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.
Look Over Yonder
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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The thirteenth of any time, powered by fools
I can see 'em comin'
Wearing a blue armored coat
You're sittin' here with your violins
Hittin' wrong notes
Look over yonder, he's comin' my way
When he's around, I never have a happy day
Look over yonder, look over yonder, look over yonder etc.
Look over yonder
Well, he's talkin' to my baby
They found my peace pipe on her
Now they're draggin' her away
Lord knows we don't need a devil like him beatin' us around
Well, he's knockin' on my door
How my house is tumblin' down
Now don't you come no closer
The path is keepin' me bolder
Wait by my door baby
Unless you want to start another war
Look over yonder, hey
Look over yonder
Look over yonder
Look over yonder
In Jimi Hendrix's song Look Over Yonder, he sings about the arrival of the blues, which refers to a sense of melancholy and sadness. The blues is personified as a figure wearing a blue armored coat, representing a sense of invincibility and power. Hendrix describes how the blues arrive every thirteenth time, powered by fools, implying that the cycle of sadness is perpetuated by those who do not free themselves from it.
He also sings about his own personal struggles with the blues, as he sees it coming his way and ruining his happiness. The line, "you even bust my guitar strings," further emphasises how the blues can affect every aspect of one's life, including their passions and hobbies.
Towards the end of the song, Hendrix seems to be facing the blues head-on. He sings about the blues knocking on his door and tumbling down his house, but he remains defiant and wary. He urges his loved one to wait by his door, lest they start another war. Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of inevitability and struggle in the face of the blues, but also a determination to overcome it.
Line by Line Meaning
Look over yonder here come the blues
I see trouble approaching
The thirteenth of any time, powered by fools
This isn't the first time something bad is happening and it's caused by ignorant people
I can see 'em comin'
The danger is imminent
Wearing a blue armored coat
The troublemakers are prepared and intimidating
You're sittin' here with your violins, Hittin' wrong notes
Others are oblivious to the danger and causing further problems
Look over yonder, he's comin' my way
I'm in trouble now
When he's around, I never have a happy day
This person causes constant chaos and misery
(you even bust my guitar strings)
This person is causing me physical and emotional harm
Look over yonder, look over yonder, look over yonder etc.
The danger is so great that it needs to be constantly monitored
Look over yonder
A reminder to stay vigilant
Well, he's talkin' to my baby
This person is trying to influence and manipulate someone close to me
They found my peace pipe on her
The troublemaker is using false evidence to cause even more problems
Now they're draggin' her away
My loved one is being taken away from me
Lord knows we don't need a devil like him beatin' us around
This person is like a devil and is causing unnecessary pain and suffering
Well, he's knockin' on my door
The troublemaker is now coming for me directly
How my house is tumblin' down
This person's presence is causing destruction in my life
Now don't you come no closer
I won't allow this person to hurt me any further
The path is keepin' me bolder
I'm gaining strength to face this danger
Wait by my door baby, Unless you want to start another war
Stay close to me so we can face this danger together
Look over yonder, hey
Another reminder to stay vigilant
Look over yonder
The danger still lurks and must be watched for
Look over yonder
A final warning to watch for danger
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMI HENDRIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Devin Kennedy
on Spanish Castle Magic (alternate take)
Is this really the alternete take