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.
Still Raining Still Dreaming
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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Ain't no use in gettin' uptight
Just let it groove its own way
Let it drain your worries away yeah
Lay back and groove on a rainy day hey
Lay back and dream on a rainy day
Lay back and groove on a rainy day
Lay back
Lay back and groove on a rainy day
Lay back and groove on a rainy day
Lay back and dream on a rainy day
Lay back and groove on a rainy day
Lay back and dream on a rainy day
Lay back and, lay back, lay back, lay back and groove
Ooh
Aah
Still rainin' still dreamin'
The lyrics of Jimi Hendrix's song Still Raining Still Dreaming is about the calming and therapeutic effects of letting go and enjoying the present moment. The lyrics convey that on a rainy day, there is no point in getting upset or worried about the weather, instead we should just let it groove in its own way and let it drain our worries away. The lyricist urges the listeners to lay back and groove with the rain, to surrender to the moment, and let the worries and fears be washed away by the rain. The rain is seen as a natural force that has the power to soothe the soul, and the only thing we need to do to enjoy it is to let it be and allow ourselves to be present in the moment, to lay back and let the rain take over.
The song is an ode to living in the moment and accepting whatever is happening in our lives, no matter how difficult or challenging. The message of the song is to embrace the present, let go of our worries, and just groove with whatever is happening around us. The repetition of "lay back" throughout the lyrics emphasizes the message of surrender and letting go, and also creates a hypnotic effect that adds to the meditative quality of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Rainy day, rain all day
It's a rainy day and it's going to rain all day long.
Ain't no use in gettin' uptight
There's no point in getting upset or agitated about the rain.
Just let it groove its own way
Let the rain follow its own course and rhythm.
Let it drain your worries away yeah
Use the rain to wash your worries and anxieties away.
Lay back and groove on a rainy day hey
Relax and enjoy the rainy day - let it inspire you to groove to the rhythm of life.
Lay back and dream on a rainy day
Take advantage of the slower pace of a rainy day and use it to daydream and imagine new possibilities.
Lay back and groove on a rainy day
Find joy in the simple pleasure of taking it easy on a rainy day and following the rhythm of nature.
Lay back
Take it easy and enjoy the day as it comes.
Oh yeah
Expressing agreement or satisfaction with the sentiment of the song (that it's okay to relax and enjoy a rainy day).
Still rainin' still dreamin'
Even though it's still raining, there's still space and time to dream about something better and to hope for a new tomorrow.
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