"Hear My Train A Comin'" (alternatively titled "Get My Heart Back Together") is a blues-based song written by Jimi Hendrix. Lyrically, it was inspired by earlier American spirituals and blues songs which use a train metaphor to represent salvation. Hendrix recorded the song in live, studio, and impromptu settings several times between 1967 and 1970, but never completed it to his satisfaction.
The documentary film Experience (1968) features the only version released during Hendrix's lifetime. Hendrix played the song solo as an acoustic guitar country-style blues and it is considered one of his most memorable performances. In 1973, it was included in the film Jimi Hendrix and the accompanying soundtrack album. The song was also released as a single in the UK.
Hendrix often played "Hear My Train A Comin'" in concert using a blues rock arrangement with accompaniment. He developed it into an extended improvisational guitar piece comparable to "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)". There are several live performances in release; according to music critics, the 1970 recording from the Berkeley Community Theatre is considered the definitive version. Recent Hendrix compilation albums, such as People, Hell and Angels and the Miami Pop Festival, include additional studio demo versions along with other live recordings.
Hendrix biographer John McDermott calls "Hear My Train A Comin'" "a powerful blues prayer based on the salvation-train metaphor running through American folklore of every color and faith".[5] An 1897 manuscript by Richard Spurling describes the gospel train as "built by God to carry redeemed sinners safely from this 'wilderness'... to heaven".[6] The late-1800s spiritual "The Gospel Train (Get on Board)" uses the lyrics "I hear the train a-comin'" and associated songs reference a train station. Hendrix researcher Harry Shapiro adds the song "delves deep into the well of blues history, recalling one of the classic motifs of the genre" and compares it to "Jim Crow Blues" and "Make My Getaway", two earlier blues songs about "escap[ing] trouble, be it political, social or personal".[7] "Jim Crow Blues", recorded in 1929 by Cow Cow Davenport, deals with getting away from racial segregation in an American town:
I'm tired of this Jim Crow, gonna leave this Jim Crow town Doggone my black soul, I'm sweet Chicago bound Yes I'm leavin' here, from this ole Jim Crow town[8]
In "Make My Getaway", recorded in 1951, Big Bill Broonzy sings of leaving Arkansas to get over a broken relationship:
Bye-bye Arkansas, tell Missouri I'm on my way up north now baby I declare I'm gonna pack up, pack up now baby And make my getaway[8]
Biographer Steven Roby sees a parallel in Hendrix's early life that is reflected in the lyrics for "Hear My Train A Comin'".[9] When he left home at 18, Hendrix departed by train for U.S. Army basic training in California.[10] "Jimi's confusion about leaving those he cared about coexisted with his eagerness to put his nightmarish existence in Seattle behind him", writes Roby.[11] Hendrix's earliest recorded version in 1967 includes the verses[12]
Well I wait around the train station, waitin' for that train Waitin' for that train to take me, from this lonesome town (have mercy) Well now the city's put me through some changes, Lord my girl put me down[12]
After an energetic guitar solo, Hendrix announces "Can you dig that, you see me gettin' it together, I'm tryin' to get my heart together that's all" and concludes by singing
And then I'm gonna come back to this town (yeah yeah), and buy this town Might even give a piece to you (yes indeed baby)... I'm just tryin' to get my heart back together, back together again[12]
He nearly always introduced the song as "Getting My Heart Back Together Again" or "Get My Heart Back Together", the latter of which was used for the first release of the song in 1971.[13] In his August 1970 handwritten notes for the track listing of his proposed fourth studio album, Hendrix listed the song as "Getting My Heart Back Together".[14] It is unknown why it was renamed "Hear My Train A Comin'" for subsequent releases,[11] although Hendrix sometimes introduced songs in concert using alternate names.[7] Occasionally he added a train reference to the song title, such as "Lonesome Train",[15] "I See My Train",[16] and "Waitin' Down at the Train Station".[17] As Hendrix developed the song, he added to the lyrics and included "I'm gonna be a voodoo child", a reference to his 1968 composition "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)".[18][19] However, he stayed with the same theme and often prefaced his performances with a short commentary, such as at one of his best-known performances in Berkeley, California, in 1970:[18]
Here's a story that a lot of us have been through... About a cat runnin' around town and his old lady, she don't want him around and a whole lot of people from across the tracks are puttin' him down. And nobody don't want to face up to it but the cat might have somethin', only everybody's against him because the cat might be a little different. So he goes on the road to be a Voodoo Child, come back to be a Magic Boy.[20]
Composition and early live releases
Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, and Noel Redding performing on Dutch television, 1967
"Hear My Train A Comin'" was usually performed at a slow to andante tempo (65 to 80 beats per minute) centered on one chord with breaks.[21][22] The first known recordings were made by the BBC on December 15, 1967, with Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.[23] Redding and/or Mitchell also provide backing vocals during Hendrix's vocal.[24] In contrast to the subdued vocal sections, the middle section features highly charged guitar soloing and accompaniment. Two takes were recorded, both lasting about five minutes.[25] The second take was broadcast on December 24, 1967, for the Top Gear radio program.[23] The first take recorded was released in 1988 on the Radio One album;[24] both are included on BBC Sessions.[23]
Around the same time, Peter Neal was making a short film documentary about the Experience, titled Experience (also known as See My Music Talking).[26] On December 19, 1967, he captured Hendrix playing an impromptu solo version of "Hear My Train A Comin'".[23] The filming took place during a publicity photo session at the London studio of photographer Bruce Fleming, who had photographed the British album cover for Are You Experienced.[23] For the shoot, a twelve-string Zemaitis acoustic guitar restrung for a left-handed player was conveniently on hand.[27] Hendrix, seated on a stool against a white backdrop, sang while playing the guitar. After a false start, he settles into the song, which biographer Keith Shadwick describes as "100 percent country blues... s[ung] with great feeling, however artificial the circumstances of the session may have been".[28] Hendrix's acoustic guitar playing shows familiarity with the styles of Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, and Skip James.[28] Music writer Michael Fairchild compares some of his guitar techniques to those found in 1928 recordings by Tommy Johnson, such as "Big Fat Mama" and "Big Road Blues".[27] The guitar was tuned down two whole steps (C–F–B♭–E♭–G–C), perhaps influenced by Lead Belly's twelve-string style.[29] At the end of the 3:05 performance, Hendrix laughs it off with "Did you think I could do that?"[30] In addition to the 1968 documentary, the "Hear My Train A Comin'" performance is included in the 1973 film Jimi Hendrix and accompanying soundtrack album (re-released on Blues).[31] In the UK, it was released by Reprise Records as a single in 1973 with the Experience's adaptation of B.B. King's "Rock Me Baby" recorded at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 as the B-side.[32]
In March 1968, Hendrix recorded another impromptu performance of the song with Paul Caruso on harmonica, a friend from Hendrix's Greenwich Village days.[33] It was recorded at Hendrix's suite at the Drake Hotel in New York City, where he lived for a while during the recording of Electric Ladyland at the Record Plant.[34] Caruso described it as "very simple, pure, like Lightnin' Hopkins' earlier work."[33] It is included on West Coast Seattle Boy: The Jimi Hendrix Anthology released in 2010. For subsequent versions, Hendrix gradually developed "Hear My Train A Comin'" from a shorter, blues-oriented number into a longer, improvisational piece with extended guitar soloing as he had done with "Voodoo Child".[18] The transformation is apparent in three live recordings which were released in 1971, which range from over nine to twelve minutes. Hendrix performed a nine-minute version with the Gypsy Sun and Rainbows band at the Woodstock Festival on August 19, 1969.[35] Shadwick describes Hendrix's guitar solos as "fluently spectacular, stringing long, arching phrases together".[36] It was released on the Woodstock soundtrack follow-up album Woodstock Two, with the title "Get My Heart Back Together"[13] (reissued on Woodstock and Live at Woodstock). On May 30, 1970, during the Cry of Love tour, Hendrix with Mitchell and bassist Billy Cox were filmed performing the song at the Berkeley Community Theatre.[37] Several writers consider this rendition to be definitive,[18][38][39] including Shadwick:
He solos with a distinctive flavour, for the most part entirely melodic rather than the usual fusion of chords, melody and outright sonic manipulation. As with every great improviser he had his own distinctive melodic shapes, and a lot of them crop up here. But he makes them fresh by placing them in new contexts, either by using different registers or one of his electronic effects (here wah-wah or Uni-Vibe) to alter the timbre and texture, or by reordering them to create different continuities of phrasing.[40]
His performance, edited down to over four minutes, appears in the film Jimi Plays Berkeley by Peter Pilafian.[41] The complete audio recording from Berkeley with different lengths of Hendrix's introduction is included on the Rainbow Bridge album,[42]Blues,[43] and Voodoo Child: The Jimi Hendrix Collection.[44] On July 30, 1970, Hendrix, Mitchell, and Cox performed outdoors in the upcountry region on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Manager Michael Jeffery had arranged for their concert as a contribution to another film, Rainbow Bridge, directed by Andy Warhol associate Chuck Wein.[45] Due to technical problems, little of the concert footage was usable, although an edited "Hear My Train A Comin'" is included in the movie (although none of the performances from the film appear on the so-called Rainbow Bridge soundtrack album).[46] The complete audio recording is included on several bootleg albums of the Maui concerts.[47]
Studio recordings
Hendrix recorded several studio demo versions of "Hear My Train A Comin'" and some have appeared on various compilations over the years.[48] Producer Alan Douglas issued the first version in 1975 on the second of his controversial albums, Midnight Lightning.[49] It was fashioned from a demo recorded by the Experience on April 7, 1969.[50][lower-alpha 1] Douglas erased Redding's bass part and overdubbed new bass, guitar, and percussion parts by musicians who had never recorded with Hendrix.[49] Shadwick describes it as "painfully out of tune" and its release as "unfortunate";[53] it has not been reissued.[48]
At a February 17, 1969, rehearsal at the Olympic Studios before their upcoming London concerts, multiple takes of "Hear My Train A Comin'" were recorded by the Experience.[54] The first take was later included on the 2000 The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set[55] (re-released on Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix). During their following appearances at the Royal Albert Hall on February 18 and 24 (which turned out to be their last UK shows), the Experience were filmed and recorded performing the song.[56] These have not been officially released because of contract disputes, but are frequently bootlegged.[57] Two additional demos were recorded at the Record Plant in New York City in 1969. One, recorded on April 7 by the Experience, is included on 2010s Valleys of Neptune.[58] On May 21, a second demo was recorded during Hendrix's first recording session with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, who later performed on the live Band of Gypsys album.[59] It was issued on People, Hell and Angels in 2013.[59] The April 9, 1969, Experience recording was ultimately released in 2018 on Both Sides of the Sky.[60]
Additional live recordings
Previously unreleased recordings of "Hear My Train A Comin'" continue to be issued along with re-releases.[61] Several amateur concert recordings are also free to stream from the Experience Hendrix official website.[62]
7/7/69 The Dick Cavett Show, New York City (2:29) – Jimi Hendrix: The Dick Cavett Show (Hendrix is backed by the show's Bob Rosengarden Orchestra,[63] DVD released 2002)
↑ Shapiro and Glebbeek list the original recording date for the edited Midnight Lightning version as April 2, 1969,[51] while McDermott and Kramer list it as April 9, 1969.[52]
1 2 3 Jimi Hendrix Experience (1998). "Hear My Train A Comin'". BBC Sessions (Song recording). Universal City, California: MCA Records. Event occurs at 0:20 & 2:47. MCAD2-11742.
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, songwriter and singer. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential electric guitarists in the history of popular music, and one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes him as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music."
"Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967, in the United Kingdom. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Eastern modalities, shaped by novel sound processing techniques. Because of ambiguities in the lyrics, listeners often interpret the song as referring to a psychedelic experience, although Hendrix described it as a love song. It was included as the opening track in the North American edition of the Experience's debut album, Are You Experienced (1967).
"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.
Band of Gypsys is a live album by Jimi Hendrix and the first without his original group, the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded on January 1, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City with Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, frequently referred to as the Band of Gypsys. The album mixes funk and rhythm and blues elements with hard rock and jamming, an approach which later became the basis of funk rock. It contains previously unreleased songs and was the last full-length Hendrix album released before his death six months later.
"Red House" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and one of the first songs recorded in 1966 by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It has the musical form of a conventional twelve-bar blues and features Hendrix's guitar playing. He developed the song prior to forming the Experience and was inspired by earlier blues songs.
"Voodoo Chile" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded in 1968 for the third Jimi Hendrix Experience album Electric Ladyland. It is based on the Muddy Waters blues song "Rollin' Stone", but with original lyrics and music. At 15 minutes, it is Hendrix's longest studio recording and features additional musicians in what has been described as a studio jam.
Rainbow Bridge is a 1971 film directed by Chuck Wein centering on the late 1960s counterculture on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Filmed in summer 1970 with non-professional actors and without a script, it features largely improvised scenes with a variety of characters. To bolster the film, executive producer Michael Jeffery brought in his client Jimi Hendrix to film an outdoor concert. Hendrix's heavily edited performance appears near the end of the film.
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American guitarist whose career spanned from 1962 to 1970. His discography includes the recordings released during his lifetime. Prior to his rise to fame, he recorded 24 singles as a backing guitarist with American R&B artists, such as the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. Beginning in late 1966, he recorded three best-selling studio albums and 13 singles with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. An Experience compilation album and half of a live album recorded at the Monterey Pop Festival were also issued prior to his death. After the breakup of the Experience in mid-1969, songs from his live performances were included on the Woodstock: Music from the Original Soundtrack and More and Band of Gypsys albums. A studio single with the Band of Gypsys was also released.
"Stone Free" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and the second song recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It has been described as a "counterculture anthem, with its lyrics praising the footloose and fancy-free life", which reflected Hendrix's restless lifestyle. Instrumentally, the song has a strong rhythmic drive provided by drummer Mitch Mitchell with harmonic support by bassist Noel Redding. "Stone Free" was issued on December 16, 1966, as the B-side of the Experience's first UK single "Hey Joe" and later included on the Smash Hits compilation album.
"Third Stone from the Sun" is a mostly instrumental composition by American musician Jimi Hendrix. It incorporates several musical approaches, including jazz and psychedelic rock, with brief spoken passages. The title reflects Hendrix's interest in science fiction and is a reference to Earth in its position as the third planet away from the sun in the solar system.
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The Cry of Love Tour was a 1970 concert tour by American rock guitarist and singer Jimi Hendrix. It began on April 25, 1970, at the Forum in Inglewood, California, and ended on September 6, 1970, at the Love & Peace Festival in Fehmarn, West Germany. The majority of the 37 shows were in the United States, with two each in Sweden, Denmark, and West Germany, and one in England, where Hendrix was the final act at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970.
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American guitarist whose career spanned the years between 1962 and 1970. His posthumous discography includes recordings released after September 18, 1970. Hendrix left behind many recordings in varying stages of completion. This material, along with reissues of his career catalogue, has been released over the years in several formats by various producers and record companies. Since Experience Hendrix, a company owned and operated by members of the Hendrix family, took control of his recording legacy in 1995, over 15 Hendrix albums have appeared on the main US albums chart. Several of these have also placed on charts in more than 18 countries around the world.
Jimi Hendrix (1942–1970) was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter whose career spanned from 1962 to 1970. He appeared in several commercially released films of concerts and documentaries about his career, including two popular 1960s music festival films – Monterey Pop (1968) and Woodstock (1970). A short documentary, Experience (1968), also known as See My Music Talking, was also screened.
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Live in Maui is an album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience documenting their performance outdoors on Maui, Hawaii, on July 30, 1970. It marks the first official release of Hendrix's two full sets recorded during the filming of Rainbow Bridge (1971). The two-CD and three-LP set was released on November 20, 2020, along with a video documentary titled Music, Money, Madness... Jimi Hendrix in Maui.
Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 is a live album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded during the group's last North American tour and includes a mix of popular Experience album songs along with some instrumentals. The album is the first full live release by the trio with Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell since 2013's Miami Pop Festival.
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