Jimi Hendrix’s last words: The poem he wrote on the night he died
When Jimi Hendrix died before his time it was like a star had been smudged out of the night sky. As Pete Townshend said of the path he illuminated when he witnessed him live: “That was a comic experience.” Continuing: “he was like a shaman. It’s the only word I can use. I don’t know if it’s the right term. Light seemed to come out of him. He would walk onstage and suddenly he would explode into light.”
Sadly, in the early hours of September 18th, 1970, that light was diminished. It had blazed for four years, adding credence to the adage that the light that burns twice as bright lasts half as long. The official reports state that Hendrix had choked on his own vomit and died of barbiturate-related asphyxia. Rock mourned and hasn’t stopped being moved by his incomparable music ever since.
That night, he had been partying until 3am, when he returned to his girlfriend’s home (Monika Dannemann) and took 18 times the recommended dose of her sleeping pills. He had also penned a poem that night in her honour, and these fateful words have been a symbol of the silver lining to the tragedy that his art represents.
Mistaken as a suicide note by his friend Eric Burdon, Hendrix had seemingly intended to turn his solemn poem into a soaring song. These are the final touching recorded words of the late great, Jimi Hendrix:
“The story of Jesus/So easy to explain/After they crucified him/A woman, she claimed his name / […] The story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye/The story of love is hello and goodbye, until we meet again.”
These are merely the words that have been released. Other stanzas are known to exist, but these have never been made public. It is also said that the poem was written in honour of Dannemmann and Hendrix handed it to her and said, “I want you to keep this forever. I don’t want you to forget anything that is written. It’s a story about you and me.”
While that might sound like an ominous portent, those who knew him and were privy to the circumstances first-hand were certain that his death was not suicide but simply a mistake by a wayward man. His manager Chas Chandler says his final words to him were that he “needed help” and he wanted to change his turbulent lifestyle.
Thus, he went in the bath after partying one evening and wrote this touching poem and it happened to be his last act. Reams have been written about it, but what it says in the simplest sense is that he was so much more than a guitar God—not that his skills meant he had to be anything else. There is great spiritualism in his words as he desired to emulate his hero, Bob Dylan. They prove that it is emotion that makes his music soar, not just skill.
