"1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" is a song by English-American psychedelic rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience, featured on their 1968 third album Electric Ladyland. Written and produced by eponymous frontman Jimi Hendrix, the song features flute player Chris Wood of progressive rock band Traffic, and at over 13 minutes in duration is the second longest track ever released by the group (after "Voodoo Chile").

Hendrix first recorded demo versions of "1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)" at a New York apartment in March 1968 with just guitar and vocals, the recordings of which were later released as part of the unofficial bootleg Acoustic Jams, and subsequently on the companion disc of a 1995 book entitled Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix. The first official recording of the song, by the full lineup of The Jimi Hendrix Experience, took place at New York's Sound Center Studios on March 13, 1968, before Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell (along with flute player Chris Wood, then a member of Traffic) recorded five takes of the song, including the master recording, at the Record Plant on April 22. Additional overdubs were added on May 8, and the song was completed and mixed at the Record Plant on June 10.

On the Electric Ladyland recording of "1983…", Hendrix plays all guitars, vocals, percussion and bass (Noel Redding was absent from the track completely), with Mitchell on drums and Wood on flute. The track features backwards guitar and flute parts, the sounds of seagulls produced by manipulating microphone feedback, and a flexatone that makes a ringing bell sound. As with the rest of the album, production was led by Hendrix, while the engineering was handled by Eddie Kramer and studio owner Gary Kellgren.

...
Wikipedia