and body is profound and all-encompassing
Oh, no, oh
I am becoming increasingly distraught and overwhelmed by the drug's influence
Tell me, tell me, purple haze
I am seeking some kind of guidance or relief from the overwhelming influence of the drug
I can't go on like this
I am becoming increasingly desperate and overwhelmed by the effects of the drug on my mind and body
(Purple haze) you're makin' me blow my mind
The influence of the drug on my mind and body is both profound and terrifying
Purple haze, n-no, no
The intensity of the drug's effects is becoming too much for me to handle
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jimi Hendrix
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fasuto
I love Hendrix' gestures
0:48
Excuse me while I kiss the sky
*Kisses the sky*
1:04
am I happy or in misery?
*Smiles*
1:55
Purple haze all in my eyes
*tries to get purple haze out of his eyes*
2:11
*Speaks guitar*
指男
Purple haze, all in my brain
Lately things don’t seem the same
Actin’ funny, but I don’t know why
‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky
Purple haze all around
Don’t know if I’m comin’ up or down
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me
Help me, help me
Oh, no, no
Uh, ah
Uh, ah
Uh, ah
Uh, ah
Yeah!
Purple haze all in my eyes
Don’t know if it’s day or night
You’ve got me blowin’, blowin’ my mind
Is it tomorrow or just the end of time?
Ooh, help me
Ah, oh yeah
Oh, no
Oh, help me
Tell me, tell me
I can’t go on like this
You’re makin’ me blow my mind
Uh-huh, oh
Purple haze
Purple haze
Purple haze
RebelThoughts82
People who saw him live back then don't know how lucky they are. They saw a true genius at work.
tonytonytony140
i know man... we can go there with our intuitional nature now.
jill hives
+RebelThoughts82
yes I do;)
The Second Initiate
+RebelThoughts82 I'm pretty sure they eventually realized how lucky they were lol...
mikeisamovie
+RebelThoughts82 i was both lucky and fortunate. i saw him twice in california; at the hollywood bowl in 68, and then at the forum in 69. everything you see on youtube is a nice reminder, but being there - no words...
Frank Irons
+Edward Badalian (Initiate) I'm pretty sure there were some that some realized his skills as he played.
Jack Spry
RIP the three members of The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970), aged 27
Noel Redding (December 25, 1945 – May 11, 2003), aged 57
Mitch Mitchell (July 9, 1946 – November 12, 2008), aged 62
You will be remembered as legends.
Sandra Lyons
Billy Cox is the bass player on this performance.
mahmoud mustaf
Yeah ! Rest in peace, the best of all
VisualSOLUTIONS Media
@Sandra Lyons That's right. Hendrix is backed by Cox and Mitchell here (half of Gypsies). This is post-Experience, and this July 4th, 1970 Atlanta set included new "solo" songs like Freedom. Interesting that "Hendrix" is not even in the video title!