I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to.
Jimi HendrixRead
Technically, I'm not a guitar player, all I play is truth and emotion.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Jimi Hendrix emphasizes that true artistry goes beyond technical skill; itβs about expressing deep feelings and authenticity.
In this quote, Jimi Hendrix expresses that his identity as a musician is not defined solely by his technical abilities on the guitar, but rather by his capacity to convey truth and emotion through his music. He suggests that the core of artistry lies in the emotional connection and honesty that an artist brings to their work, highlighting that it is this aspect that resonates with listeners more than technical prowess alone.
Themes
MusicEmotionTruthArtistryExpression
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech at a music festival, I quoted Jimi Hendrix to illustrate the importance of emotional expression in songwriting.
More from Jimi Hendrix
All quotes βI try all night to play a pretty note.
Jimi HendrixRead
The story of life is quicker then the blink of an eye, the story of love is hello, goodbye.
Jimi HendrixRead
It's time for a new National Anthem. America is divided into two definite divisions. The easy thing to cop out with is sayin' black and white. You can see a black person. But now to get down to the nitty-gritty, it's getting' to be old and young - not the age, but the way of thinking. Old and new, actually... because there's so many even older people that took half their lives to reach a certain point that little kids understand now.
Jimi HendrixRead
... with Voodoo Child somebody was filming when we started doing that. We did that about three times because they wanted to film us in the studio, to make us (imitates a pompous voice) 'make it look like you're recording boys' - one of them scenes, you know, so okey, let's play this and then we went into Voodoo Child
Jimi HendrixRead
Music makes me high on stage, and that's the truth. It's like being almost addicted to music.
Jimi HendrixRead
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Billy JoelRead
So I asked him to play "Trav'lin' All Alone." That came closer than anything to the way I felt. And some part of it must have come across. The whole joint quieted down. If someone had dropped a pin, it would have sounded like a bomb. When I finished, everybody in the joint was crying in their beer, and I picked thirty-eight bucks up off the floor. . . . When I showed Mom the money for the rent and told her I had a regular job singing for eighteen dollars a week, she could hardly believe it.
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It was an extraordinary connection, the synergy within the band. There was an area of ESP between Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, and myself.
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That one record changed everything for me. After Sgt. Pepper, it's the most influential record in the history of rock and roll. It affected Pink Floyd deeply, deeply, deeply. Philosophically, other albums may have been more important, like Lennon's first solo album. But sonically, the way the record's constructed, I think Music from Big Pink is fundamental to everything that happened after it.
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