Jimi Hendrix: Castles Made of Sand Meaning

Castles Made of Sand Lyrics

Down the street you can hear her scream youre a disgrace
As she slams the door in his drunken face
And now he stands outside
And all the neighbours start to gossip and drool
He cries oh, girl you must be mad,
What happened to the sweet love...

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   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Mar 21st 2012 !⃝

   Jimi was no pessimist, I think most people are right about 1st verses being personal examples from his family life and his childhood, but the girl in the wheelchair sees the winged golden ship, really didn't need to stop because the job was done, she saw something that changed her whole perspective on everything. My interpretation is this, castles made of sand, that is wishes, ideas, beliefs, dreams based on false foundations eventually disappear, just like the sandcastles do. If they were real, they would stay, but they are not, they are made of sand and slip into the sea eventually. So keep it real and dream about things that are achievable and don't feel bad when the sandcastles melt. By the way an extra note why I think this, jimi hung out a lot in Morocco in particular at a place called essouira, on the atlantic coast. I have been there and there is a massive castle that is slowly melting into the sea over time as it was built on sand and not rock, like the other one that still stands. You can see them both even now at the place where kingdom of heaven was filmed. Hope this helps jimi, I tried to tell them...

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Oct 18th 2007 !⃝

   The song is based on Jimi's life, but it's not the point of the song. Castles made of sand are beautiful things that are destined to end - the first verse is about how Jimi's parents marriage ended. The second is about the end of childhood - one day you dream of being a warrior and the next day you're killed in a war. The third verse is about the end of someones life, the best example for a castle made of sand.
   
   Well that's how I see it, anyone else?

3. 3TOP RATED

   #3 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Sep 20th 2011 !⃝

   hi Hendrix fans
   I'm twelve years old and I started listening to Jimi Hendrix when i chose him for a school project about a notable person.My dad's friend is obsessed and gave me all his hendrix songs, and now i'm always itching to get my fingers on the guitar.
   
   the meaning of this song is talking about how his parents fought after they left his crippled brother joeseph with another family and him and his brother leon are caught up in it.
   the second verse is about his brother leon and how he always wanted to be an indian chief when they played cowboys and indians in the park.
   the third verse is about his mother because she was in a wheel chair when in hospital and then she died: the golden ship.
   "and so castles mad of sand, fall in the sea, evantually" this his mum and dads honeymoon drifting in the sea
   
   it is sad but means a lot
   
   Thanks :)
4. anonymous

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   Sep 29th 2023 !⃝

   A beautiful song about dreams that crumble, yet we overcome. In the last verse the cripple girl jumps up and if you are a optimist you believe she was cured and marveled in the ship floating by… if you are a pessimist you may believe it sailed away without her. I believe Hendrix left this open to interpretation.
5. anonymous

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   Nov 13th 2017 !⃝

   It means all good things come to an end.....
6. anonymous

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   Feb 23rd 2017 !⃝

   It's mainly about the need for better wheel chairs to be built so people that have to live their lives in them can be comfortable.
   
   Break-ups and growing up are normal parts of life that are something that we all need to overcome but being stuck in a wheel chair is not something that many people have to endure. Hendrix wanted to make a point that, while not special attention, attention needs to be paid to disabled people.
   
   I think that the song had a lot to do with the eventual passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 when the people of that generation were really starting to get into seats (no pun) of power so they had the power to fulfill Hendrix' dream.
7. anonymous

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   Dec 6th 2016 !⃝

   It's about reincarnation.
   
   All of those people are the same person, in different dimensions. The song is about someone's spirit occupying different bodies, living different lives at different times.
8. MightyTHOTH

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   Sep 28th 2013 !⃝

   Someone has already interpreted this song as "all beautiful things are destined to end." Castles are like temples, or sacred, when they are made out of sand, they will be swallowed by the sea eventually.
   
   The following is from a documentary. It shows how this song is all about Hendrix's childhood.
   
   First verse is about Hendrix parents arguing. Which eventually led to divorce when Hendrix was ten years old. "Castles made out of sand drift into the sea eventually"
   
   Second verse is about Jimi's brother Leon. Before Leon was ten he played Cowboys And Indians with Jimi at the park. Leon was also taken from the welfare before he was ten. "Surprise attack killed him in his sleep that night."
   
   Last verse is about his mother. When his mother and father argued she would always regret to talk back because it was always just arguing. When Jimi and his brother visit their Mother in the hospital she was in a wheelchair. Golden wing ship passed her way and brought her to heaven.
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V4cCr_g8gg
   start the video at 12:00 to see the song explained by those close to him.
9. anonymous

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   Aug 21st 2011 !⃝

   The sand represents one's originality. A weak building material, it is easy to mold and interesting to look at. The castle represents one person. The sea represents society's "normality," the seemingly unconscience movement of the waves, and steady drone of sound. He is actually saying that all fall into the sea of boring regular people eventually.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. anonymous

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    Jun 24th 2011 !⃝

    The song is all about strong beliefs whether in love,ambition or life that we all hold...and the disappointment from these failed dreams.The bottom lines is everything comes to an end...death is inevitable
11. anonymous

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    Jun 24th 2011 !⃝

    The song is all about strong beliefs whether in love,ambition or life that we all hold...and the disappointment from these failed dreams.The bottom lines is everything comes to an end...death is inevitable
12. anonymous

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    Apr 18th 2011 !⃝

    The song is about Jimi's dysfunctional family life and how things don't always work out.
13. Sexy_sky.sky

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    Nov 28th 2009 !⃝

    First Verse:
    About his family. pretty self explanatory.
    
    Second Verse:
    Alluding to his younger brother and his native american heritage I believe. They would play war games as children together, and this is talking about his younger brother's struggles
    
    Third Verse:
    This is tricky. It can either talk about his mother, or Janis Joplin. If Janis it's talking about her legs, which would mean her heavy drug use crippling her. a "Golden Winged Ship" = street name for Heroine.
    
    I like all your ideas though, they make sense. This is just how I see it.
14. jeanHendrix

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    May 27th 2009 !⃝

    he dedicated this song to his familly...
    In the first verse he talks about his parents arguying...
    the second verse he talks about his childhood with his little brother leon who always wanted to be an idian chief...
    the last verse he talks about his mother...
15. anonymous

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    Dec 22nd 2008 !⃝

    The song is a metaphor for beliefs based on illusion as supposed to truth.
16. anonymous

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    Nov 18th 2007 !⃝

    The song was about Jimi's Childhood, the drunken man was Jimi's father, Al, because both of his parents were drunks. Whenever he talks about the boy with dreams of becoming a warrior, it's him because he liked to play games like that when he was a kid. Lastly, the lady in the wheelchair was his mother whenever she got some type of liver disease, which she recovered from.

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