All Along the Watchtower
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
There must be some kind of way outta here
Said the joker to the thief
There's too much confusion
I can't get no relief
Business men, they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None will level on the line
Nobody offered his word
Hey, hey
No reason to get excited
The thief, he kindly spoke
There are many here among us
Who feel that life is but a joke
But, uh, but you and I, we've been through that
And this is not our fate
So let us stop talkin' falsely now
The hour's getting late, hey
Hey
All along the watchtower
Princes kept the view
While all the women came and went
Barefoot servants, too
Well, uh, outside in the cold distance
A wildcat did growl
Two riders were approaching
And the wind began to howl, hey
All along the watchtower
All along the watchtower
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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This track is a cover of the Bob Dylan’s song “All Along The Watchtower”. However many do not realise this due to the popularity of Hendrix’s version.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience began to record their cover version of Dylan's “All Along The Watchtower” on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London. According to engineer Andy Johns, Jimi Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. Read Full BioThis track is a cover of the Bob Dylan’s song “All Along The Watchtower”. However many do not realise this due to the popularity of Hendrix’s version.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience began to record their cover version of Dylan's “All Along The Watchtower” on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London. According to engineer Andy Johns, Jimi Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. “(Hendrix) came in with these Dylan tapes and we all heard them for the first time in the studio”, recalled Johns. According to Hendrix’s regular engineer Eddie Kramer, the guitarist cut a large number of takes on the first day, shouting chord changes at Dave Mason who had appeared at the session and played guitar. Halfway through the session, bass player Noel Redding became dissatisfied with the proceedings and left. Mason then took over on bass. According to Kramer, the final bass part was played by Hendrix himself. Kramer and Chas Chandler mixed the first version of "All Along The Watchtower" on January 26th, but Hendrix was quickly dissatisfied with the result and went on re-recording and overdubbing guitar parts during June, July, and August at the Record Plant studio in New York. Engineer Tony Bongiovi has described Hendrix becoming increasingly dissatisfied as the song progressed, overdubbing more and more guitar parts, moving the master tape from a four-track to a twelve-track to a sixteen-track machine. Bongiovi recalled, "Recording these new ideas meant he would have to erase something. In the weeks prior to the mixing, we had already recorded a number of overdubs, wiping track after track. [Hendrix] kept saying, ‘I think I hear it a little bit differently.’” The finished version was released on the album Electric Ladyland in September 1968. The single reached number five in the British charts, and number 20 on the Billboard (magazine) chart. The song also had the #5 spot on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience began to record their cover version of Dylan's “All Along The Watchtower” on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London. According to engineer Andy Johns, Jimi Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. Read Full BioThis track is a cover of the Bob Dylan’s song “All Along The Watchtower”. However many do not realise this due to the popularity of Hendrix’s version.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience began to record their cover version of Dylan's “All Along The Watchtower” on January 21, 1968, at Olympic Studios in London. According to engineer Andy Johns, Jimi Hendrix had been given a tape of Dylan’s recording by publicist Michael Goldstein, who worked for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. “(Hendrix) came in with these Dylan tapes and we all heard them for the first time in the studio”, recalled Johns. According to Hendrix’s regular engineer Eddie Kramer, the guitarist cut a large number of takes on the first day, shouting chord changes at Dave Mason who had appeared at the session and played guitar. Halfway through the session, bass player Noel Redding became dissatisfied with the proceedings and left. Mason then took over on bass. According to Kramer, the final bass part was played by Hendrix himself. Kramer and Chas Chandler mixed the first version of "All Along The Watchtower" on January 26th, but Hendrix was quickly dissatisfied with the result and went on re-recording and overdubbing guitar parts during June, July, and August at the Record Plant studio in New York. Engineer Tony Bongiovi has described Hendrix becoming increasingly dissatisfied as the song progressed, overdubbing more and more guitar parts, moving the master tape from a four-track to a twelve-track to a sixteen-track machine. Bongiovi recalled, "Recording these new ideas meant he would have to erase something. In the weeks prior to the mixing, we had already recorded a number of overdubs, wiping track after track. [Hendrix] kept saying, ‘I think I hear it a little bit differently.’” The finished version was released on the album Electric Ladyland in September 1968. The single reached number five in the British charts, and number 20 on the Billboard (magazine) chart. The song also had the #5 spot on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.
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EricBlackmonGuitar
My favorite guitarist of all time.
Daniel Irimescu
Afroamericans are not very fond of him and i do not understand why ?
manos michas
what about manolis chiotis?
Andrew Bates
He's not bad for a leftie ;)
Caleb Davis
Hell yeah, I got a hat to show it to lmao
Broken Skateboards
@VeryStableGenius ah yes, definitely!
Dwight Emerson
This is probably the greatest cover of all time. Most think it's Hendrix's song but it was actually written and first sung by Dylan. Thanks to both.
Jerry Whalen
Don't forget "1983 A Merman I should Turn To Be." That tune from the Electric Ladyland album is a true work of art. Listen to every sound completely and repeat as needed.
KLOSTER777
Watt ?
R. K.
Yes, but most people don't realize that Jimi only sang on this song, he didn't play the guitar parts. The guitar was played by a session musician named John Farley who died of a drug overdose shortly after recording this. The record company had the unfinished tracks on tape and approached Hendrix and band about replacing the original drums and bass, and adding Hendrix's vocals. Jimi flipped when he heard the version and added his vocals, but only on condition that he could release it one of his albums without mention of John Farley playing the guitar parts.