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.
Wait Until Tomorrow
Jimi Hendrix Lyrics
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Inside your golden garden
Got my ladder leaned up against your wall
Tonight's the night we planed to run away together
Come on dolly may there's no time to stall
But now you're telling me that a
I think we better wait 'till tomorrow
What you sayI think we better wait 'till tomorrow
Ain't gone wait that long
I think we better wait 'till tomorrow
Got to make sure it's right
So until tomorrow goodnight
Oh what a drag
Oh dolly may, how can you hang we out this way
On the phone you said you wanted to run off with me today
Now I'm sanding here like some
Turned down serenading fool
Hearing strange words stutter from the mixed-up mind of you
And you keep telling me that ah
I think we better wait till tomorrow,
What ya say
I think we better wait till tomorrow
I ain't gonna wait that long
I think we better wait till tomorrow
Got to make sure it's right
So until tomorrow goodnight
See if I can talk to this girl a little bit
Hey Dolly may girl you must be insane
So unsure of yourselfLeaning from you unsure window pane
Do I see a silhouette of somebody pointing
Something from a tree
Click bang
Oh what a hang your daddy just shot poor me
And I hear you say as I fade away
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
Well I guess we don't have till tomorrow
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
That sure is a drag on my part baby
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
It must not have been right
So forever goodnight
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
We don't have to wait
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
We don't have to wait
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
I won't be around tomorrow
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
We don't have to wait
So here I am baby
Yeah
Hey man what's gone on
The lyrics to Jimi Hendrix’s “Wait Until Tomorrow” revolve around a story of young love and the complexity of relationships. Jimi is expressing his frustration towards his partner, Dolly Mae, who had initially agreed to run away with him but then suddenly changed her mind. Jimi is shown waiting for Dolly Mae, who has told him to “wait ‘till tomorrow” because she is not completely sure of their plan. The lyrics are a depiction of a young couple struggling to decide whether they should stay together or part ways. Jimi, who is standing outside Dolly Mae’s window, feels helpless as he hears her words that signify uncertainty and indecisiveness. Towards the end, Jimi complements the song with a guitar solo that symbolizes the frustration and angst that young love can bring.
Through its lyrics, “Wait Until Tomorrow” highlights the themes of love, heartbreak, and the uncertainty that comes with relationships. Jimi’s frustration and anger towards his partner are evident in the way he delivers the lyrics, making this song an excellent example of blues-rock music. The lyrics also showcase the great songwriting ability of Jimi Hendrix and his ability to convey a message through the use of metaphors and similes.
Line by Line Meaning
Well I'm standing here freezing
I am feeling cold and uncomfortable
Inside your golden garden
I am inside a beautiful place that is yours
Got my ladder leaned up against your wall
I have put my ladder against your wall to climb and escape with you
Tonight's the night we planed to run away together
We had decided to leave tonight and start a new life
Come on Dolly Mae there's no time to stall
I am urging you to not procrastinate and join me quickly
But now you're telling me
However, you are informing me
I think we better wait 'till tomorrow
You think that we should wait until tomorrow instead
Yeah, yeah,
Agreeing to your decision
Girl what you talkin' about
Asking you what you mean
Got to make sure it's right
Making sure that our plan is correct and safe
So until tomorrow goodnight
Wishing you a good night until tomorrow
Oh what a drag
Expressing disappointment
Oh Dolly Mae, how can you hang we out this way
Asking how you can leave me waiting like this
On the phone you said you wanted to run off with me today
Recalling how you talked about leaving with me earlier
Now I'm sanding here like some
Now I am standing here like an
Turned down serenading fool
Rejected and feeling foolish for trying to romanticize this situation
Hearing strange words stutter from the mixed-up mind of you
Hearing you speak confusedly and incoherently
And you keep telling me that ah
You keep informing me that
Ah, I can't wait that long
I am unable to wait that long
Oh Dolly Mae girl you must be insane
Expressing disbelief in your indecision
So unsure of yourself
You are anxious and uncertain
Leaning from you unsure window pane
You are leaning from a window that conveys your indecisiveness
Do I see a silhouette of somebody pointing
Am I seeing a shadow of someone pointing a weapon?
Something from a tree
The weapon might be from a tree
Click bang
The sound indicates a gunshot
Oh what a hang your daddy just shot poor me
Your father has just shot me and I am dying
And I hear you say as I fade away
I hear your words as I am dying
We don't have to wait till tomorrow
We do not need to delay our escape
It must not have been right
Our original plan must have had something wrong with it
So forever goodnight
Our escape will never happen, so farewell forever
Do I have to wait do I have to wait
Asking if there is a need to wait anymore
Don't have to wait don't have to wait
Declaring that we do not have to wait any longer
Lyrics © 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