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.
Three Little Bears
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and "Hee Hee Hee", says Daddy bear as Junior pours honey all on sister hair
Anyway you know they live happily ever after
Well, "Ho ho ho" say the little fish
as the sad fisherman goes home without a hitch
But "Hee hee hee" says the fisherman
with his lady burning french fries in the frying pan
"Hee hee hee" says you to me
(Man I don't feel like going through with this, this is really silly)
Oh man, I wanna die
'cause walking around on the ground is really cramping my high
I sure don't wanna live without you forever after, no.
Now what does all this have to do with the three little bears?
Well, I was just feeling blue, 'cause I really care
That you're still gone from me and I'm as sad as I can be
So I'll sing and play this tune until you come back home to me
The lyrics to Jimi Hendrix's "Three Little Bears" are rather unusual and nonsensical, to say the least. The song provides a glimpse into the lives of three bears - Mama Bear, Daddy Bear, and Junior Bear. Mama Bear is busy ironing Daddy's holey underwear, and Daddy Bear is amused as Junior Bear pours honey on Sister Bear's hair. Despite their oddities, the family "lives happily ever after".
The second verse takes a sharp turn and introduces a fisherman who has had a bad day. The little fish he was trying to catch is elated that he gets to swim another day while the fisherman's wife burns the french fries in the frying pan. The fisherman, on the other hand, finds the situation comical. The third verse mixes things up even further, as Jimi chuckles about the absurdity of the lyrics he is singing. Despite trying to stay lighthearted, he can't hide the fact that he misses his loved one and doesn't want to go through life without her.
While the meaning behind these lyrics is not entirely clear, it's possible that Jimi was simply having a bit of fun and not taking himself too seriously. The song seems to be an exercise in absurdity, and the recurring "hee hee hee" throughout the lyrics adds to the playful tone. Despite its nonsensical lyrics, the song has an upbeat and catchy melody that captures Hendrix's signature style.
Line by Line Meaning
"Ha Ha Ha", says Mama Bear as she irons Daddy's holey underwear
Mama Bear finds humor in ironing Daddy Bear's holey underwear
and "Hee Hee Hee", says Daddy bear as Junior pours honey all on sister hair
Daddy Bear laughs at Junior's mischievous act of pouring honey on Sister Bear's hair
Anyway you know they live happily ever after
The Bears continue to live happily despite their silly moments
Well, "Ho ho ho" say the little fish
The little fish says "Ho ho ho"
as the sad fisherman goes home without a hitch
The sad fisherman goes home without any issues
But "Hee hee hee" says the fisherman
The fisherman laughs and says "Hee hee hee"
with his lady burning french fries in the frying pan
The fisherman's lady burns the french fries she's trying to cook
(This is so silly man)
The situation is absurd and humorous
"Hee hee hee" says you to me
You laugh and say "Hee hee hee" to me
(Man I don't feel like going through with this, this is really silly)
You express reluctance and find the situation silly
Oh man, I wanna die
The singer expresses despair
'cause walking around on the ground is really cramping my high
The artist feels restricted and unable to enjoy life
I sure don't wanna live without you forever after, no.
The singer does not want to live without the other person
Now what does all this have to do with the three little bears?
The singer questions the relevance of the previous lyrics to the story of the three little bears
Well, I was just feeling blue, 'cause I really care
The singer was feeling sad because they care deeply about the other person
That you're still gone from me and I'm as sad as I can be
The artist is sad because the other person is still gone
So I'll sing and play this tune until you come back home to me
The artist will continue to sing and play this tune until the other person returns home
Contributed by Isaiah R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Devin Kennedy
on Spanish Castle Magic (alternate take)
Is this really the alternete take