"Castles Made of Sand" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience for their 1967 second album, Axis: Bold as Love. Produced by manager Chas Chandler, the song is a biographical story about Hendrix's childhood, and was recorded towards the end of the production cycle for Axis: Bold as Love. The Jimi Hendrix Experience began and finished work on the recording for "Castles Made of Sand" at London's Olympic Sound Studios on October 29, 1967, the penultimate day of recording for Axis: Bold as Love on which the songs "Up from the Skies", "Bold as Love", "One Rainy Wish" and "EXP" were also completed. As with the rest of the album, "Castles Made of Sand" was produced by Chas Chandler and engineered by Eddie Kramer, and was mixed at Olympic on October 31. It is claimed that "Castles Made of Sand" is one of Hendrix's more obviously biographical songs, said to be written about his uncertain and transitional childhood involving "different homes, different schools, different careers and a mother who was here one minute and gone the next". Hendrix's brother, Leon Hendrix, has commented that the lyrics allude to their father's alcoholism, Leon being taken away so suddenly by Child Protective Services without announcement, and the abusive relationship between their parents (or from stories told by their grandmother). Writer Tom Maginn for AllMusic outlines the lyrical delivery of the song: Each verse contains separate descriptions of universal disappointments ... All is not lost, however, as in the last verse a suicidal girl who is "crippled for life," moving her wheelchair to the shore, is saved by a sort of optimistic epiphany – ... The band drops out as Hendrix speaks the final lines, his voice and slithering guitar circling and echoing up and away into the heavens. Musically, "The track begins with overdubbed backwards guitar creeping in, as Hendrix lays down his signature clean guitar sound", drawing comparison with fellow Axis: Bold as Love track "Little Wing". According to Maginnis, "The backwards-recorded guitar ... creates a dreamy atmosphere and lends the song its distinctive character", with fellow band members Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding providing a "laid-back groove" with their "mid-tempo drum shuffle" and "concise bass line". Lyrics: [Verse 1] Down the street you can hear her scream "You're a disgrace" As she slams the door in his drunken face And now he stands outside And all the neighbors start to gossip and drool He cries "Oh girl, you must be mad What happened to the sweet love you and me had?" Against the door he leans and starts a scene And his tears fall and burn the garden green [Chorus] And so castles made of sand Fall in the sea eventually [Verse 2] A little Indian brave who before he was ten Played war games in the woods with his Indian friends And he built a dream that when he grew up He would be a fearless warrior, Indian Chief Many moons passed, and more the dream grew strong Until tomorrow he would sing his first war song And fight his first battle But something went wrong Surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night [Chorus] And so castles made of sand Melts into the sea eventually [Verse 3] There was a young girl whose heart was a frown 'Cause she was crippled for life and she couldn't speak a sound And she wished and prayed she could stop living So she decided to die She drew her wheelchair to the edge of the shore And to her legs she smiled, "You won't hurt me no more" But then a sight she'd never seen made her jump and say "Look, a golden winged ship is passing my way" And it really didn't have to stop It just kept on going [Outro] And so castles made of sand Slips into the sea eventually ______________________ Jimi Hendrix Playlist: https://rumble.com/playlists/cBOD4hhDnnQ

"Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slower tempo, rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, drums, and glockenspiel. Lyrically, it is one of several of his songs that reference an idealized feminine or guardian angel-like figure. At about two and a half minutes in length, it is one of his most concise and melodically focused pieces. The origins of "Little Wing" have been traced back to the 1966 recording of "(My Girl) She's a Fox", an R&B song which features Hendrix playing Curtis Mayfield-influenced guitar accompaniment. He developed the song while performing in New York City's Greenwich Village prior to his involvement with producer Chas Chandler. After being inspired by events at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, Hendrix completed the song in October 1967, when it was recorded by the Experience during the sessions for their second album Axis: Bold as Love. "Little Wing" was released with the Axis album in December 1967 in the UK and the following month in the US. As one of only two songs from the album to become part of the Experience's concert repertoire, the Experience often performed it live and recordings were issued on early Hendrix posthumous albums Hendrix in the West in 1972 and The Jimi Hendrix Concerts in 1982. More recently, demo versions have been released as well as additional live renditions. "Little Wing" is one of Hendrix's most popular songs and has become a standard, with interpretations recorded by musicians in a variety of styles. It is ranked number 188 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Lyrics: [Intro] [Verse 1] Well she's walking through the clouds With a circus mind that's running round Butterflies and zebras And moonbeams And-a, fairytales That's all she ever thinks about Riding with the wind [Verse 2] When I'm sad, she comes to me With a thousand smiles she gives to me free It's alright, she said, it's alright Take anything you want from me Anything, anything Fly on, little wing [Outro] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, little wing ______________________ Jimi Hendrix Playlist: https://rumble.com/playlists/cBOD4hhDnnQ

This is the song that started it all for Hendrix. After being discharged from the US Army in 1962, he worked as a backing musician for The Isley Brothers and Little Richard, and in 1966 performed under the name Jimmy James in the group Jimmy James and the Blue Flames. Hendrix introduced "Hey Joe" to the band and added it to their setlist. During a show at the Greenwich Village club Cafe Wha?, Chas Chandler of The Animals was in the audience, and he knew instantly that Hendrix was the man to record the song. Chandler convinced Hendrix to join him in London, and he became Jimi's producer and manager. Teaming Hendrix with Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, Chandler had the group - known as The Jimi Hendrix Experience - record "Hey Joe," and released it as a single in the UK in December 1966. It climbed to #6 in February 1967, as Hendrix developed a reputation as an electrifying performer and wildly innovative guitarist. America was a tougher nut to crack - when the song was released there in April, it went nowhere. The song incorporates many elements of blues music, including a F-C-G-D-A chord progression and a story about infidelity and murder. This led many to believe it was a much older (possibly traditional) song, but it was an original composition. Lyrics: [Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand? Hey Joe, I said, where you going with that gun in your hand? [Verse 2] I'm going down to shoot my old lady You know, I caught her messing around with another man I'm going down to shoot my old lady You know, I caught her messing around with another man And that ain't too cool [Verse 3] Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down You shot her down, now Hey Joe, I heard you shot your old lady down You shot her down to the ground [Verse 4] Yes I did, I shot her You know, I caught her messing around, messing around town Yes I did, I shot her You know, I caught my old lady messing around town And I gave her the gun, I shot her! [Guitar Solo/Bridge] Hey Joe, alright Shoot her one more time, baby [Verse 5] Hey Joe, where you going to run to now? Where you going to run to? Hey Joe, I said, where you going to run to now? Where you, where you going to go? Well, dig it [Verse 6] I'm going way down south Way down to Mexico way, alright I'm going way down south Way down where I can be free There's no one going to find me [Verse 7] Ain't no hangman going to He ain't gonna put a rope around me You better believe it right now, I got to go now [Outro] Hey Joe, you better run on down Goodbye everybody, ow! Hey Joe, run on down ______________________ Jimi Hendrix Playlist: https://rumble.com/playlists/cBOD4hhDnnQ

"The Wind Cries Mary" is a rock ballad written by Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix wrote the song as a reconciliatory love song for his girlfriend in London, Kathy Etchingham. More recent biographical material indicated that some of the lyrics appeared in poetry written by Hendrix earlier in his career when he was in Seattle. According to Hendrix's then-girlfriend Kathy Etchingham, he wrote the lyrics after an argument with her about her cooking lumpy mashed potatoes, using "Mary" (Etchingham's middle name). Etchingham suggested that the line in the song "a broom is drearily sweeping up the broken pieces of yesterday's life" represents Hendrix sweeping up the broken dishes she threw as a result of the argument. In a later interview, Hendrix commented that the lyrics represent "more than one person". Music journalist David Stubbs pointed out that Hendrix also used the line from the song “Somewhere a Queen is weeping / Somewhere a King has no wife" in a poem he wrote to another Mary who had been his girlfriend, Mary Washington. Billy Cox, Hendrix's long-time friend and later bassist, has noted Curtis Mayfield's influence on the song. Hendrix performed elements of an early version in the summer of 1966 with his band Jimmy James and the Blue Flames in New York City. The Experience recorded it at De Lane Lea Studios in London in February 1967, during sessions for their follow-up single to "Hey Joe". Hendrix producer Chas Chandler commented on the recording: That was recorded at the tail end of the session for "Fire". We had about twenty minutes or so left. I suggested we cut a demo of "The Wind Cries Mary". Mitch Mitchell [drummer] and Noel Redding [bassist] hadn't heard it, so they were going about it without a rehearsal. They played it once through [and Hendrix then suggested overdubs]. In all he put on four or five more overdubs, but the whole thing was done in twenty minutes. That was our third single. Lyrics: [Verse 1] After all the jacks are in their boxes And the clowns have all gone to bed You can hear happiness staggering on down the street Footprints dressed in red And the wind whispers Mary [Verse 2] A broom is drearily sweeping Up the broken pieces of yesterday's life Somewhere a queen is weeping Somewhere a king has no wife And the wind it cries Mary [Guitar solo] [Verse 3] The traffic lights they turn blue tomorrow And shine their emptiness down on my bed The tiny island sags downstream 'Cause the life they lived is dead And the wind screams Mary [Verse 4] Will the wind ever remember The names it has blown in the past? And with its crutch, its old age, and its wisdom It whispers no, this will be the last And the wind cries Mary ______________________ Jimi Hendrix Playlist: https://rumble.com/playlists/cBOD4hhDnnQ

"All Along the Watchtower" is strongly identified with the interpretation Jimi Hendrix recorded with the Jimi Hendrix Experience for their third studio album, Electric Ladyland (1968). The Hendrix version, released six months after Bob Dylan's original recording, became a Top 20 single in 1968, received a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 2001, and was ranked 48th in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004 (40th in the 2021 version). Lyrics: There must be some way out of here Said the joker to the thief There's too much confusion I can't get no relief Businessmen, they drink my wine Plowmen dig my earth None of them along the line Know what any of it is worth "No reason to get excited" The thief, he kindly spoke "There are many here among us Who feel that life is but a joke" "But you and I, we've been through that And this is not our fate So, let us not talk falsely now The hour is getting late" All along the watchtower Princes kept the view While all the women came and went Barefoot servants, too Outside, in the distance A wildcat did growl Two riders were approaching The wind began to howl ______________________ Jimi Hendrix Playlist: https://rumble.com/playlists/cBOD4hhDnnQ