- The Lemon Song
Song infobox
Name = The Lemon Song
Artist =Led Zeppelin
Album =Led Zeppelin II
Released =22 October 1969
track_no = 3
Recorded = 1969, Mirror Sound, Los Angeles
Genre =Hard rock ,Blues-rock
Length = 6:18
Writer = Page, Plant, Jones, Bonham
Label = Atlantic
Producer =Jimmy Page
Chart position =
Background =
prev = "What Is and What Should Never Be "
prev_no = 2
next = "Thank You"
next_no = 4"The Lemon Song" is a song by English rock band
Led Zeppelin , featured on their 1969 album "Led Zeppelin II ". It was recorded at Mystic Studios inHollywood when the band was on their second concert tour of the United States."The Lemon Song" is laced with sexual
innuendo , and features some of Led Zeppelin's mostblues -influenced playing. It was recorded virtually live in the studio, and no electronic devices were used to create the echo onRobert Plant 's vocal. It was made solely by Plant's voice and the acoustics in Mystic Studios, which was a 16 x 16 foot room with wooden walls.Dave Lewis (1994), "The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin", Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9]Another notable aspect of this song is John Paul Jones' complex bass performance, which is heavily funk influenced. During interviews afterwards, he said that he had improvised during the entire song. It is considered by many to be his best bass performance to date.
The song borrows significantly from
Howlin' Wolf 's "Killing Floor", which was a song Led Zeppelin often incorporated into their live setlist during their first concert tour of the United States. For the second and third North American tours the song evolved into "The Lemon Song", with Plant often improvising lyrics onstage. However, despite Howlin' Wolf's influence on the arrangement, the album sleeve of "Led Zeppelin II" initially credited only the four members of Led Zeppelin.Other lyrics, notably "squeeze (my
lemon ) 'til the juice runs down my leg," can be traced to Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues ". It is most likely that Johnson borrowed this himself, from a song recorded in the same year (1937) called "She Squeezed My Lemon" (by Arthur McKay). [http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/music_specials/s1402502.htm Australian Broadcasting Corporation] - Triple J Music Specials - Led Zeppelin (first broadcast2000-07-12 )] Robert Johnson's name has never been added to the credits for "The Lemon Song". The song also borrowed fromAlbert King 's "Cross-Cut Saw".Dave Lewis (1994), "The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin", Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.]"The Lemon Song" was performed live on Led Zeppelin's first three
concert tour s of theUnited States (on the first tour as "Killing Floor"), before being dropped from their live set in late1969 . However, the 'squeeze my lemon' sequence continued to be inserted into the "Whole Lotta Love " medley and ad-libbed elsewhere.Dave Lewis (1994), "The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin", Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.]Jimmy Page performed this song on his tour withThe Black Crowes in 1999. A version of "The Lemon Song" performed by Page and The Black Crowes can be found on the album "Live at the Greek ".References
ources
*"Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song", by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
*"The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin", by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
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