And The Wind Cries Jimi

“His music acknowledges an existential loneliness. He abstracted the blues. You can draw a line from ‘Death Letter’ ” — by the bluesman Son House — “to ‘The Wind Cries Mary.’ He’s telling a tale, but he doesn’t resolve it. It’s not like there’s a happy ending to any of these stories.” ~ Vernon Reid, guitarist for Living Colour

That's the quote I came across while at my internship on Monday. Something about that line resonated with me, so much so to the point where I just had to listen to "The Wind Cries Mary." By the second listen I'd fallen into some kind of eerie love with it. This song feels like dying music, like a man who's accepting his inevitable end and coming to terms with his own death. It's as though Jimi figured something out about time and death and he shared it in "The Wind Cries Mary." That type of raw honesty can't be denied or overlooked. It can only be heard. It can only be felt.