The Lemon Song

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The Lemon Song
Led Zeppelin
publication October 22, 1969
length 6:19
Genre (s) Blues rock , hard rock
Author (s) Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Bonham , John Paul Jones , Chester Burnett ( Howlin 'Wolf )
Label Atlantic
album Led Zeppelin II

The Lemon Song ( German translation Das Zitronenlied ) is a song by the British rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II .

Recording and music

The Lemon Song is one of Led Zeppelin's most blues influenced songs. It was recorded at Mystic Studios in Hollywood while the band was on their second North America tour. It was recorded almost entirely live in the studio. So the reverberation of Robert Plant's vocals is not generated electronically, but is only generated by the acoustics of the Mystic Studios, an approx. 5 by 5 meter room with wooden walls.

Jimmy Page reported:

"We played it down live in the studio and only did a few guitar overdubs in the bridge - I think it was an electric twelve-string from Fender or Rickenbacker"

- Jimmy Page

Another special feature of this song is John Paul Jones' complex bass playing.

text

The lyrics of the song caused a sensation because it is full of sexual ambiguity for the adults and at the same time can be heard by the children as a song that tells of what happens when you squeeze a lemon too hard. The song builds on Howlin 'Wolf's Killing Floor , which Led Zeppelin often played live during their first tour in the US . During later appearances, the song developed into The Lemon Song , with lyrics often improvised by Plant. Other passages, such as "squeeze (my lemon) till the juice runs down my leg" (dt .: "press my lemon, until the juice my legs running down") come from Traveling Riverside Blues by Robert Johnson , the Led Zeppelin already had been covered for the BBC sessions . It is likely that Johnson himself took the line from a song recorded that same year (1937) called She Squeezed My Lemon (by Arthur McKay). The song also adopts elements from Albert King's Cross-Cut Saw .

Plagiarism dispute

In the early 1970s UK editions of Led Zeppelin II , the third song on the vinyl record label was called Chester Burnett's Killing Floor (Howlin 'Wolf's real name), but the cover featured Led Zeppelin's The Lemon Song . In December 1972, Arc Music, the owner of the publishing rights to Howlin 'Wolf's songs, sued Led Zeppelin. The parties agreed to a settlement. As a result, Howlin 'Wolf was subsequently added to the list of authors and was thus entitled to collect royalties. The share of Robert Johnson, who died in 1938, was already in the public domain.

Live performances

The Lemon Song was performed live on the band's first three USA tours before being removed from the setlist in late 1969. However, the 'squeeze my lemon' sequence was inserted into a Whole Lotta Love medley and used as desired.

Jimmy Page played the song on his 1999 tour with The Black Crowes , this version is also part of the album Live at the Greek . In Robert Plant's official music video for In the Mood , he holds a lemon in his hand while singing; a reference to The Lemon Song .

occupation

literature

  • Dave Lewis: The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin . Omnibus Press, 2004, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9 .
  • Chris Welch: Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song . Carlton, 1998, ISBN 1-56025-818-7 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Dave Lewis: The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin . Omnibus Press, 1994, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9 .
  2. ^ Ritchie Yorke: Led Zeppelin - Biography of a Band . 1994, ISBN 3-8025-2287-7 .
  3. ↑ Led Zeppelin Trivia. (No longer available online.) Richard Kingsmill, July 12, 2000, archived from the original on February 23, 2012 ; Retrieved June 5, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abc.net.au
  4. ↑ James Segrest and Mark Hoffman: Moanin 'at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf . Thunder's Mouth Press, 2005, pp. 299 .

Web links