Led Zeppelin – Going To California

“Going to California” – Song by Led Zeppelin from the album Led Zeppelin IV
Released; November 8, 1971
Songwriters: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

“Going to California” is a folk-style song, with Robert Plant on vocal, acoustic guitar by Jimmy Page and mandolin by John Paul Jones.

The song started out as a song about Californian earthquakes and when Jimmy Page, audio engineer Andy Johns and band manager Peter Grant travelled to Los Angeles to mix Led Zeppelin IV, they coincidentally experienced a minor earthquake. At this point it was known as “Guide to California”.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote this song, drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, specifically her song “California.” Mitchell lived in the musically fertile but earthquake-prone Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles; “California” finds her recalling her adventures on a trip to Europe but looking forward to a return home. In “Going To California,” Plant plays the part of a guy who’s looking to leave his no-good woman behind and make a fresh start in California.

This is an acoustic song with no drums, so John Bonham sat this one out. Jimmy Page played two different guitars on the track – a 12-string and a 6-string – and John Paul Jones played mandolin. Jones was the bass player in Led Zeppelin but could play a variety of instruments, expanding the band’s musical range.

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Led Zeppelin - Going To California

Led Zeppelin - Going To California (Live at Earls Court 1975) (Official Video)04:52

Compozitie Jimmy Page si Robert Plant, inspirata dupa melodia “California” cantata de Joni Mitchell.  A fost inclusa pe albumul Led Zeppelin 4, din 1971.

Este o melodie acustica, fara baterie. Jimmy Page a cantat la doua chitare, una cu 12 corzi, si alta cu 6 corzi, iar Robert Plant a cantat la mandolina. De multe ori in concerte, Robert Plant adauga si cuvantul “Joni” dupa versul “She plays guitar and cries and sings.”

Versuri:
Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Going To California with an aching in my heart
Someone told me there’s a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let them tell you that they’re all the same
The sea was red and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
As the children of the sun began to awake
Seems that the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow
I think I might be sinking
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I’ll meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high
To find a queen without a king
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings
La la la la
Side a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin’ to find a woman who’s never, never, never been born
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams
Telling myself it’s not as hard, hard, hard as it seems

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