One of my Christmas gifts this year was a vinyl copy of Hendrix's Axis: Bold as Love. I'm not the first to state this, but I really appreciate vinyl, and how when you put the needle on the record, you're making a decision to listen to the music. These days, people have a tendancy to "hear" music, that is, it is on in the background, but they are not focused on it. It is there to act as a noise blocker at work, or to provide a distraction while they workout. The act of listening to music means that you are actively focused on the music, to take it in, and appreciate it.
Below are the lyrics to "Bold as Love". Before getting a vinyl copy, I had already picked out the song as one of my favorites from the album, mostly due to the great guitar work on it. In sitting down to listen to the song, the vinyl gave me the added bonus of having the large gatefold packing, with the lyrics printed on the inside. That let me listen to the music, and actually hear the lyrics and see the picture being painted. This song is art--the music and the lyrics combining together to form a complete piece.
Here are the lyrics:
Anger he smiles, towering in shiny metallic purple armour
Queen jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground
Blue are the life-giving waters taken for granted,
They quietly understand
Once happy turquoise armies lay opposite ready,
But wonder why the fight is on
But theyre all bold as love, yes, theyre all bold as love
Yeah, theyre all bold as love
Just ask the axis
My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war and
Ribbons of euphoria
Orange is young, full of daring,
But very unsteady for the first go round
My yellow in this case is not so mellow
In fact Im trying to say its frigthened like me
And all these emotions of mine keep holding me from, eh,
Giving my life to a rainbow like you
But, Im eh , yeah, Im bold as love
Yeah, yeah
Well Im bold, bold as love (hear me talking, girl)
Im bold as love
Just ask the axis (he knows everything)
Yeah, yeah, yeah
