Led Zeppelin: The Immigrant Song
, written and released in 1970. The song is famous for its distinctive cry from vocalist Robert Plant at the beginning of the song, and is built around a repeating war-like riff by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham. The hiss at the beginning of the track is feedback from an echo unit. "Immigrant Song" was written during Led Zeppelin's tour of Iceland, Bath and Germany in the summer of 1970. The opening date of this tour took place in Iceland, and just six days later the band performed the song for the first time on stage during the Bath Festival. The song is dedicated to the Icelander Leif Ericson. It is sung from the perspective of Vikings rowing west from Scandinavia in search of new lands. The lyrics make explicit reference to Viking conquests and the Old Norse religion (Fight the horde, sing and cry, Valhalla, I am coming!). In a 1970 radio interview, Plant jokingly explained: “We went to Iceland, and it made you think of Vikings and big ships... and John Bonham's stomach... and bang, there it was - Immigrant Song!” The Immigrant Song is one of Led Zeppelin's few single releases, having been released in November of 1970 by their record label, Atlantic Records, against the band's wishes. It reached #16 on the Billboard charts. Its B side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do", was otherwise unavailable before the release of the band's first Led Zeppelin Box Set in 1990. The single was mistakenly released in Japan with "Out on the Tiles" as the B-side rather than "Hey Hey What Can I Do." That single is now a rare collectible. One of the lines from the song became part of Led Zeppelin lore. The line, "The hammer of the gods/will drive our ships to new lands" prompted many to start referring to Led Zeppelin's sound as the "Hammer of the Gods." The phrase was used as the title of Stephen Davis' famous biography of the band, Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga. The lyrics also did much to inspire the classic Heavy Metal myth, of mighty Viking-esque figures on an adventure, themes which have been adopted in the look and music of bands from Iron Maiden to Manowar. The Immigrant Song was used to open Led Zeppelin concerts from 1970 to 1972. By 1973 it was occasionally being used as an encore, but was then removed from their live set. Live versions of the song can be heard on the Led Zeppelin albums How the West was Won (featuring a performance at Long Beach Arena in 1972) and the Led Zeppelin The BBC Sessions (a version from the Paris Theatre in London in 1971). When played live, Page played a lengthy guitar solo not included on the recorded Led Zeppelin III version. The song is also one of the few Led Zeppelin songs to have been licensed for a film. For the 2003 film School of Rock, actor Jack Black filmed himself on stage, along with thousands of screaming fans, begging Led Zeppelin to let them use "Immigrant Song". The song also appears, in a slightly changed version due to licensing reasons, in Shrek the Third, when Snow White attacks the city gates, guarded by Huorns. She cries the characteristic war cry of Robert Plant, backed by the riff, as in the beginning of the original song. Starting from the 2007 season, the Minnesota Vikings play this song during their team introductions and before kickoffs.We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods
Will drive their ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying:
Valhalla, I am coming!
On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.
Ah, ah ----------------------->
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
How soft your fields so green,
Can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war.
We are your overlords.
On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.
So now you'd better stop and rebuild your ruins,
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite all your losing.
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posted by LedZeppelinLives.com @ 5:52 AM
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