Wednesday 27 November 1968
Providence, Rhode Island Auditorium/Arena, 1111 North Main Street, USA. 

Jimi’s 26th birthday 

1. SERGEANT PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (John Lennon & Paul McCartney]

Hey, it was twenty years ago today
Sergeant Pepper told the band to play
They’ve been going in and out of style
But they’re guaranteed to bring a smile

So may I introduce to you
Been together all these years
One and only Billy Shears
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Cub Band 

[Solo]

Well, I don’t really wanna stop the show
But I think you might like to know
We’ve got a singer’s gonna sing a song
And he wants you all to join along

So may I introduce to you
One and only Billy Shears
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Cub Band 

Hey, baby

2. FIRE  [Backing vocal - Noel]

All right, baby, listen here I’m gonna tell you somethin now

Yeah 

You don’t care for me
I don’t-uh care about that  
You’ve got a new fool hah, I like to laugh at
I have only one-uh itchin’ desire
Let me stand next to your… [plays feedback howl]

(Let me stand next to your fire) ?
(Let me stand next to your fire) Oh, let me stand, baby
(Let me stand next to your fire) 
(Let me stand next to your fire) 

Oh, listen here, baby and stop actin’ so damned crazy
You say your mom ain’t home, it ain’t my concern
Just don’t play with me and you won’t get burned
I have only one, itchin’ desire
Let me stand next to your… [plays trill]

(Let me stand next to your fire) Let me stand, baby
(Let me stand next to your fire) Oh-oh, let me stand, right now
(Let me stand next to your fire) I ain’t gonna do you no harm
(Let me stand next to your fire)

Oh, move over Rover* and let Jimi take over
Yeah, you know what I’m talkin’ about

Make you feel?

[Solo]

Yeah

You try to give me your money 
You’d better save it babe
Save it for your rainy day 
I have only one itchin’ desire
Let me stand to your fire

(Let me stand next to your fire) Oh-oh, let me stand, baby 
(Let me stand next to your fire) Oh, let me stand
(Let me stand next to your fire) Oh, let me stand
(Let me stand next to your fire)

*From ‘Stoop Down Baby’ aka ‘Two Old Maids’ (Chick Willis?): “Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard… But when she bent over Rover took over. ‘Cause you know he had a bone of his own” ha-ha-ha. Jimi covered this at least five times from 1965 to 1970. He also get’s a mention in ‘Highway of Broken Hearts’,  ‘Keep On Groovin’ & ‘Hound Dog’. This, coupled with the story of Jimi asking if their dog could be moved so he could warm himself at the fire in Noel’s mother Margaret’s house at New Year 1966/67, would appear to be the inspiration for ‘Fire’

Noel: Thank you
Jimi : Thank you very much [tuning]  We’re having difficulty with our amplifiers, but so 
what, who can tell, you won’t even notice the difference or not [tuning]  That song was dedicated to ‘come over via miking’, a thing recorded in 17631 in The Benjamin Franklin Studios2, it’s about that old [tuning] It’s about, a thing about this cat shooting his old lady because-uh, she was doin’, doin’ the thing with somebody else, constantly [tuning] We got an awful politics of people just getting’ excited even though it caused nothin’… Dig, it goes something like this here……

1Twentyeighth recorded mention of Jimi referring to some of his early singles and songs off his first LP 
  (most frequently ‘Red House’ or ‘Hey Joe’,) as being recorded over a hundred years ago). Possibly a 
  reference to Elmore James’ strange 1954 song ‘1839 Blues’ which starts with him singing in a weird voice: 

 “Hey Joe… you know I’m a young man this time
  And you know I ain’t seen my baby since 1839
  I got to find her. What you say?”
 ….
2Fifth recorded mention of Jimi referring to Benjamin Franklin and/or to The BF Studios. ‘Benjamin’s’ is 
  slang for hundred dollar bills &  therefore making lot’s of money. This is the highest denomination dollar bill 
  and is graced with Franklin’s portrait. He experimented with electricity, played the guitar, invented an 
  ethereal spooky sounding instrument the ‘armonica’ - a revolutionary development of the ‘glass harmonica, 
  and was one of the leading American revolutionists, second only to George Washington

3. HEY JOE  (William ‘Billy’ Roberts)

Hey-hey Joe, I said, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?
Hey-hey Joe, I said, where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?

I’m goin’ down to shoot my lady
I caught her messin’ ‘round with another man
I’m goin’ down to shoot my ol’ lady 
I caught her messin’ ‘round with another man
And that ain’t to cool
 Hey-hey Joe, I heard you shot your lady down
You shot her down to the ground, hey
Hey-ey Joe, I heard you shot your woman down
You shot her down to the ground

[Quotes The Beatles - I FEEL FINE (J. Lennon & P. McCartney)]

Yes, I did, I her
You know I caught her messin’ ‘round
Messin’ around, town

Yes I did, I shot my lady
You know I caught her messin’ around town
An’ I gave her the gun
Yeah, I shot her 

[Solo]

Hey-hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
Where you gonna go?
Hey-hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
Where you gonna go-o-o?
He said, I’m goin’ way down south
Way down south now, baby, I’m
Way down, where I can be free

No one ain’t gonna find me 
I’m goin’ way down south 
Way down, where I can be free
Yeah, baby
Ain’t no hangman gonna 
He ain’t gonna put a rope around me
Hey, you better believe it, baby 
Hey, hey-ey Joe
You’d better run on down 
You’d better 
Goodbye everybody

 [Quotes The Beatles ‘I FEEL FINE’ (John Lennon & Paul McCartney)]

Noel: Thank you very much, right
Jimi : Yeah, I was out of toon somewhere, ah, we like to toon up by ear, and like-uh 
dedicate this next song to you for, for comin’ to dig us an’ like-uh, also to the American Indian, it’s a thing called I Don't Live Today, it goes something like this…

4. I DON'T LIVE TODAY [Backing vocal: Noel]

Will I live tomorrow? 
Well, I just can’t say, yeah, all right
Oh, will I live tomorro-o-ow? 
Well, I just ca-an’t say, right now
But I know for sure
I don’t live today, baby

No sun comin’ through my windows
Feel like I’m livin’ at the bottom of a grave 
No-o-o sun coming through my windows
Feel like I’m livin’ at the bottom of a grave
I wish you’d hurry up an execute me
So I can be on my miserable way

I do-on’t live toda-ay
(I do-on’t live toda-ay)
Maybe tomorrow I
I just can’t tell you, baby

Well, I do-on’t, live toda-ay
(I do-on’t, live toda-ay)
Isn’t it a shame to waste your time away like this

[Solo/jam]

I do-on’t live toda-ay
(I do-on’t live toda-ay)
Maybe tomorrow I
I just can’t tell you, baby, but

I do-on’t, live toda-ay
(I do-on’t, live toda-ay)
Isn’t it a shame to waste your time away like this

Nothing but existing

[Solo/jam]

Jimi : Thank you very much, yeah, okay then
Noel: Hey, watch the controls, will you
Jimi : What do you see?
Aud : Purple Haze!
Jimi : I can’t understand a word you’re saying, ‘cause we’re playing too loud. Anyway-uh, 
dig, like to continue on an’ do a thing that was off our latest LP, it’s nothin’ but a straight Rock and Blues type thing, very simple, a thing called Voodoo Child Slight Return You’ve Asked For It [tuning] Like-uh, girls while we’re playin’ if you’re standing in the background, I think what you should do is, refuse for the music, some people don’t know the difference anyway. But it happens to be that our amps are broken an’ we’re playin’ on about four speakers a piece, some mess like that, I don’ really know. We’re playin’ on the shadows and ashes of the last gig we did [tuning] You’s don’t sound very happy with it. Oh, you’d better pretend it’s not there [tuning] See the next thing we play doesn’t sound good, man. Oh, yeah, right Voodoo Child [hits a harmonic] Just havin’ a practice [tuning] …

5. VOODOO CHILD (Slight Return) 

Well, I stand up next to a mountain
I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Hey!
Well, I stand up next to a mountain
And chop it down with the edge of my ha-a-and
I pick up all the pieces and maybe make a island

Might even ‘raise a little sand’*
Hey, baby
‘Cause I’m a Voodoo chile, Voodoo chile
Lord knows, I’m a Voodoo chile, baby, yeah

[Solo/jam]

I didn’t mean to take up all your sweet time
I’ll give it right back one of these days
I didn’t mean to take up all your sweet ti-ime
I’ll give it right back one of these days
Yeah, yeah, yeah, hey, yeah, yeah
If I don’t see you no more in this world
I’ll meet you on the next one and don’t be late, don’t be late
‘Cause I’m a Voodoo chile, Voodoo chile
Lord knows, I’m a Voodoo chile, yeah-eah

[Solo/jam]

* ‘Raise sand’ - expression meaning to cause a disturbance, get angry etc.

Jimi : Like to continue on, and-uh know, slow the pace down a little bit, bore you for abour 
six or seven minutes. Thought you’d come out an’ dig the songs was it? It’s a slow blues that we recorded in England about ah, two years ago when we first got together then. [Bang! Bang!] Gun’s loaded with s’six. It’s a thing called Red House, we’d like to do for you 
Aud : Hey Joe!
Jimi : We already did that, will you shut up, man! We don’t wanna know, we already did 
that, Hey Joe and we’d like to do this next one, if you’d give us a chance. Gi’ me a ‘A’ [tuning] Very bad, that bass guitar’s got to settle down [tuning]…

6. RED HOUSE

There’s a red house over yonder, ba-aby
Lord, that’s where my baby stay-y-yeah
Yeah
Yeah, there’s a red house over yonder, baby
Lord, that’s where I said a yonder, baby 
Where my ba-a-a-aby stay
Yeah, that’s all right
I ain’t been home to see my oogly baby
In about a ninety nine and one half day, * yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
About time to see her now

Wait a minute somethin’s wrong, baby
Lord have mercy, the key won’t unlock this do-oor
Wait a minute somethin’s wrong, ba-aby
Wait a minute somethin’s wrong, baby
Wait a minute somethin’s wro-o-ong
The key won’t unlock this do-o-oor
I’ve got a bad, bad, bad feelin’ 
My baby don’t live here no mo-o-o-ore
Lord, don’t live here no mo-o-ore 
That’s right I still got my guitar
Yeah!

[Extended solo/jam]

I might as well go back over yonder, ba-aby
Wa-a-ay back, back yonder, across the hill
Hey!... [Tape cut]

* Three month jail term

7. SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE (John ‘Jack’ Bruce, Pete Brown & Eric Clapton)
…

Jimi : uh, Thank you anyway, thank you all
Aud : Purple Haze! Purple Haze! Purple Haze! Purple Haze! etc.
Jimi : Hey wait a minute, wait a minute, when I say “Toilet paper” that’s when you come 
rollin’ out, okay? Come on, just wait a minute, you know we’ll be doin’ that in time. I said “Do you want part of me?” sure you would. I wish you all felt tired and soft. Dig er-uh, yeah we’d like to do a song dedicated to somebody’s girlfriend, we don’t know who it is yet, but-uh, we’ll find out later on tonight after the gig’s over
Noel: We’re leaving tonight, so em…
Jimi : You can’t leave now, ‘cause I’ll be getting my best thing here… You all knew that 
          problem with a sue come from… Dig, turn that thing up it’ll be about the winnin’ sue
Noel: Did you know that-um, know tomorrow is Thanks Giving Day in America? Well in 
England we’ve got a different thing, you see, okay, tomorrow is Mother’s Day in England you see,  so any young girls want to become young mother’s just come round to our dressing room, all right?
Aud : [Cheers & whistles]   .
Jimi : [Tuning] The man said. You all like to have your Dylan, you all dig Dylan?
Aud : Yeah!
Jimi : Well listen, there’s this record that we, that somebody messed around and released, 
so we didn’t even know anything about it, an’, like, it was-uh-uh, we never even played it in The States yet, we only ever did it in the recording studio, but, like-uh, we don’t know how to play it, so I think it really wouldn’t shurvive that, wouldn’t shurvive that? I don’ know [in silly voice]: ‘What the Hell are you doing around Rhode Island’ 
Aud : All Along The Watchtower! Watchtower!
Jimi : Oh man, no good. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I must, I mis-interpret that, forgot the words to 
it, so-uh. Anyway, we wanna keep that good impression in your mind about that song, so we won’t do it tonight, matter of fact, just let me try the words, but we’ll do Spanish Castle Magic, dedicated to this joint, I mean-uh, this cigarette 
Aud : [Applause]
Jimi : Our-uh, we have to dedicate it to, I don’ know
Noel: My grandmother
Jimi : Yeah, our grandmothers. Anybody have grandmothers speakin’?
Aud : Yeah
Jimi : I could do the last number, probably a joint, just like you [in silly stoned voice]:    
          ‘They’re having fun brother, but I’m not having any fun anymore, fuck’
Aud : [Laughter]
Jimi : I see. Who wanted to go through all that rubble, wouldn’t they still be really nice? 
and dig some sounds [tuning] I wanna do Spanish Castle-uh Magic for you, goes something like this here [tuning] The reason, the reason why we’re playin’ so many old songs is because, like, we recorded the last LP, jus’-which is a very hard way of recording, like, we was doing gigs and touring the United States Of America, as we is, you know, recording the LP. It’s very hard, like, jumping from-uh the studio onto the-uh plane, an’ do a gig, an’ then jump right back in the studio, so, like, you know, that’s why we’re playing so many old songs, because we never had a chance to get practiced some other ones
Aud : Hey Joe! 
Jimi : Hey man, I can’t, hey, hey brother, I can’t hear you through this much, I can’t-uh, I 
          can work the, hey 
Aud : [Laughter]
Jimi : Woah and speak a little louder, I can’t hear you’re whispering
Aud : Purple Haze! Purple Haze!
Jimi : Bop a hula?
Noel: They said, they said, moo-hoo-hoo
Jimi : Can you hula? Okay, with one…

8. SPANISH CASTLE MAGIC 

It’s very far awa-ay 
Takes about a half a day to get there
If we travel by my ffup! ou! dragonfly
No it’s no-ot in Spai-ain
But all the same you know it’s a groovy name 
And the wind's just right, hey! I said 
Hang on my darlin’, hang on if you wanna go-o-o 
Hey, baby
Sure, is a whole lot of fun
You can bring your grandmother too
Spanish Castle magic

The clouds are really lo-ow 
And they overflow with cotton-candy 
And battle grounds 
Red and brown, but dig, baby
It’s all in your mind, baby
Don’t waste your time thinkin’ about bad things
Just float your little mind around, hey
Hang on my darlin’
Hang on, if you wanna go-o-o
Whole lot of fun
Spanish Castle magic

[Extended solo/jam]

Hang on my darlin’, hang on if you wanna go-o-o 
Sure, is a whole lot of fun, baby
You ain’t gonna fall into
Spanish Castle magic
Little bit of
Spanish Castle magic
Yeah, it’s all too bad, baby

Jimi : We’d like to continue on, we only have two more songs to do, so we’d like to say 
          thank you very much for staying with us this long
Aud : Purple Haze! Purple Haze!
Jimi : Hey, Noel
Aud : Purple Haze! Purple Haze!
Noel: Is your guitar fucked or something?
Jimi : [Tuning] Yeah, from, like I said before we have two more songs to do, an’ one of 
them goes like this here, this old one also dedicated to somebody’s girlfriend after the end of the gig, after the end of the gig, man, happens. Goes something like this here. How many times have I cracked in like that? Yeah, that isn’t right, man, okay? [starts feedback intro]
Aud : [Applause]
Jimi : Thank you very much and now for our next number I’d like to go on…
Aud : [Laughter]
Jimi : One, two, three, four…

9. FOXY LADY  [Backing vocal - Noel]

Now you know you’re a cute little heartbreaker 
(Foxy)
And you know, baby, you’re a sweet little love maker
 (Foxy)
I’m gonna take you home
I won’t do you no harm, no
Got to be all mine, all mine 
Wooh! foxy lady

Yeah
(Foxy)

I see you, I’m down on the scene
(Foxy)
You make me wanna get up and scream
(Foxy)
I’ve made up my mind
I’m tired of wastin’ all my precious time
You’ve got to be all mine, all mine
Foxy lady 

[Extended solo/jam]

I’ve made up my mind
I’m tired of wastin’ all my precious ti-ime
You’ve got to be all mine
Ooh, foxy lady 

Yeah
Here I come, baby, heh-heh
You’re so silly
And, here I come, brother
Cool against it

Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
You look so good
Oh, yeah

Noel: Don’t believe it. One o’ you just turned the power off, on the last note, poof
Aud : It’s much so long!
Jimi : Look a faggot back there turned the power off, when we have one more song to do, 
          so let’s stay there until they turn the power back on, all right
Aud : [Applause…Tape cut]…
Jimi : … The International Anthem we’re gonna do now, but you all know the song, so, and 
in that song we’d like to see everybody stand up, put your right hand across your left er-uh, you know wherever you put the cranberry sauce 
Girls: [Laughing]
Jimi : And then we’ll begin with the-uh, the International Anthem, where I come from 
Aud : Just play!
Jimi : [Tuning… Tape cut]  You all won’t sing along with us, if you don’t stand up and if you 
don’t put your right hand across your left, left-uh, whatever you can find to put it across there, we’re gonna put a curse on you, we’re gonna put a curse on you, yes, they think I’m jivin’, but listen, all your kids shall be born butt naked, that’s the curse
Aud : [Laughter]
Jimi : So you know what that means, that means you’re all gonna put your hands and 
stand up and do your thing. ‘Cause really to God, snap, you ought to be doing it now. Here we go [tuning]… [starts intro]… The sounds you’re hearing is my electric interpretation of ‘America’ huh-yeah right. Here we go from flight back… Oh excuse me, missed my flight back…
Aud : [Laughter & applause] 

10. THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER (music: ‘The Anacreontic Song’ by John Stafford Smith)
….

11. PURPLE HAZE  [Backing vocal - Noel]

Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things don’t seem the same
I’m actin’ funny, but I don’t know why
‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy

Purple haze all around 
Don’t know if I’m comin’ up or down
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is, that girl put a spell on me 

Help baby, help me baby
Hey!

[Extended solo/jam]

(Ooh, aah, ooh, aah, ooh, aah, ooh, aah)

Yeah

[mixes up next verse (again)]

Purple haze all in my eyes 
Don’t know if it’s-uh day or night
Am I happy or in misery
Tomorrow or just the end of time [sic]

Help baby, help baby
Yeah
Yeah-eah purple haze
(Purple haze)
Yeah-eah purple haze
(Purple haze)

[Tape cuts out]…