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Machine Gun (song)





Song| Information

  Name Machine Gun
  Cover Band of Gypsys albumjpg
  Caption Cover of "Band of Gypsys"
  Artist Jimi Hendrix
  Album Band Of Gypsys
  Recorded 1 January , 1970
  Genre Psychedelic Rock , Blues-rock
  Length 12:32
  Label MCA
  Writer Jimi Hendrix
  Producer Heaven Research


"Machine Gun" is a song written and performed by '', and most notably the '' Band Of Gypsys '' LP, the latter often lauded as one of Hendrix’s finest performances, and has even been considered among the finest performances ever with an Electric Guitar {Link without Title} .

"Machine Gun" debuted in September s. The song opens with a recognizable, Univibe Pedal based guitar riff intended to mimic the sounds of a firing machine gun. The memorable (and menacing) bass and drum patterns then commence. The rather sparse lyrics, which differ in every performance, are told from the point of view of a soldier fighting in war:

"
Machine gun

Tearin' my body all apart

Evil man make me kill you

Evil man make you kill me

Even though we're only families apart.

Well, I pick up my axe and fight like a farmer,

You know what I mean?

Hey, and your bullets keep knockin' me down..."



In the .

The intro to "Hear My Train A Comin'" at Jimi's Woodstock performance in August 1969 is reminiscent of the "Machine Gun" intro, once again using the Uni-Vibe pedal. He also used vocal lines and riffs(which match up in a fashion similar to "Machine Gun") while playing an E blues mainly beginning at the 12th fret, much like the "Machine Gun" intro.

During the writing and recording of (what would have been) Hendrix's 4th studio album, Jimi began a studio version of Machine Gun, which was later heavily edited by Alan Douglas , and featured on the 1975 posthumous release Midnight Lightning . This version was not very well received among fans, as Douglas had brought in session musicians to overdub drum, bass and even guitar parts, which were missing/lacking due to either poor recording quality, or damage to the tapes. This studio version lacked the huge feeling and heart that the live performances delivered, and contained too many overdubbed guitar and vocal parts which made the song cramped, and quite unlistenable.