Castles Made of Sand
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics

Down the street you can hear her scream "you're a disgrace"
A woman hurls insults at a man who has behaved badly and she is so loud that people around can hear her.

As she slams the door in his drunken face,
The woman, infuriated with the man, shuts the door in his face as he is too drunk and has been behaving inappropriately.

And now he stands outside
The man is now outside the door, reflecting on what has just happened.

And all the neighbors start to gossip and drool
People in the neighborhood have started talking about the incident and are evidently enjoying some form of drama.

He cries "Oh girl, you must be mad,
The man instantly regrets his actions and utters an apology to the woman who screamed at him.

What happened to the sweet love you and me had?"
The man laments that things between him and the woman have taken a sour turn, even though they once shared a romantic relationship.

Against the door he leans and starts a scene,
He leans on the door and starts making a scene, trying to get the woman to talk to him or let him in.

And his tears fall and burn the garden green
He's so wrought with emotions that his tears seem to burn everything around him, including the garden vegetation.

And so castles made of sand,
This is a reflection on the fragility of emotions and relationships. Things that are built too quickly will only eventually crumble.

Fall in the sea, eventually
Just like castles made of sand will eventually crumble, our emotions and relationships will eventually come to an end.

A little Indian brave who before he was ten,
This is a reference to a young Native American child who grew up in the woods and had dreams of becoming a great warrior.

Played war games in the woods with his Indian friends,
As a child, he spent his days playing games of war with his friends, imagining himself to be a great warrior one day.

And he built a dream that when he grew up,
He had a dream of growing up to be a great warrior one day.

He would be a fearless warrior Indian Chief
His dream was to become a chief of his tribe and lead them fearlessly in battles.

Many moons passed and more the dream grew stronger,
As the young man grew older, his dreams of becoming a great warrior only grew stronger.

Until tomorrow, he would sing his first war song,
The next day, he was planning to sing his first war song and lead his people into battle.

And fight his first battle, but something went wrong,
Unfortunately, something went wrong and he was unable to fight his first battle as planned.

Surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night
He was killed in a surprise attack while he was asleep that night.

And so castles made of sand,
Just like the dreams of the Indian brave, things that we build up too high too soon will eventually fall apart.

Melts into the sea, eventually
Just like castles made of sand, our biggest dreams and aspirations will eventually fade out and disappear as well, due to various reasons.

There was a young girl, whose heart was a frown,
This is the story of a young girl who is very unhappy and is in a depressed state.

'Cause she was crippled for life, and she couldn't speak a sound
This girl had physical disabilities and couldn't speak, making it even harder for her to express her emotions.

And she wished and prayed she could stop living,
Due to her difficult circumstances, she was so unhappy with life that she wished she could end it all.

So she decided to die
This young girl decided to take her own life despite the fact that she had so much to live for, including seeing the golden-winged ship.

She drew her wheel chair to the edge of the shore, and to her legs she smiled
As she drew her wheelchair to the shore before ending her life, the young girl smiled, as if she had found some form of contentment.

"You won't hurt me no more"
She found solace in the fact that all her physical pain and emotional distress would come to an end and she wouldn't be hurt anymore.

But then a sight she'd never seen made her jump and say
As she prepares to end her life, she sees something she's never seen before, which takes her by surprise.

"Look, a golden winged ship is passing my way"
The ship is symbolic of life and the journey that comes with it. The young girl sees it and begins to question whether she should end her life, holding out for the possibility that life could get better.

And it really didn't have to stop, it just kept on going
This is a reflection on life itself, how it doesn't pause for anyone and just keeps moving forward.

And so castles made of sand
This line in the song represents the fragility of life; we go through many ups and downs, constantly trying to find a foothold in the ever-changing situations we face.

Slips into the sea, eventually
This represents the transient nature of life; no matter how hard we try to cling onto it, our time will eventually come to an end, just like castles made of sand that are eroded away by the sea.