Spanish Castle Magic

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Spanish Castle Magic is a song composed and performed by Jimi Hendrix. It is the third track on Axis: Bold as Love (1967).

[edit] Lyrics

The lyrics describe a place one gets to "by dragonfly" (possibly a pun on "drag and fly"), where one finds fantastical visions (e.g. clouds overflowing with cotton candy) that are "all in your mind." The song finds its origins in Jimi's youthful days, when he played in a club called The Spanish Castle, south of Seattle in what is now Des Moines, WA. Jimi would later describe his frustration, saying, "(The bass player) in the band had this beater car, and it would break down every other block, on the way there and back..." hence the line, "Takes 'bout a half a day to get there..." The music alternates between aggressive, thickly textured guitar lines during the intro, choruses, and solos, and a riff played in rhythmic lock step by guitar, drum and bass during the verses.

[edit] Trivia

The song has recently found a new following among gamers, as a version without the vocals is featured in the Playstation 2 video game Guitar Hero. As to why this version of the song lacks the vocals is unknown. Possibly copyright or legal issues, or due to the difficulty of emulating Hendrix's voice. A cover version of the song with lyrics is available for listening at the Guitar Hero website, and would seem to hint at the latter point. The song has a considerable following otherwise, being covered by various artists of several styles excluding rock.

[edit] External links

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