Castles Made of Sand

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Castles Made of Sand

The song "Castles Made of Sand" was written by Jimi Hendrix in his album "Axis: Bold As Love," released in May of 1967. This song is basically composed of three narratives of life situations. The recurring theme throughout this song is slight variations of the line: "castles made of sand fall into the sea eventually." The overall message of this song seems to be that love, dreams, happiness and even life itself cannot be depended on to last.

The first verse of the song depicts an argument between a man and a woman. The woman is angry at the man because he is drunk on her doorstep, apparently as he had been many times before. The argument progresses until she slams the door in his face sending him away with harsh words, calling him a "disgrace." As this scene breaks, the people around watch and "drool" at the chance to gossip about the man and woman whose problems make them feel more comfortable and content with their own lives. In desperation, anger, and remorse, the man calls to his love. He does not seem to understand how they have come to this point when the love that they had once seemed so wonderful. Calling her "mad," he does not understand how she could throw away and give up on the love they had. The man cannot see how his drunkenness destroyed their love. He cries at her door and "his tears fall and burn the garden green." The garden green symbolizes the thriving, beautiful love they once had for each other, the love that has been destroyed by his drinking problem. The garden being burned by his tears symbolizes the final end to their love as the man cries outside her door, never to experience the wonderful love he had with this woman again. In the recurring line, "castles made of sand fall int...

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...ir and unpredictable. In the third verse of the song, Jimi Hendrix goes as far to say that even life itself is a castle made of sand. He seems to be saying that nothing in this life, nor even life itself can be depended on.

In general, Jimi Hendrix's music is considered to have an emotional honesty as well as a vision of cultural and social brotherhood. "Castles Made of Sand" is no exception. All cultures and social classes can associate with the message of this song in some form or another. Most people have had an experience with a "castle made of sand." Whether it be love or a dream or anything else one hold's dear, almost everyone has seen something that they have built up and come to cherish crumble and melt away before their eyes. All have experienced the uncertainty and cruelty of life when one's "castles" fall away in life's stormy seas and crashing waves.

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