James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942… Read Full Bio ↴James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) was an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music".

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.

Let me go
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics

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You're gonna get it straight from the shoulder
Can't you see the party's over
Let me go
Can't you get it through your thick head
This affair is finished - dead
Hey, let me go
I tried giving you the velvet gloves
I tried giving you the knockout punch

Hey, let me go
Let me go
Let me go
Let me go
Let me go
I find it hard to be cruel
I find it hard to be cruel
With a smile, don't you?
You'll never find that perfect love
That you read about
That you dream about
Maybe I'll become a playboy
Hang around in gay bars
And move to the west side of town
You're gonna get it straight from the shoulder
Can't you see the party's over
Hey, let me go
Let me go
So you think I'm giving you the brush off
Well I'm just telling you to shove off
Hey, let me go
This ain't no time to waste my breath
We're going into sudden death
Hey, let me go
Can't you get it through your thick head
This affair is dead as a doornail
Hey, baby won't you let me go
The bell has rung, and I've called time
The chair is on the table, out the door baby

Baby won't you let me go
Let me go...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jimi Hendrix's "Let Me Go" tell the story of a breakup with his lover. He is frustrated and wants to end the relationship, but his partner seems to be unwilling to accept the reality of the situation. The lyrics are blunt and to the point, with a sense of finality evident throughout the song.

Hendrix begins the song by addressing his partner directly: "You're gonna get it straight from the shoulder/ Can't you see the party's over/ Let me go." He then goes on to express his displeasure and impatience at his partner's apparent unwillingness to accept that the relationship is ending. He tries several times to make it clear that it's over, using phrases such as "This affair is finished - dead" and "Can't you get it through your thick head/ This affair is dead as a doornail." However, despite his direct approach, his partner still seems to cling to the relationship, prompting Hendrix to repeatedly request release: "Hey, let me go/ Let me go/ Let me go."

In the end, Hendrix suggests that he might move on to a more carefree lifestyle to ease his heartbreak: "Maybe I'll become a playboy/ Hang around in gay bars/ And move to the west side of town." He concludes with a final plea to his partner to accept the end of their relationship and allow him to go on with his life: "Baby won't you let me go."

Line by Line Meaning

You're gonna get it straight from the shoulder
I am going to be honest and direct with you

Can't you see the party's over
Our relationship is done

Let me go
I want to leave this relationship

Can't you get it through your thick head
I need you to understand

This affair is finished - dead
Our relationship is over and cannot be revived

Hey, let me go
I am serious about leaving this relationship

I tried giving you the velvet gloves
I tried being gentle with you

I tried giving you the knockout punch
I tried being forceful with you

Let me go
I want to leave this relationship

I find it hard to be cruel
I don't want to hurt you

With a smile, don't you?
I am trying to be kind even though I am leaving you

You'll never find that perfect love
You have unrealistic expectations of love

That you read about
The kind of love you see in books or movies

That you dream about
The kind of love you dream of having

Maybe I'll become a playboy
Perhaps I will become a womanizer

Hang around in gay bars
I might spend time in gay bars

And move to the west side of town
I might change where I live

You're gonna get it straight from the shoulder
I need to be honest with you

Can't you see the party's over
Our relationship is finished

Hey, let me go
I want to leave this relationship

Let me go
I want to leave this relationship

So you think I'm giving you the brush off
You believe I am rejecting you

Well I'm just telling you to shove off
I am telling you to leave me alone

Hey, let me go
I want to leave this relationship

This ain't no time to waste my breath
I don't want to waste time on this anymore

We're going into sudden death
Our relationship is ending suddenly

Hey, let me go
I want to leave this relationship

Can't you get it through your thick head
I need you to understand

This affair is dead as a doornail
Our relationship is over and cannot be revived

Hey, baby won't you let me go
I am asking you to end this relationship

The bell has rung, and I've called time
Our relationship is over

The chair is on the table, out the door baby
I am leaving and our relationship is finished

Baby won't you let me go
I want to leave this relationship

Let me go...
I need to leave this relationship

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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