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Castles Made of Sand is a song from The Jimi Hendrix Experience's second studio album, Axis: Bold As Love, released in 1967 in the UK and 1968 in the U.S.

The song is a melancholy meditation on misfortune, with each verse conveying a specific occurrence supported by chorus-lines: three slight variations of "...and so castles made of sand fall in the sea, eventually...". The song is an example of Hendrix' skills as a songwriter and lyricist, as well as an accomplished guitarist.

The song is known for its intricate solo, heard on record as being completely backwards in time (at first recorded properly, then reversed on track) and its lack of a conventional chorus.

Leon Hendrix, the younger brother of Jimi has said that privately, Jimi revealed to him that the song was about their family. The first verse is their mother leaving their father Al again for the final time. The second verse is referencing his Native American heritage and the stories his grandmother (a full blooded Cherokee) would tell him. The boy who played "war games in the woods with his Indian friends" is said to be Leon (as stated by himself) but could also be about Jimi as well. The third verse recounts Jimi's mother Lucille in the hospital dying from liver disease, wishing to die so she would suffer no more, "to her legs she smiled you won't hurt me no more." The song "Little Wing" is also about his mother Lucille as stated by Leon, although in interviews he gave an alternate interpretation, most likely so he would not have to recount painful memories for strangers.

The song was covered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and a live version was featured on the 2003 remastered version of their album Mother's Milk. The studio version was recorded in 1991 and was released as an iTunes exclusive bonus track to Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The same version that appeared on the Mother's Milk remaster was released on the 1994 B-Sides, Remixes, Outtakes and Live compilation CD Out In L.A..

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