10 Famous Songs Whose Meaning The Fans (And The Pundits) Got Wrong

Jimi Hendrix was, sadly, no stranger to drug abuse: the legendary guitarist regularly used LSD, cannabis and amphetamines, particularly while on tour. In that context it is difficult to blame people for thinking that ‘Purple Haze,’ with its heavy of use of dream-like imagery (“Purple haze all in my brain” and “’scuse me while I kiss the sky”) described the psychedelic experience.

But not according to Hendrix. In an interview in 1967, when asked how he wrote his songs he replied:

"I dream a lot and I put my dreams down as songs. I wrote one called 'First Look Around the Corner' and another called 'The Purple Haze,' which was about a dream I had that I was walking under the sea.”

After the song’s release he offered a second explanation: “He [the song's protagonist] likes this girl so much, that he doesn't know what [state] he's in, ya know. A sort of daze, I suppose. That's what the song is all about.” This was inspired by an incident that happened in New York, where he felt that a girl was trying to use voodoo on him and he fell ill.

Likely the mercurial Hendrix drew inspiration from both, but the impression that drugs was behind the song can be put to bed.