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.
Can You See Me
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Woo yeah
Can you see me baby
Baby please don't leave
Yeah if you can see me doing that
You can see in the future of a thousand years
Can you hear me?
Cryin' all over town
Can you hear me baby?
Crying cause you put me down
What's with ya
If you can hear me doing that
You can hear a freight train coming from a thousand miles
Ah yeah
Can you hear me?
Singing this song to you
Ah you better hold up your ears baby
Can you hear me baby?
Singing this song to you
Ah shucks
If you can hear me sing
You better come home like you supposed to do
Can you see me?
Hey hey
I don't believe you can see me
Woo yeah
Can you hear me baby?
I don't believe you can
You can't see me
The Jimi Hendrix Experience's song "Can You See Me" starts with the singer begging and pleading for his lover to stay. He asks if she can see him on his knees, and if she can see him crying all over town because she left him. He goes on to ask if she can see into the future, and if she can hear him singing this song to her. The repeated question of "Can you see me?" and "Can you hear me?" is a plea to his lover to pay attention to him and not ignore his feelings.
The song's lyrics are expressing the frustration and pain of being ignored by someone you love. The singer feels invisible and unheard, and his questions are a desperate plea for recognition and validation. The repetition of the questions creates a sense of urgency and desperation, as if the singer is willing to do anything to be seen and heard.
Overall, "Can You See Me" is a powerful song about the pain of unrequited love and the longing for connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Can you see me, begging you on my knees
I am desperately pleading with you to pay attention to me, I feel low and helpless.
Woo yeah
Exclamation of emotion and energy, emphasizing the intensity of my plea.
Can you see me baby
I am questioning if you are aware of my existence and emotions, asking you to acknowledge me.
Baby please don't leave
I fear abandonment and rejection, and I am begging you to stay with me.
Yeah if you can see me doing that
If you can observe me in this vulnerable state, then you have the ability to see beyond the present moment.
You can see in the future of a thousand years
Your ability to comprehend my emotions and actions now indicates that you have foresight, the ability to see into the future.
Can you hear me?
Similar to my plea for being seen, I am asking if you can hear me emotionally and understand my words.
Cryin' all over town
I am expressing my emotional distress to anyone who will listen in hopes of feeling heard and understood.
Yeah babe
Emphatic expression of my emotions and continued plea for attention and understanding.
Can you hear me baby?
Repeating my request for emotional understanding from you, the subject of my devotion.
Crying cause you put me down
I am emotionally hurt by your actions toward me, and I am expressing that hurt through tears and sadness.
What's with ya
I am asking you to explain yourself and help me understand why you would treat me this way.
If you can hear me doing that
Your ability to hear my emotional plea again indicates your ability to see beyond the present moment and comprehend my emotions.
You can hear a freight train coming from a thousand miles
Your ability to hear and understand me emotionally is so powerful that it is equivalent to hearing a loud, distant sound like a freight train.
Ah yeah
Exclamatory interjection emphasizing the strength of my emotions and the importance of this plea.
Singing this song to you
I am communicating my emotions and message through music and song, hoping you will finally understand me.
Ah you better hold up your ears baby
Reiterating the importance of listening to my emotional plea, emphasizing that it is crucial for our relationship.
Ah shucks
Expression of disappointment and resignation, implying that I am losing hope of being understood.
If you can hear me sing
Repeating the importance of your ability to understand my emotions through music and song.
You better come home like you supposed to do
I am again pleading with you to come back to me, treatment that I believe I am entitled to in our relationship.
Hey hey
Exclamatory interjection bringing the focus back to my plea and my desire for attention and understanding.
I don't believe you can see me
Despite my continued pleas and efforts, I am starting to lose faith that you will ever understand or acknowledge me emotionally.
Woo yeah
Emphatic expression of my doubt and emotional turmoil, highlighting my desperation for attention and understanding.
I don't believe you can
Repeating my lack of faith in your ability to understand my emotions, continuing my emotional plea.
You can't see me
Concluding my song with a statement of disappointment and resignation in your lack of understanding of my emotions and experiences.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMI HENDRIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carlos Arturo Sousa Garrido Lecca
Can You See Me Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Can you see me, yeah, begging you on my knees?
Whoa yeah!
Can you see me, baby?
Baby, please don't leave
Yeah, if you can see me doing that
You can see in the future of a thousand years
[Verse 2]
Can you hear me? Crying all over town
Yeah, babe
Can you hear me, baby? Crying 'cause you put me down
Must be joking
If you can hear me doing that you can
Hear a freight train coming from a thousand miles
[Guitar solo]
Ah yeah
[Verse 3]
Can you hear me? Singing this song to you
Ah, you better open up your ears
Can you hear me, baby? Singing this song to you
Ah shucks!
If you can hear me sing
You better come home like you're supposed to do
[Outro]
Can you see me?
Hey, hey
I don't believe you can see me
Whoa yeah!
Can you hear me baby?
I don't believe you can
You can't see me
Samurai
[Verse 1]
Can you see me, yeah, begging you on my knees?
Whoa yeah!
Can you see me, baby?
Baby, please don't leave
Yeah, if you can see me doing that
You can see in the future of a thousand years
[Verse 2]
Can you hear me? Crying all over town
Yeah, babe
Can you hear me, baby? Crying 'cause you put me down
Must be joking
If you can hear me doing that you can
Hear a freight train coming from a thousand miles
[Guitar solo]
Ah yeah
[Verse 3]
Can you hear me? Singing this song to you
Ah, you better open up your ears
Can you hear me, baby? Singing this song to you
Ah shucks!
If you can hear me sing
You better come home like you're supposed to do
[Outro]
Can you see me?
Hey, hey
I don't believe you can see me
Whoa yeah!
Can you hear me baby?
I don't believe you can
You can't see me
ArcticFox87
This is the best video of this song..please don't delete this video. History needs this amazing song in the archives forever.
pieterklaaskrugmann
Thats true, but the Hendrix gestapo will delete it...😖copyright and stuff....thanx Hendrix gestapo an FU
Cosmo Spidahl
I was surprised it was the only upload. cray cray
John Toomey
It's Jimis half sister blocking his music from You Tube she's got the rights to his music
rayvandragon
La primera canción que escuché del gran Jimi Hendrix...tendria unos 13 años...me impactó para siempre. Ahora puedo tocarla con mi guitarra y sentirla de dentro afuera. Y es como si me incendiara por dentro. Es la magia de Jimi ❤️🔥🎸
Texturas75
Esa estirada de cuerda me eriza la piel! Por ese detalle estoy tratando de sacarla en la guitarra.
rayvandragon
@Texturas75 yo ahí realizo un double bend y lo hago vibrar en todo el compás. Suena un poco diferente pero queda muy bien.
Shadows Black
Nuevamente muchas Gracias por subtitular las canciones de Jimi Hendrix. Si pudieras subtitular las canciones de la trinidad de esa epoca: The Doors, Janis Joplin y Jimi Hendrix, sería excelente.
Ruben Calderon
Jimi's guitar is always 👌.
Carlos Arturo Sousa Garrido Lecca
Can You See Me Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Can you see me, yeah, begging you on my knees?
Whoa yeah!
Can you see me, baby?
Baby, please don't leave
Yeah, if you can see me doing that
You can see in the future of a thousand years
[Verse 2]
Can you hear me? Crying all over town
Yeah, babe
Can you hear me, baby? Crying 'cause you put me down
Must be joking
If you can hear me doing that you can
Hear a freight train coming from a thousand miles
[Guitar solo]
Ah yeah
[Verse 3]
Can you hear me? Singing this song to you
Ah, you better open up your ears
Can you hear me, baby? Singing this song to you
Ah shucks!
If you can hear me sing
You better come home like you're supposed to do
[Outro]
Can you see me?
Hey, hey
I don't believe you can see me
Whoa yeah!
Can you hear me baby?
I don't believe you can
You can't see me