Immigrant Song
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Immigrant Song" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album Led Zeppelin III | ||
| Released | October 5, 1970 | |
| Recorded | May - August 1970 | |
| Genre | Hard rock | |
| Length | 2:25 | |
| Label | Atlantic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |
| Led Zeppelin III track listing | ||
| "Immigrant Song" (1) | "Friends" (2) | |
"Immigrant Song" is the opening track on English rock band Led Zeppelin's third album, Led Zeppelin III. It is sung from the perspective of Vikings rowing west from Scandinavia in search of new lands; its driving, regular beat evokes the determination of the explorers and their oars hitting the water, and its lyrics make explicit reference to conquest and Viking religion (To fight the horde, sing and cry / Valhalla, I am coming!). The song was inspired by the band's trip to Iceland in June 1970.
"Immigrant Song" is one of Led Zeppelin's few single releases, and reached #16 on the Billboard charts. Its B side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do", was otherwise unavailable before the release of the first Led Zeppelin box set in 1990.
A line from the song was used as the title of Stephen Davis' biography of the band, Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga.
The song is 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". It has also appeared in the 1999 documentary about the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre, One Day in September, and the trailers for the BBC1 drama series Life on Mars [1].
Contents |
[edit] Trivia
- The "Land of ice and snow" is Iceland, where the band played in June, 1970.
- One of the lyrics became part of Led Zeppelin lore. The line, "The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands" got many of their fans referring to Zeppelin's sound as the "Hammer of the gods." The phrase was used by author Stephen Davis as the title of a book about the band.
- Led Zeppelin meant for this song to be somewhat humorous. They weren't known as a funny band, so a lot of their fans took it quite seriously.
- The hiss at the beginning is feedback from an echo unit. It was intentional
- Until the Zeppelin boxed set was released, "Hey, Hey What Can I Do" could be found only on the flip side of this single.
- 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 lyrics is "Valhalla I am coming." It refers to Norse Mythology. Valhalla is a hall in Asgard where the souls of fallen warriors are taken by the "Valkyries," which are spirits of war who carry up heroes who have been slain. Only heroes are taken to Valhalla, where they will wait for their certain doom.
- To get permission to use this song in the movie School Of Rock, the star of the movie, Jack Black, videotaped himself singing in front of a huge crowd of people, begging for Led Zeppelin to let them use the song in the movie. They succeeded.
- Led Zeppelin opened their live shows with this song from 1970-1972.
- This song is dedicated to Leif Eiriksson.
[edit] Covers
- American grunge band Nirvana played a cover version of this song in their early performances, and a version is heard and seen on the DVD disc of the retrospective With the Lights Out box set.
- Power metal group Demons and Wizards included a cover as a bonus track on their 2005 release Touched by the Crimson King.
- Progressive metal group Adagio have an instrumental cover on their 2001 Sanctus Ignis album.
- Thrash Metal band Dark Angel covered the song on their Leave Scars album.
- Japanese musician Tomoyasu Hotei recorded a version for his 2004 album Electric Samurai.
- Swiss band Gotthard recorded a live cover version, featured on a CD by Classic Rock full of Led Zeppelin covers.
- The song is commonly played by marching bands at high school and college football games.
- The metal-funk band Infectious Groove (members of Suicidal Tendencies) covered the song as well on their album Sarsippius´ Ark in 1993.
- Missouri metalcore band Coalesce recorded a version of this song for their album There is Nothing New Under the Sun, an album entirely composed of Led Zeppelin covers.
- The song features in the soundtrack of the documentary of the Munich Olympics massacre, One Day in September.
[edit] External links
- Review: All Music Guide
- "The Levee" tribute band. Immigrant Song. Archived from the original on 2005-03-08. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
- songfacts.com. Immigrant Song. Retrieved on 2006-08-25.
[edit] Sources
- 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
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page · Robert Plant · John Paul Jones · John Bonham |
| Discography - (Category) |
| Studio albums: Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · Led Zeppelin III · Image:Zoso.svg (Led Zeppelin IV) · Houses of the Holy · Physical Graffiti · Presence · In Through the Out Door Live albums: The Song Remains the Same · BBC Sessions · How the West Was Won |
| Films |
| The Song Remains the Same · Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Other |
| Peter Grant · Richard Cole · Swan Song Records · The Yardbirds · XYZ · The Firm · Page and Plant · Strange Sensation · Bootlegs ∙ Concerts ∙ Songs |
