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.
Remember
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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He used to sing for his supper, baby
Yes he used to sing for his supper, babe
He used to sing so sweet
But uh since my baby left me he ain't sang a tune all day
Oh, remember the blue-birds and the honey bees,
They used to sing for sunshine
They used to sing for the flowers
But since my baby left me they ain't sang a tune all day
Hey pretty baby, come on back to me
Make ev'ry body as happy as can be
So, baby, if you'll please come home again you know I'll
Kiss you for my supper,
You know I'll kiss you for my dinner, yeah!
But, ah, if you don't come back you know I'll have to
Starve to death
'Cus I ain't had one kiss all day now
Please remember
You've got to remember
You've got to remember our love
Come on back, baby, come on back in my arms,
I'll make ev'rything that better
Come on, baby, hurry up now
Can you hear me calling you back again now?
Come on, baby, stop jiving around, hurry home, hurry home
The lyrics of Jimi Hendrix's song Remember tell a story of lost love and the longing for it to return. The song speaks of a time when everything around the singer used to sing and come alive with the presence of his beloved. He reminisces about the mockingbird who used to sing sweetly for its supper and the blue-birds and honey bees who used to sing for sunshine and flowers. However, since his baby left him, everything has fallen silent, and the memory of the lost love is haunting him.
The singer is addressing his lost love, begging for her to return to him. He tells her that if she comes back, he'll kiss her for supper and dinner, and everything will be all right. He pleads with her not to leave him starving for love because he hasn't had one kiss all day. The singer is desperate for her to remember their love and come back to him so that he doesn't wither away in sorrow. In the end, he is calling out to her, urging her to come back and stop jiving around.
Remember is a poignant love song that captures the sadness and longing that comes with lost love. Jimi Hendrix's lyrics paint vivid images of a world that has lost its color and life, and how the return of love can reignite the spark that was once lost. It is a beautiful representation of the impact that love can have on the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, remember the mocking bird, my baby bought
Let's reminisce about the time when my baby brought home a mockingbird.
He used to sing for his supper, baby
The bird used to sing while we ate, it was a nice memory.
Yes he used to sing for his supper, babe
The bird was really good at singing for us while we ate.
He used to sing so sweet
The bird had a beautiful voice that we enjoyed listening to.
But uh since my baby left me he ain't sang a tune all day
Sadly, ever since my baby left me, the mockingbird hasn't sang at all.
Oh, remember the blue-birds and the honey bees,
Let's also remember the bluebirds and honey bees we used to hear.
They used to sing for sunshine
The bluebirds and honey bees loved singing when the sun was shining.
They used to sing for the flowers
The bluebirds and honey bees sang for the flowers because they loved them.
They used to sing so sweet
The bluebirds and honey bees had a beautiful voice, just like the mockingbird.
But since my baby left me they ain't sang a tune all day
Unfortunately, just like the mockingbird, they stopped singing when my baby left me.
Hey pretty baby, come on back to me
I'm calling out to my pretty baby, asking them to come back to me.
Make ev'ry body as happy as can be
I know that if my baby comes back, everyone will be happy.
So, baby, if you'll please come home again you know I'll
I'm promising my baby that if they come back, I'll do something special for them.
Kiss you for my supper,
I'll give them a kiss in return for cooking me dinner.
You know I'll kiss you for my dinner, yeah!
I'll be so grateful for their cooking that I'll give them a kiss in return.
But, ah, if you don't come back you know I'll have to
Unfortunately, if my baby doesn't come back, I'll have to take drastic measures...
Starve to death
...like starving to death because I miss them so much.
'Cus I ain't had one kiss all day now
I haven't received a kiss all day, so I need my baby to come back.
Please remember
I'm pleading with my baby to remember our love and come back to me.
You've got to remember
It's important for my baby to remember how much I love them.
You've got to remember our love
They need to remember the love we shared together.
Come on back, baby, come on back in my arms,
I want my baby to return and be held close in my arms.
I'll make ev'rything that better
I'll do everything I can to make things better for us.
Come on, baby, hurry up now
I'm eager for them to come back and I want them to hurry.
Can you hear me calling you back again now?
I'm hoping my baby can hear my calls for them to come back.
Come on, baby, stop jiving around, hurry home, hurry home
I don't want my baby to waste anymore time and want them to come back home as soon as possible.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIMI HENDRIX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Devin Kennedy
on Spanish Castle Magic (alternate take)
Is this really the alternete take