Fans of the ’90s movie Wayne’s World have a specific relationship with Jimi Hendrix’s hit song, “Foxy Lady.” They would remember the character Garth (played by Dana Carvey) thrusting his pelvis back and forth to his crush, a cafe waitress (played by Donna Dixon). It’s a memorable and hilarious moment in a memorable and hilarious movie.
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But the reason that scene worked so well was because of the music. Hendrix’s rock track is as smooth as it is intricate. Released in 1967 on the album Are You Experienced, “Foxy Lady” has come to be known as one of Hendrix’s signature songs. Sadly, he only lived to be 27 years old, so the world lost out on decades of music. Nevertheless, “Foxy Lady” (alternatively “Foxey Lady”) remains essential rock listening.
Let’s dive into the history and meaning of the epic, sly-yet-nuanced track below.
Who IS the Foxy Lady?
Over time, while many likely have wished to be the inspiration for the song, there is a consensus that the song’s inspiration comes down to two people. Some believe the woman to inspire the song was the chestnut-haired Heather Taylor, a woman on the rock scene, who later married The Who’s Roger Daltrey. The second thought is that the iconic track was inspired by Lithofayne “Faye” Pridgon, who was Hendrix’s girlfriend in the mid-’60s. She was sought after by other rock icons like Sam Cooke and Sly Stone.
Speaking about Pridgon’s possible inspiration, The Guardian reports, “[‘Foxy Lady] seems to have been completely misread as nothing more than a lascivious come-on, bedroom braggadocio to shore up the exotic strutting, super-stud persona attached to Hendrix. A close reading of the lyrics reveals that ‘Foxy Lady’ is not just a song about sexual desire, but the desire for fidelity. A few lines from it clearly reference his frustrations about Lithofayne’s refusal to commit solely and absolutely to him.”
Such a lyric is:
Yeah, I’ve made up my mind
I’m tired of wasting all my precious time
You’ve got to be all mine, all mine
Foxy lady
Pridgon herself told The Guardian, “He used to call every pet we had ‘Foxy.’” Pridgon added, “He used to like to refer to good-looking girls as foxy. Or if I put on certain things, he’d say, ‘Wow, you look foxy in that.’
“He was always saying, ‘This is about you. I wrote this about you,’” she added. “I just thought it was cute.”
The Lyrics
It’s easy to think about the song as a chest-out entreaty, it isn’t just that, as noted above. But it is also that, too. Hendrix does boast, and with guitar prowess in tow, he’s especially convincing.
Foxy
Foxy
You know you’re a cute little heartbreaker
Yeah, Foxy
You know you’re a sweet little lovemaker
Foxy
I wanna take you home
I won’t do you no harm, no
You’ve got to be all mine, all mine
Ooh, foxy lady
Final Thoughts
With a bombastic delivery and a charismatic vibe, “Foxy Lady” delivers sexual power and artistic achievement. Some, including music writer Thomas Ward, believe it to be the quintessential Hendrix song in his popular catalog. While it’s simple in subject matter, it’s profound in its sound and how it reminds listeners today of the great artist who died so young.
Photo by Doug McKenzie/Getty Images
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