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.
ON THE KILLING FLOOR
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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A long time ago
I should of quit you baby
A long time ago
But you got me messin' round with you baby
You got me cryin' on a killin' floor, yeah
If I don't fallow, yeah
My first mind
My first mind
I would have been gone since my second time
Yeah
Lord knows, right now
I should've been gone
Lord knows, I should've been gone
You got me messin' round with you baby
You got me cryin' on a killin' floor
Yeah, that's all
Ooh, you got me cryin' baby
Ohh, you got me cryin'
The lyrics of Jimi Hendrix's "Killing Floor" appears to be about an unfaithful lover who continues to draw the singer back in, even though the singer knows they should have left a long time ago. The singer is regretful about not following their "first mind" and leaving the relationship, and now finds themselves trapped in a cycle of pain and crying on a "killin' floor." The repetition of "I should have quit you" emphasizes the singer's internal struggle and the difficulty of breaking free from a toxic relationship.
The metaphor of the "killin' floor" adds another layer to the song's meaning, possibly alluding to the merciless nature of love and the emotional pain it can cause. The use of blues instrumentation and Jimi Hendrix's powerful guitar playing also contribute to the intense emotions conveyed in the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I should of quit you
I should have ended our relationship
A long time ago
A while back
But you got me messin' round with you baby
But you still have power over me, and I can't resist you
You got me cryin' on a killin' floor, yeah
Your actions are causing me intense pain and distress
If I don't fallow, yeah
If I don't listen to my instincts
My first mind
My intuition
I would have been gone since my second time
I would have left you after the second time, if I had listened to my intuition
Lord knows, right now
I know that right now
I should've been gone
I should have left you
Yeah, that's all
That's all I have to say
Ooh, you got me cryin' baby
You are making me sad and emotional
Ohh, you got me cryin'
You are making me cry
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Chester Burnett
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Devin Kennedy
on Spanish Castle Magic (alternate take)
Is this really the alternete take