"Fire" is a song written and originally recorded by Jimi Hendrix and released on the 1967 Are You Experienced album by The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
History[edit][]
The 1967 U.S. Reprise stereo remix of "Fire" was subsequently released as a stereo single in 1969, outside the United States and Canada as "Let Me Light Your Fire." The track has been included on a number of greatest hits collections, including Jimi Hendrix: The Ultimate Experience. 'The Experience' frequently opened live concerts with this song.
Despite its sexual overtones, the song had an innocuous origin, stemming from a cold New Year's Eve in Folkestone, England after a gig. Noel Redding, bass player for The Jimi Hendrix Experience invited Jimi and Cathy as guests at his mother's house. Jimi asked her if he could stand next to her fireplace to warm himself. She agreed, but her Great Dane was in the way, hence the line, "Aw, move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over..." ("Electric Gypsy").[1][2]
On the other hand, on the Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsys Live at the Fillmore East DVD (2011), in chapter 7, beginning at the 39:29 mark, engineer Eddie Kramer plays a tape of Hendrix reciting, "Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to find her poor dog a bone / But when she bent over, Rover took over, 'cause Rover had a bone of his own! Shakepeare, page 35!"[3] (A rhyme later adopted by Andrew Dice Clay.) On the tape, Hendrix's recitation precedes a vocal for the song "Ezy Rider," which means it would have been recorded in December 1969.[4] Despite the later date than the recording of "Fire," Jimi's familiarity with this rhyme could imply that the "standing by the fireplace" story is disingenuous.
The album version of the song contained a very short and simple solo, but through several live performances, Hendrix expanded it.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers covered it on their 1989 album, Mother's Milk, changing some of the lyrics such as "Move over, Rover, and let Jimi take over" to "Move over, Rover, and let Mr. Huckleberry take over" as a tribute to the late RHCP guitarist, Hillel Slovak (who was also known by his nickname, "Mr. Huckleberry"), who had died months before recording for the Mother's Milk album began.
Kingston Wall covered it on their 1992 debut album I.