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.
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Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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With a circus mind
That's running wild
Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams
And fairly tales
That's all she ever thinks about
When I'm sad she comes to me
With a thousand smiles
She gives to me free
It's alright, she says
It's alright
Take anything you want from me
Anything
Fly on, little wing
The above lyrics to Jimi Hendrix Experience's song, Little Wing, are packed with imagery and are indicative of Jimi's ability to provide insightful commentary through his music. The song is essentially a tribute to the deeply imaginative and whimsical nature of women, and how they possess the ability to lift us up when we're feeling down. Jimi's use of butterflies, zebras, and moonbeams creates a dreamlike atmosphere that perfectly aligns with the ethereal instrumentals accompanying his powerful vocals.
The opening of the song directly associates the girl in question with a "circus mind" that is "running wild." This imagery represents the woman's uncontrollable and imaginative nature, one that is full of wonder and awe. She constantly thinks about butterflies, zebras, and fairytales, which further emphasize her fantastical way of thinking. The final lines encapsulate the theme of the song where, despite the woman's surreal world, she manages to comfort Jimi and make everything all right. He encourages her to fly on, back to her world, and he'll be left behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Well she's walking through the clouds
She's imaginative and dreamy, imagining herself in a world that isn't always grounded in reality.
With a circus mind
Her mind is busy and chaotic, filled with fanciful thoughts and ideas that are constantly on the go.
That's running wild
Her thoughts and imagination are unhinged and uncontrolled, existing alongside each other without restrictions.
Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams
Her thoughts are great and grand, filled with wonders such as enchanted creatures that keep her captivated in her own world.
And fairy tales
She is infatuated with the magical and surreal world of fairy tales and the fantastical elements contained within them.
That's all she ever thinks about
The only things that occupy her mind are her overactive imagination, and her senses are highly alert to the world that’s ever-so-carefully placed in her consciousness.
Riding the wind
She is liberated from her mundane life and allows the unknown to take hold of her.
When I'm sad she comes to me
When he's in a vulnerable state of mind, she's the one who comforts him through her words and presence.
With a thousand smiles
She is exuding joy and happiness, offering great amounts of positive and loving energy to help him get through his pain.
She gives to me free
She gives only out of the genuine concern and care in her heart, with no expectation for reciprocation.
It's alright, she says
She's assuring him that everything will be okay and that he just needs to believe in himself and have faith in her that everything will be okay.
It's alright
She's reemphasizing that everything is already okay and that he doesn't need to stress himself over things that are out of his control.
Take anything you want from me
She's genuine, and he can trust and depend on her, so she offers to give him any support that he needs to ease his heart and burden.
Anything
She offers everything that she has without any limitations, asking nothing in return.
Fly on, little wing
She's telling him to embrace and cherish the freedom of choice and to take on anything that comes his way. She encourages him to continue flying despite any obstacles that might come his way.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMI HENDRIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@iker8010
Why do I have the feeling that this is the first thing you see when you enter heaven?
@thepugking319
That would the best heaven ever
@biacampbell676
I truly hope so 🤟
@MrJohanable
He doesn’t play it, he makes it sing.
@SigmaWarrior1978
That’s because it will be.
@SaltpeterTaffy
Heaven wastes too much film, apparently.
@joshclausen2944
Jimi Hendrix's unplugged album is locked up at Area 51.
@yeahyeahyeah-7674
Josh Clausen imma go straight for it, nothing else
@brianf481
Let's go get dem' unplugged alien's.
@yunits
let’s get it boyz