Led Zeppelin – When the Levee Breaks

“When the Levee Breaks” – Song by Led Zeppelin from the album Led Zeppelin IV. Released November 8, 1971

Songwriter: John Bonham. John Paul Jones. Memphis Minnie. Jimmy Page. Robert Plant. Producer: Jimmy Page.

Led Zeppelin recorded “When the Levee Breaks” for their untitled fourth album. When considering material for the group to record, singer Robert Plant suggested the Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie song. Jimmy Page commented that while Plant’s lyrics identified with the original, he developed a new guitar riff that set it apart. However, it is John Bonham’s drumming that is usually noted as the defining characteristic of the song.

John Bonham’s drumming, played on a Ludwig kit, was recorded in the lobby of Headley Grange using two Beyerdynamic M 160 microphones which were hung up a flight of stairs; output from these were passed to a pair of Helios F760 compressor/limiters set aggressively to obtain a breathing effect. A Binson Echorec, a delay effects unit, was also used.

The lyrics to this song (written by Memphis Minnie in 1927) are based on The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. African-American plantation workers were forced to work on the levee at gunpoint, piling sandbags to save the neighboring towns. Hence the lyrics, “I works on the levee, mama both night and day, I works so hard, to keep the water away.” After the levee breached, Blacks were not allowed to leave the area, and were forced to work in the relief and cleanup effort, living in camps with limited access to the supplies which were coming in. Many left at the first chance since there was no work in the Delta after the destruction of all of the plantations; hence the lyrics, “Oh cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ won’t do no good” and “I’s a mean old levee, cause me to weep and moan, gonna leave my baby, and my happy home” >>
Memphis Minnie McCoy (born Lizzie Douglas), was a blues artist who recorded “When The Levee Breaks” in 1929. Robert Plant had the record in his collection.

Heavily produced in the studio, the song was a nightmare to mix, but the results are impressive – it’s a great headphone listen.

All this studio wizardry made the song very difficult to perform live, which Led Zeppelin did only twice: once in a “warm up” gig in Denmark before their 1975 US tour, and again on their second night in Chicago.
The vocals were processed differently on each verse, sometimes with phasing added.

Jimmy Page’s backward echo technique, where he would put the echo ahead of the sound, was used on the harmonica.

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Led Zeppelin - When the Levee Breaks07:07

When the Levee Breaks – este ultima melodie de pe albumul Led Zeppelin IV, din 1971.
Melodia originală aparține lui Kansas Joe McCoy și Memphis Minnie, care au înregistrat-o în 1929, bazată pe inundațiile catastrofice ale fluviului Mississippi din 1927.

Robert Plant a folosit multe din versurile originale, transformând-o într-o piesă hard-rock, dintr-un blues. Led Zeppelin au creat o melodie unică, poate cea mai bună din tot repertoriul lor. John Bonham, este fantastic la tobe, ceilalți membri au părțile lor, creând o melodie mai mult apocaliptică.

Este o melodie complexă, produsă în studio, foarte dificil de cântat în concert. Led Zeppelin, au cântat această melodie doar de două ori live în 1975, prima dată în Danemarca, doar la încălzire, și a două oară în turneul american, în Chicago, în cea de a două seară de spectacol.

Melodia a fost înregistrată într-un tempo diferit, după care a fost redus. Partea John Bonham a fost înregistrată în casa scării la Headley Grange, cu microfoanele puse la etajul 3, creând un sunet distinct. partea vocală a fost procesată diferit la fiecare vers.

Datorită complexității mixajului și procesării, melodia nu a putut, practic, să fie cântată live, și să aibe același sound de pe album.

Versuri:
If it keeps on rainin’
Levee’s goin’ to break
If it keeps on rainin’
Levee’s goin’ to break
When the levee breaks
I’ll have no place to stay

Mean old levee
Taught me to weep and moan
Mean old levee
Taught me to weep and moan

It’s got what it takes
To make a mountain man leave his home
Oh well, oh well, oh well

Don’t it make you feel bad
When you’re tryin’ to find your way home
You don’t know which way to go?

If you’re goin’ down South
They got no work to do
If you’re going down to Chicago

Cryin’ won’t help you
Prayin’ won’t do you no good
Now, cryin’ won’t help you
Prayin’ won’t do you no good
When the levee breaks
Mama, you got to move

All last night
Sat on the levee and moaned
All last night
Sat on the levee and moaned
Thinkin’ about my baby
And my happy home

Going, I’m going to Chicago
Going to Chicago
Sorry but I can’t take you

Going down, going down now
Going down, going down now
Going down, going down
Going down, going down

Going down, going down now
Going down, going down now
Going down, going down now
Going down, going down
Down, down, down, down

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