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.
Power Of Soul
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ooo yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, ooo
Ooo yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah
One tropic summer those high flyin' mans you've been thinkin'
You know the ones that have been flyin' too low, oh
Look up at some of those airplanes risin' and takin'
Come on back up to Earth, my friend
Come on back up with me
We've all been up through the night time baby
Now let's read the rays of reality
With the power of soul yeah
Talk about
With the power of soul
Anything is possible
With the power of you
Anything you want to do
Flyin' through the air on a kite every day and every night
Just up there her wrist
Sometimes the wind ain't right
Yeah, I'm playin' too much with one toy baby
Just up there, escape to the crippled night
Oh yeah
And you look around and see all the jellyfish
You sayin' flotation's groovy baby
And even he'll tell you that
Yeah, gettin' high every day is easy
And the floatin' around even if jellyfish will agree to that
Lord, but you'll look around see him floatin' around so long
And easy and so slack
He don't have a bone in his jelly back
Is that the way you wanna be brother?
Check it out
Yeah, I'm singin' with a power
Aren't you?
Hhmm
With the power of you
Anything, anything you want to do
With the power of soul
Anything is possible
With the power of you
Anything you want to do
With the power of soul
Anything is possible
With the power of you (with the power of love, baby)
Anything you want to do
Oh yeah
The opening lines of Jimi Hendrix's "Power of Soul" invites the listener to participate in the sensations of the high-flyin' airplanes rising and taking off in the hot summer air. The song has a paradoxical quality, inviting listeners to both float up into the high summertime sky and also to return to Earth. The lyrics suggest that we’re all flying through the night and escaping to certain desires that may include drugs, lust, or escapism. However, the song invites listeners to let go of those hedonistic urges and instead harness the power of the soul.
Hendrix's lyrics demonstrate the importance of embracing life’s challenges and to not float through it, devoid of purpose. The song suggests the importance of the individual will and ability-- "The power of you" and "the power of soul." Hendrix invites listeners to believe in the ability of the soul to overcome obstacles and that anything is possible if one harnesses that power.
Overall, the song serves as a call to action- urging the listener to move away from distractions that prevent growth, and instead look within to harness the power of the soul. It invites listeners to not only embrace the joys of life, but also to face its challenges with purpose and passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Ooo yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, ooo
Ooo yeah yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah
The song starts with an enthusiastic chant that sounds like an invocation for the power of soul.
One tropic summer those high flyin' mans you've been thinkin'
You know the ones that have been flyin' too low, oh
Look up at some of those airplanes risin' and takin'
To see the ones that are flyin' too low yeah
Come on back up to Earth, my friend
Come on back up with me
The singer reminds us of those moments when we get carried away with our dreams and ambitions, losing touch with the reality that surrounds us. He begs us to come back to our senses and join him back on Earth.
We've all been up through the night time baby
Now let's read the rays of reality
With the power of soul yeah
Talk about
With the power of soul
Anything is possible
With the power of you
Anything you want to do
The singer acknowledges that we've all had our moments of madness and madness, but it's time to face the truth and move on. He encourages us to tap into the power of our souls, which he believes is the source of all possibilities and achievements.
Flyin' through the air on a kite every day and every night
Just up there her wrist
Sometimes the wind ain't right
Yeah, I'm playin' too much with one toy baby
Just up there, escape to the crippled night
Oh yeah
And you look around and see all the jellyfish
You sayin' flotation's groovy baby
And even he'll tell you that
The singer gives us a metaphor of someone playing with a kite, which symbolizes the playful or childish nature of some of our ambitions. He reminds us that sometimes our efforts can be fruitless or misguided, leading us to waste our time and energy. He speaks of the jellyfish, probably referring to aimless or floaty behavior, which doesn't really get us anywhere.
Yeah, gettin' high every day is easy
And the floatin' around even if jellyfish will agree to that
Lord, but you'll look around see him floatin' around so long
And easy and so slack
He don't have a bone in his jelly back
Is that the way you wanna be brother?
Check it out
Yeah, I'm singin' with a power
Aren't you?
The singer warns us of the danger of getting too comfortable with our shortcomings, telling us that it's easy to float around without a care in the world, but that's not the most fulfilling way to lead our lives. He challenges us to tap into the power of our souls and sing with him in unison, acknowledging the immense potential that lies within us.
With the power of you
Anything, anything you want to do
With the power of soul
Anything is possible
With the power of you
Anything you want to do
With the power of soul
Anything is possible
With the power of you (with the power of love, baby)
Anything you want to do
Oh yeah
The singer repeats the chorus, emphasizing that there's nothing we can't do if we tap into the power of our souls and believe in ourselves. The power of love is also mentioned as an additional source of strength.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jimi Hendrix
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tromallmarks1192
This man passed away over 50 years ago and is still light years ahead of anybody else that ever played the guitar 🎸! Go 'head Jimi!
@totc6196
They are still chasing his tail 🔥🔥🔥
@ruledtrendy5066
It's a bit like cave man drumming. Back then nobody knew any better so if someone did something different it sounded amazing
@drenklaf
If I might ... he was just the best.
@thomaspick4123
So beautiful. Electric church music. Buddy’s and Billy’s rhythm section was so solid. So funky! Powerful.
@iantranby1707
Jimmy knew his time was coming to and end soon BAND OF Gypsy was his sermon and farewell
@kennyblackbird5674
Yep!
@heroinehero69
Jimi kills it in this, but no ones talking about his band mates, they're all on fire
@blueshound611
absolutely amigo
@benzel5659
Billy was the right choice for bas. Together with Mitch on drums, they are the hardest trio ever.