Songfacts®:

• Jimi Hendrix wrote this song about his mother, Lucille, who left the family in 1950 when he was 8 years old. She died in 1958.
  
  Hendrix, raised primarily by his father Al, never reported any resentment towards his mother. The alienation in fact seemed to only enhance his sense of her mystical presence. When Lucille died, Al wouldn't take Jimi or his brother Leon to the funeral. He instead had them do shots of whiskey in tribute.
• The line, "Two strange men fightin' to the death over me today" is a reference to two impostors claiming to be Hendrix' father in an effort to capitalize on his success.
• Recording this song was quite a process. Hendrix did pretty much everything himself, including playing bass. He also messed around with various phasing effects that show up on the song. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France
• "Gypsy Eyes" was included on Hendrix' classic album Electric Ladyland and was also used as the B-side to the "Crosstown Traffic" single.
• Hendrix's studio perfectionism bothered many of those he recorded with. Musicians and crew members would sometimes walk out on projects in frustration at the number of takes Hendrix insisted on doing. "Gypsy Eyes" was one of the most egregious examples of this tendency, coming in at over 50 takes before completion.