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Immigrant Song

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"Immigrant Song"
Song
B-side"Hey Hey What Can I Do"

"Immigrant Song" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was released as a single from their third album, Led Zeppelin III, in 1970.

Overview

The song begins with a distinctive, wailing cry from vocalist Robert Plant and is built around a repeating, staccato Jimmy Page/John Paul Jones/John Bonham riff in the key of F# minor. There is a very faint count-off at the beginning of the track with lots of hiss which appears on the album version, but is trimmed from the single version. The hiss is feedback from an echo unit.[1]

"Immigrant Song" was written during Led Zeppelin's tour of Iceland, Bath and Germany in mid-1970. The opening date of this tour took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, which inspired Plant to write the song. As he explained:

We weren't being pompous ... We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be cancelled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. "Immigrant Song" was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.[2]

Just six days after Led Zeppelin's appearance in Reykjavik, the band performed the song for the first time on stage during the Bath Festival.[3]

The song's lyrics are written 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 recalled:

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![1]

"Immigrant Song" is one of Led Zeppelin's few single releases, having been released in November 1970 by their record label, Atlantic Records, against the band's wishes.[citation needed] It reached #16 on the Billboard charts.[1] Its B side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do", was otherwise unavailable before the release of the band's first boxed set in 1990. The single was also 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.

First pressings of the US single of the song have a quote from Aleister Crowley inscribed in dead wax by the run-out groove: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."[4]

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 some people to start referring to Led Zeppelin's sound as the "Hammer of the Gods." The phrase was used as the title of Stephen Davis' 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.

"Immigrant Song" was used to open Led Zeppelin concerts from 1970 to 1972. On the second half of their 1972 concert tour of the United States, it was introduced by a short piece of music known as "LA Drone", designed to heighten the sense of anticipation and expectation amongst the concert audience. By 1973, "Immigrant Song" was occasionally being used as an encore, but was then removed from their live set.[1] 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 BBC Sessions (a version from the Paris Theatre in London in 1971). When played live, Page played a lengthy guitar solo, which was absent on the recorded Led Zeppelin III version.[1] "Immigrant Song" was played as part of the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Jeff Beck by both Page and Beck.

Personnel

In the song, Page probably played his Gibson Les Paul 1959 with a sunburst finish which he began to use in 1969 (prior he played his 1964 Fender Telecaster given as a present by Jeff Beck) with Marshall or Vox Amplification. John Paul Jones played his Fender Precision Bass.

Cultural influence

In the United States, the song is commonly played by marching bands at high school and college football games[citation needed][original research?]. 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".[5] 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.[6]

"Immigrant Song" also appeared in the 1999 documentary about the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre, One Day in September,[7] the trailers for the BBC1 drama series Life on Mars and during the Christmas 2010 episode of Doctor Who Confidential. Starting from the 2007 season, the Minnesota Vikings play this song during their team introductions and before kickoffs. During the 2007/8 football season, Brentford FC played this song immediately before kick-off. Late professional wrestler Frank Goodish, better known by his ring name Bruiser Brody, used this song as his entrance music, along with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. In Japan, he had a cover of this song without lyrics.

"Immigrant Song" was the name of an episode of That 70s Show.

The Max Weinberg 7 played this song regularly during Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The song was placed over an animation of kittens in Viking costumes on rathergood.com.

Comedian Denis Leary did a comedic cover of the song during his MTV Unplugged special in 1993. Vanilla Ice used "Immigrant Song" as the basis for "Power", a rap metal song performed in concerts in 1999.[8][9] An instrumental version of the song was used in the opening credits of a 1973 martial arts film, Young Tiger, starring Fei Meng and a young Jackie Chan.

In May 2011, it was reported [by whom?] that Karen O from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs had collaborated with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and fellow musician Atticus Ross on a cover version of "Immigrant Song" for the soundtrack to the English-language version of the film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, for which Reznor and Ross composed the score. [citation needed] This version can be heard over the "red band" trailer for the film for the International release and in the "green band" trailer for the North American release.[10] The version was incorporated into the film's public release and plays during the opening credits.

The 2011 American pop hit Loud Music by Michelle Branch briefly quotes the song's opening vocal cry after referring to Led Zeppelin.

The Winnipeg Jets use "Immigrant Song" as their opening song before play starts.

Formats and tracklistings

1970 7" single (US/Australia/New Zealand: Atlantic 45-2777, Austria/Germany: Atlantic ATL 70460, Belgium: Atlantic BE 650222, Canada: Atlantic AT 2777, France: Atlantic 650 226L, Holland: Atlantic ATL 2091043, Italy/Jamaica: Atlantic ATL 45-2777, Greece: Atlantic 2091 043, Japan: Warner Pioneer P-1007A, Portugal: Atlantic ATL N 28101, South Africa: Atlantic ATS 531, Spain: Atlantic H 671, Sweden: Atlantic ATL 70.460, Turkey: Atlantic 71505)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Hey Hey What Can I Do" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 3:55

1970 7" radio edit (US: Atlantic 45-2777 PL)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" [stereo] (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Immigrant Song" [mono] (Page, Plant) 2:25

1970 7" single (Colombia: WEA 167/168, Costa Rica: Atlantic 70.029, Mexico: Atlantic 1701-1919, Philippines: Atlantic 45-3741)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Tangerine" (Page) 3:10

1970 7" single (Japan: Nihon Gramophone DT-1180)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Out on the Tiles" (Bonham, Page, Plant) 4:07

1970 7" single (South Africa: Atlantic ATS 528)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Friends" (Page, Plant) 3:54

1970 7" single (Uruguay: Atlantic 2164013)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Gallows Pole" (trad. arr. Page, Plant) 4:56

1970 7" single (Venezuela: Atlantic 5-018)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Dixon) 3:12

1970 7" EP (Mexico: Atlantic 2207-014)

  • A1. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • A2. "Tangerine" (Page) 3:10
  • B. "Out on the Tiles" (Bonham, Page, Plant) 4:07

1970 7" EP (Bolivia: Polydor 608030)

1971 7" single (Argentina/Chile/Peru: Atlantic 2091 149)

  • A. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • B. "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" (Jones, Page, Plant) 4:16

1992 CD single (US: Atlantic 2777-2)

  • 1. "Immigrant Song" (Page, Plant) 2:25
  • 2. "Hey Hey What Can I Do" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 3:55

Chart positions

Single

Chart (1971) Peak position
Italian Singles Chart[11] 59
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles Chart[12] 8
US Record World 100 Top Pops[13] 10
Canadian CHUM Chart[14] 2
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart[15] 4
Japanese Singles Chart[16] 13
US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart[17] 16
Dutch Singles Chart[18] 9
South African Top 20 Singles Chart[19] 7
Australian Go-Set Top 60 Singles Chart[20] 16
German Singles Chart[21] 6
Swiss Singles Chart[22] 4
Austrian Singles Chart[23] 13
New Zealand Top 50 Singles Chart[24] 4
Spanish Singles Chart[25] 11

Single (Digital download)

Chart (2007) Peak position
UK Singles Chart[26] 109
US Billboard Hot Digital Songs Chart[27] 71
Canadian Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart[28] 54

Note: The official UK Singles Chart incorporated legal downloads as of 17 April 2005.

Cover versions

Main article: List of cover versions of Led Zeppelin songs

Sources

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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
  2. ^ Chris Welch (1994) Led Zeppelin, London: Orion Books. ISBN 1-85797-930-3, p. 55.
  3. ^ Lewis, Dave and Pallett, Simon (1997) Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-5307-4, pp. 50-51.
  4. ^ eeggs.com. "Led Zeppelin III (Led Zeppelin) Easter Egg - Alastair Crowley in the Dead Wax". Eeggs.com. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  5. ^ School of Rock soundtrack
  6. ^ Shrek the Third soundtrack
  7. ^ One Day in September soundtrack
  8. ^ Fassnacht, Jon (2 April 1999). "Yo V.I.P. ! Crowbar kicks it with Vanilla Ice". The Dialy Collegian. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  9. ^ Musgrove, Mike (23 June 1999). "At the 9:30, Pain Vanilla". The Washington Post. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  10. ^ Tom Breihan (27 May 2011). "Trent Reznor and Karen O Cover Led Zeppelin". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  11. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 1970". hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  12. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 9 January 1971". Cash Box. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  13. ^ [http://www.geocities.com/muggy59/1971.html[dead link] "Top 40 for 1971 - January 1971"]. Record World. Retrieved 19 January 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)[dead link]
  14. ^ "CHUM Singles Chart - 23 January 1971". 1050chum.com. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  15. ^ "RPM Singles Chart - 23 January 1971". RPM. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 25 January 1971". Oricon. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  17. ^ "Hot 100 Singles - 30 January 1971". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2009. [dead link]
  18. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 6 February 1971". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  19. ^ "Top 20 Singles - 26 February 1971". rock.co.za. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  20. ^ "Top 60 Singles - 6 March 1971". Go Set. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 5 April 1971". musicline.de. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 9 April 1971". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  23. ^ "Top 100 Singles - 15 May 1971". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  24. ^ Scapolo, Dean (2007). "Top 50 Singles - May 1971". The Complete New Zealand Music Charts (1st ed.). Wellington: Transpress. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
  25. ^ "Top 100 Singles - May 1971". PROMUSICAE. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
  26. ^ "Top 75 Singles - 18 November 2007". musicvf.com. Retrieved 17 January 2009.
  27. ^ "Hot Digital Songs - 1 December 2007". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2009. [dead link]
  28. ^ "Hot Digital Singles - 1 December 2007". Billboard. Retrieved 17 January 2009. [dead link]

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