Somewhere Over The Rainbow

A starkly powerful song with lyrics worthy of Dylan at his best. Hendrix was consciously nodding to Harold Arlen's classic song of very similar title from "The Wizard of Oz" when he penned this searing plea in a tortured and unjust world. "Back at the saloon my tears mix and mildew with my drink/I can't really tell my feet from the sawdust on the floor..." Brilliant, and harrowing. I'm writing this in early August 2025 when, in just the past 24 hours, Trump has fired the chief of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for telling the truth about the economy and job numbers, and has threatened Russia with nuclear weapons, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has announced it's shutting down in the wake of Trump's cruel/fascist cutting off funding (ending TV in many rural and poor areas of the country). Jimi- 55 years gone and we need you more than ever.

oh i love this song!!! go and listen PURE GENIOUS RIP Jimi forever and ever 1943-1970 (WHYYYYYY????)

this song is absolutely brilliantly amazing, beautiful music, love absolutely everything about this song... i've got absolutely no clue what the meaning of this song is, but it's a wonderful listen, great stuff.

in retrospect, i do believe this song is about humans and how destrustive a species we are, and aliens looking at us wondering what;s wrong with our species. the last paragraph is what leaves me puzzled, i just don't get that last part.

h uh, I see fingers, hands and shades of faces, Reachin up and not quite touchin the promised land, I hear pleas and prayers and a desperate whisper sayin, Hold on please give us a helpin hand, Yeah yeah

Way down in the background, I can see frustrated souls of cities burnin, And all across the water vapor, I see weapons barkin out the sting of death, And up in the clouds I can imagine UFO's jumpin themselves, Laughin they sayin, Those people so uptight, they sure know how to make a mess

Back in the saloon my tears mix'n mildew with my drink, I can't really tell my feet from the stones on the floor, But as far as I know, they may even try to wrap me up in cellophane and try and sell me Brothers help me, and dont worry about lookin at the score Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

i think those are proper, not sure tho

great song

This is the "depressing" version of Earth Blues. I believe what Jimi's referring to is the same thing he's referring to in House Burning Down. The fact that the black community was fighting for their rights, but at the same time destroying their own communities and killing eachother. And the fact that they could never seem to achieve that goal, reaching up but not quite touchin the promised land. And he's feeling down cause he wants to help but he doesn't know how. He's askin his brothers to help him, and not worry about the chaos that's around them.

And while all this is happening, UFO's are pointing and laughing. My 2 cents.

Here's my take:

The first verse is about the desperation of the culture at the time, whether it be residual nuclear anxiety, the civil rights movement, or anything, really. Just people trying to reach salvation, but not quite getting there.

The second is again about strife- how we can't get along and how strange that would be to outsiders.

The third verse is about corruption, selling out, etc. He's drinking in the saloon because he's depressed that the record companies will control him and try to 'wrap me in cellphane and sell me'. Think Kurt Cobain.

Anyways, that's my two cents.