YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / The Roots of Led Zeppelin Project / Led Zeppelin III / Immigrant Song

Song: Immigrant Song
Album: Led Zeppelin III [released Oct 5, 1970 (US) | Oct 23, 1970 (UK)]
Single: Immigrant Song/Hey Hey What Can I Do [Nov 5, 1970]
Credited to: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Related Songs: S.K. Blues (Part 1) - Big Joe Turner (music?)

Lyrics:

Ah-ah-ahhhh-ah, ah-ah-ahhhh-ah
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow

The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming

On we sweep with, with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore

Ah-ah-ahhhh-ah, ah-ah-ahhh-ah
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow

How soft your fields, so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords

On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore

So now you better stop and rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all your losin'

Personal notes: This is a great song. Short, heavy, rock n roll. The riff seems to fit the song well. I really like the guitar solo on live versions of this song. This is another one of those songs that is just better live. This song alone (and it's the first song on the album) debunks the argument that Zeppelin's third ablum is all acoustic and soft.

Influences: I can't say for sure that this isn't a coincidence, but the intro to Big Joe Turner's S.K. Blues (Part 1) bears an uncanny resemblance to the opening of the Immigrant Song (albeit the feel is much different), in the staccato beat and especially the horns which echo Robert Plant's infamous wail.