The Lemon Song - Led Zeppelin


LZ's Lemon Song-I should have quit you, long time ago. (X2)I wouldn't be here, my children, down on this killin' floor.I should have listened, baby, to my second mind (X2)
Everytime I go away and leave you, darling, you send me the blues way down the line.

Said, people worry I can't keep you satisfied.
Let me tell you baby, you ain't nothin but a two-bit, no-good jive.

Went to sleep last night, worked as hard as I can,
Bring home my money, you take my money, give it to another man.
I should have quit you, baby, such a long time ago.
I wouldn't be here with all my troubles, down on this killing floor.

Squeeze me baby, till the juice runs down my leg. (X2)
The way you squeeze my lemon, I'm gonna fall right out of bed.

I'm gonna leave my children down on this killing floor.
"The Lemon Song" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was recorded at Mystic Studios in Hollywood when the band was on their second concert tour of the United States.
"The Lemon Song" is laced with sexual innuendo, and features some of Led Zeppelin's most blues-influenced playing. It was recorded virtually live in the studio, and no electronic devices were used to create the echo on Robert Plant's vocal. It was made solely by Plant's voice and the acoustics in Mystic Studios, which was a 16 x 16 foot room with wooden walls.[1]
Another notable aspect of this song is John Paul Jones' complex bass performance, which is heavily funk influenced. During interviews afterwards, he said that he had improvised during the entire song.
The song borrows significantly from Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor", which was a song Led Zeppelin often incorporated into their live setlist during their first concert tour of the United States. For the second and third North American tours the song evolved into "The Lemon Song", with Plant often improvising lyrics onstage.
Other lyrics, notably "squeeze (my lemon) 'til the juice runs down my leg," can be traced to Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues". It is most likely that Johnson borrowed this himself, from a song recorded in the same year (1937) called "She Squeezed My Lemon" (by Arthur McKay).[2] The song also borrowed from Albert King's "Cross-Cut Saw".[1]
"The Lemon Song" was performed live on Led Zeppelin's first three concert tours of the United States (on the first tour as "Killing Floor"), before being dropped from their live set in late 1969. However, the 'squeeze my lemon' sequence continued tobe inserted into the "Whole Lotta Love" medley and ad-libbed elsewhere.[1]
In December 1972, Arc Music, owner of the publishing rights to Howlin' Wolf's songs, sued Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement on "The Lemon Song."[3] The parties settled out of court. Interestingly, Wolf sued Arc Music less than two years later for failing to pass on his royalty cheque.[4] Though the amount was not disclosed, Wolf received a check for $45,123 from Arc Music immediately following the suit.[5]
Jimmy Page performed this song on his tour with The Black Crowes in 1999. A version of "The Lemon Song" performed by Page and The Black Crowes can be found on the album Live at the Greek.






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