Monthly Archives: September 2021

Song of the Week – Castles Made of Sand, Jimi Hendrix

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Jimi Hendrix is well known as the GOAT of rock guitarists.  And I don’t disagree with that.  But I will argue that he was much more.  He was a total artist that had insights and sensitivities that he expressed through his lyrics.

One of the best examples is “Castles Made of Sand” from Axis: Bold as Love (1967).

(Sorry, no full Hendrix version on YouTube!)

“Castles…” is one of Hendrix’s most biographical compositions.  Verse 1 describes the turmoil that led to his mother’s and father’s divorce.

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

Verse 2 is about his brother Leon, who was often in and out of foster care and separated from Jimi.  The “little Indian” reference comes from his maternal grandmother who was half Cherokee, making Jimi and his siblings part Native American.


A little Indian brave who before he was ten,
Played war games in the woods with his Indian friends
And he built up 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

The familial distress of the first two verses is redeemed in the final verse where a suicidal girl in a wheelchair sees a “golden winged ship” and is inspired to have a change of heart and not go through with it.


There was a young girl, who’s 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…


And so castles made of sand slip into the sea, eventually

The imagery of sandcastles slipping into the sea is an apropos metaphor for the fragility and impermanence of the relationships in Hendrix’s youth.

The music by Hendrix and his band – bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell – perfectly support the sentiments expressed in the lyrics.

So was Hendrix more than just a great guitarist?  I vote yes!

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Fadeaway, BoDeans

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BoDeans formed in 1980 when high school friends Kurt Neumann and Sam Llanas decided to get serious about their music and write songs together.  They were initially called Da BoDeans.

By 1985 they had a recording contract and were in the studio recording their debut album with star producer T-Bone Burnett.  Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams (1986) took its name for the lyrics to The Rolling Stones “Shattered” and contained the FM radio hit “Fadeaway.”

BoDeans roots-rock sound on this album is simple and slight, but very catchy.  The guitar interplay and vocal harmony overcome the thin, repetitive lyrics to make the song a very enjoyable listen.

Unfortunately, around 2010 things went bad between Neumann and Llanas, with some very ugly allegations of misconduct.  Llanas quit the band and Neumann has continued the band without him.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Let’s Roll, Neil Young; I Can’t See New York, Tori Amos; My City of Ruins, Bruce Springsteen

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Today we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the terrible terror attack on the United States.  In reaction, many music artists wrote songs about the horrible 9/11 events.

In November 2001, Neil young released “Let’s Roll”, a phrase that was attributed to Todd Beamer, one of the heroes on Flight 93 that crashed in PA.  Todd was heard on a phone uttering the words as he and other passengers took action to take control of the flight to prevent the hijackers from using the plane to crash into its target.

This wasn’t the first time Young quickly released a record in response to a news event.  In 1970, Young wrote “Ohio” after the May 4 shooting of students at Kent State University.  Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young recorded the song and released it in June 1970.

Tori Amos gave us the haunting “I Can’t See New York.”

Thirteen thousand and holding
Swallowed
In the purring
Of her engines

But I can’t see new York
As I’m, circling down
Through white cloud
Falling out
And I know
His lips are warm
But I can’t seem
To find my way out
My way out I can’t see
Of this hunting ground

Bruce Springsteen devoted an entire album – The Rising (2002) – to songs that addressed the aftermath of events of 9/11 from various perspectives.  This was an ambitious project that only someone with Springsteen’s perception could handle so deftly.  “My City of Ruins” is a hymn in the mold of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.”

There’s a blood red circle on the cold dark ground
And the rain is falling down
The church door’s thrown open, I can hear the organ’s song
But the congregation’s gone
My city of ruins

Now the sweet bells of mercy drift through the evening trees
Young men on the corner like scattered leaves
The boarded up windows, the empty streets
While my brother’s down on his knees
My city of ruins

Now there’s tears on the pillow, darling, where we slept
And you took my heart when you left
Without your sweet kiss my soul is lost, my friend
Tell me how do I begin again
My city’s in ruins

The song’s sadness of the verses change to healing in the final section:

Now with these hands, with these hands
With these hands, with these hands
I pray, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)
I pray for the strength, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)
I pray for the faith, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)
I pray for your love, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)
I pray for the strength, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)
I pray for your love, Lord (with these hands, with these hands)
I pray for the faith, Lord (with these hands), alright (with these hands)
I pray for the strength, Lord (with these hands), come on (with these hands), come on
Come on rise up, come on rise up
Come on rise up, come on rise up

May all we Americans heal together as we mourn on this solemn day.

Enjoy… until next week.

Song of the Week – Songs for Sweet Connie Hamzy

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Two weeks ago, Connie Hamzy died.  She was 66.  What band was she in?  Well, she wasn’t in any band – she was a real life “Penny Lane”; a Groupie based in Little Rock, AR, and the “sweet, sweet Connie” made (almost) famous by Grand Funk.

Out on the road for forty days
Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze
Sweet, sweet Connie, doin’ her act
She had the whole show and that’s a natural fact

She also earned a mention in a less well known song about life on the road – “Pleasin’ For Reason” — by The Guess Who.

Order some cash, we’ve got another tour to make
Workin’ so hard, just to pass the time away
Connie my love, our movie was great and so was the taste
It was pleasin’ for reason

And she scored a trifecta, getting name-checked in yet another song, by Cheap Trick!

I had a vision
That was bigger than life
Oh Connie likes nighttime, every night
Connie likes candy, every bite
All day sucker, Connie might
Swallow that thing ’cause she does it right

The enterprising Connie was so determined to become a famous Groupie that she made round, pink stickers that she gave to the bands and roadies.  They read “Call Connie in Little Rock” and included her phone number.  I searched the internet for a picture of one but couldn’t find it.

Connie’s connections to members of The Allman Brothers, The Who, ZZ Top, The Doobie Brothers, Rush, Eagles, KISS, Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and Fleetwood Mac make her one of the most famous Groupies of all time.

Connie was unapologetic about her lifestyle.  And I’m not here to judge.  But I read comments from many of the people that knew her, published in The Lefsetz Letter, and they were all respectful and mentioned how sweet she was and how well she treated the bands.

She wrote a memoir titled Rock Groupie: Intimate Adventures of ‘Sweet Connie’ that was published in 1995.  She also spent a considerable number of years in a very different occupation… as a substitute teacher in Little Rock!

Enjoy… until next week.