Hey Joe

Folk rock singer Tim Rose’s slow version, (recorded in 1966 and claimed to be Rose's arrangement of a wholly traditional song) inspired the first single by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. One documentary shows interviews with Chas Chandler, who, having just left The Animals, and was focusing on managing other acts. He had been seeking out an artist to record a full-on rock version of "Hey Joe", and Hendrix fit the bill. Chandler had seen Rose performing at the Cafe Wha? in New York City (Hendrix himself had recently played a few times in the same venue). Some accounts credit the slower version of the song by the British band The Creation as being the inspiration for Hendrix's version; Chandler and Hendrix eventually saw them perform the song after Jimi finally arrived in the UK along with Chandler although their version was not released until after Hendrix's. It is unclear if the members of the Creation had heard Rose's version. Released in December 1966, Hendrix's version became a worldwide hit, entering the UK top ten within the month in January 1967 and remains the best known recording of the song. The single was released in the United States on May 1, 1967 with the B-side "51st Anniversary". It is #198 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Lyrics Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand Hey Joe, I said where you goin' with that gun in your hand I'm goin' down to shoot my ol' lady I caught her messin' 'round with another man Yeah, I'm goin' down to shoot my ol' lady now You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man And that ain't too cool Hey Joe, hey, Joe, I heard you shot your woman down Hey Joe, hey, Joe, I heard you shot your woman down, baby He said, "Yeah, I did it, yes I did, I shot her You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man" Yes I did, I shot her You know I caught my her messin' 'round with another man Yeah, and I gave her the gun Hey Joe, hey Joe Where you gonna run to, now where you gonna run to now Hey Joe, hey Joe Lord, where you gonna run to, now where you gonna run to, baby I'm goin' way down south, way down south Way down to Mexico way, yeah I'm goin' way down south, way down south, baby Way down where I can be free Ain't no one gonna mess with me there, baby Ain't no hang-man gonna He ain't gonna put a rope, a rope around me, yeah You better believe it, baby Hey, Joe, you better run on down, you better Goodbye everybody

[Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] Hey Joe, where you going with that gun in your hand? Hey Joe, I said, where you going with that gun in your hand? [Verse 2] I'm going down to shoot my old lady You know, I caught her messing around with another man I'm going down to shoot my old lady You know, I caught her messing around with another man And that ain't too cool [Verse 3] Hey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down You shot her down, now Hey Joe, I heard you shot your old lady down You shot her down to the ground [Verse 4] Yes I did, I shot her You know, I caught her messing around, messing around town Yes I did, I shot her You know, I caught my old lady messing around town And I gave her the gun, I shot her! [Guitar Solo/Bridge] Hey Joe, alright Shoot her one more time, baby [Verse 5] Hey Joe, where you going to run to now? Where you going to run to? Hey Joe, I said, where you going to run to now? Where you, where you going to go? Well, dig it [Verse 6] I'm going way down south Way down to Mexico way, alright I'm going way down south Way down where I can be free There's no one going to find me [Verse 7] Ain't no hangman going to He ain't gonna put a rope around me You better believe it right now, I got to go now [Outro] Hey Joe, you better run on down Goodbye everybody, ow! Hey Joe, run on down