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.
Pass It On
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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And all I can think of is baby I think of you
Don't worry baby coming back for you
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
Well now I've got the chance I don't care about what I do
When I done them things I done them just for you
And now I'm getting out coming back for you
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
Well now I'm over the wall I'm nearly home
I'm coming through that door coming back for you
Now I'm nearly home nearly back for you
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
The lyrics of Jimi Hendrix's song, Pass it On, talk about a character who has been incarcerated, but is determined to escape the confines of his cell to be with his loved one. He is yearning for his significant other, and his love transcends his current predicament. He did some things that he would not normally do, just to prove his love for her. He is eagerly waiting for the time when he can break out of prison and reunite with his love. The chorus repeats, "there's gonna be a borstal breakout." A borstal is a British institution for young offenders, so the character is expressing his hope that he will be able to break out of prison and escape his current punishment. He is taking a major risk by trying to break out, but his love for his partner is worth the risk to him.
This song highlights the power of love and the lengths that someone will go to be with the person they love. The character in the song is sacrificing his own freedom and putting himself in danger to be with his significant other. The chorus communicates a sense of defiance and determination, emphasizing that nothing will stand in the way of his pursuit of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm sitting in this cell for something I didn't do
The singer is currently in prison and is claiming to be innocent.
And all I can think of is baby I think of you
Despite being locked up, the singer is only thinking about their significant other.
Don't worry baby coming back for you
The singer is reassuring their significant other that they will return for them.
There's gonna be a borstal breakout
The artist predicts that there will be a breakout from the juvenile detention center they are in.
Well now I've got the chance I don't care about what I do
The prospect of freedom has led the artist to disregard any consequences for their actions.
When I done them things I done them just for you
The singer committed their crimes in the name of their love for their significant other.
And now I'm getting out coming back for you
The singer is set on reuniting with their significant other now that they have secured their escape from the detention center.
Well now I'm over the wall I'm nearly home
The artist has successfully escaped and is close to making it back to their loved one.
I'm coming through that door coming back for you
The artist is determined to reunite with their significant other and is making their way to them.
Now I'm nearly home nearly back for you
The artist is close to reuniting with their significant other.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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Devin Kennedy
on Spanish Castle Magic (alternate take)
Is this really the alternete take