“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
“When the Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings a Story
A heavy repeating drum beat, slide
However, When the Levee Breaks is
guitar, howling harmonica, and
more like a story told musically. It is a
lamenting vocals, are just a few sounds
programmatic piece with
to describe the song When the Levee
instrumentation that gives illusion to
Breaks by Led Zeppelin. Released on the
depict the story told.
album Led Zeppelin IV in 1971, the song
is one of the many pieces Led Zeppelin
wrote with a blues influence. Led
Zeppelin is known for their blues and
folk infused rock and roll of the 1970s.
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
THE BACKGROUND OF LED ZEPPELIN
time, they were called The New
The band Led Zeppelin was first initiated
Yardbirds, but wanted to disassociate
by the guitarist Jimmy Page, who at the
themselves with the former band The
time was in the band The Yardbirds.
Yardbirds. They ask Peter Grant to be
Page joined The Yardbirds in 1966 and
their producer and formed their new
became lead guitarist alongside Jeff
name, Led Zeppelin.
Beck, who taught Page different blues
styles and techniques like slide guitar
Jimmy Page (guitar), Robert Plant
and stiletto point solos. Beck also
(vocals), John Paul Jones (bass), and
taught Page songs from Muddy Waters,
John Bonham (drums) were all born in
Howlin’ Wolf, and B.B. King. (Shadwick
England during the 1940s. They all
17). The band began dismantling during
began their music careers during
1968 after touring in the U.S. and Page
childhood and eventually found
felt it was time to move on to form a
themselves performing in small bands.
new band with a new focus. Page came
Each of them acquired well developed
across the man named Robert Plant,
music skills in previously successful
who was known for his vocals. He in
bands, which helped with their success
turn recommended John Bonham as a
of Led Zeppelin. Their reputations and
drummer for the new band. Chris Dreja
connections also helped in marketing,
was recruited as the bassist, but
touring, and performing.
dropped out and suggested they ask
John Paul Jones to replace him. At the
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
All four members were influenced by
testosterone’ (Hoskyns 24). The
blues music even before joining Led
greatest lesson he learned from them
Zeppelin, which not only determined the
was to express your own feelings and
new band’s style, but also brought
thoughts into the vocals, just like Robert
together a kaleidoscope of various blues
Johnson, Skip James, and others did
styles. This is not surprising as
(Shadwick 101). Led Zeppelin then
popularity was strong for the Delta
combined American blues with the
blues singers and jazz artists in America
British rock and roll explosion of the
since the 1920s and 30s, which had
1960s to form a progressive rock and
reached Great Britain in the following
roll style that is still distinctive today.
decades.
Led Zeppelin released albums during the
Jimmy Page, the lead guitarist of Led
same time as other artists, Jimi Hendrix,
Zeppelin was majorly influenced by
The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, The Kinks,
blues artists at a young age and today is
Simon and Garfunkel, Pink Floyd, The
known as one of the greatest guitar
Doors, and Traffic (Shadwick33), who
players of all time. Robert Plant learned
also incorporated other styles of music
from Jimmy Page’s blues style and
into rock and roll such as soul, folk,
expressed his vocal style to match that
Celtic, blues, and Arabic. Led Zeppelin
of the other band member’s style of
was influenced by many other these
playing. One book describes Robert
other cultures as well in their music and
Plant’s vocal sound as ‘Janis Joplin with
was not afraid to use unusual types of
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
instruments not typically used in rock
When the Levee Breaks was first written
and roll. Jimmy Page was also not timid
by Memphis Minnie and her husband
to use different types of techniques on
Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929 as they were
the guitar, such as strumming on the
leaving Tennessee and moving to
other side of the bridge or bowing the
Chicago (Shadwick 163) because of hard
guitar strings (Shadwick 18).
times in their region. The song was
THE GREAT FLOODS OF 1926
written in response to the Great
When the Levee Breaks is the last song
Mississippi Flood in 1927. A series of
on the Led Zeppelin IV album. It can be
intense storms beginning in September
considered as a counterweight to other
of 1926 persisted for months over the
songs on the album such as Stairway to
Midwest, the Southeast, and into Illinois
Heaven. The lyrics of Stairway to
and Pennsylvania (Barry 181). The rains
Heaven are about a myth inspired by
flooded the rivers leading into the
the mysticism in Lewis Spence’s The
Mississippi River and put pressure upon
Magic Arts in Celtic Britain (Hoskyns 96).
the cities along the Mississippi. The
On the flip side, When the Levee Breaks
intense rainfalls over a period of months
is a roots song; a song about what is
caused the floods to linger and move
affecting people in eye-seeing life.
slowly down to the Delta river region.
These lyrics were inspired from an old
Some rivers were flooded for nearly a
blues song written in the 1920s, which
year after the rains began in 1926.
has the same title.
These intense storms threatened the
levees in every town and would
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
determine the fate and lives of the
southern African Americans began in
people who lived there. Black laborers
1916 during World War I (Grossman 3).
were forced to constantly work on the
The need for industry arose during this
levees, repairing cracks and
time when the U.S. entered the war.
strengthening them. Despite efforts,
The jobs in factories became plentiful in
the levees still broke and choices had to
the northeastern part of the U.S. and
be made among the people who lived
African Americans migrated from the
there.
south to the north to acquire these jobs
(Barry 13). Chicago became the most
The levee became a faith symbol as to
popular city to find these jobs because
how they would live their future lives.
of its location on the train line
The south was full of African American
connecting the south to the north. The
workers who mainly worked in crop
African Americans began to sing songs
fields. The floods soon covered these
about their lives, leaving home, finding
crop fields and left many African
work, and moving to a new land. Songs
Americans without jobs, which in turn
were titled “Northward Bound”,
left those searching for work elsewhere.
“Farewell, We’re Good and Gone”, and
For many, the social strife was the final
“When the Levee Breaks” (Barry 96).
straw and African Americans were
THE SONG: “WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS”
leaving their lives in the south because
Part of Led Zeppelin IV was recorded at
of low wages, living conditions, and now
Headley Grange, a Victorian style house
the flooding. The Great Migration of
in a remote area in England. When the
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
Levee Breaks was recorded in December
thirty-five in a studio setting. Page
of 1970 (Wiki). They first attempted to
called this beat a ‘sex groove’ (Shadwick
record the piece at Island Studios in
108).
London, but they could not get the
substance they wanted in the studio.
The character of the stairwell gives the
They bought a new Ludwig drum kit
drums a heavy, drone, and thick sound
because they thought it would give
to the drumbeat. The repetition of the
them a more desirable sounding beat.
drumbeat represents the anticipation of
They claimed the new drums were
the storm moving in. The growling and
evenly balanced in volume giving them
groaning harmonica mimics the levee
the substance they wanted (Hoskyns
under pressure of the floodwaters. The
107). Using a new drum kit was just the
effect of the drumbeat, the vocals, and
first step of their experimentations with
the harmonica really give this song a
the song. The drum kit was placed in a
raw and heavy evocation. The gesture
three story level stairway at the band’s
of anticipation is further amplified
home at Headley Grange. Two M160
because the lyrics do not begin until a
Beyer stereo mikes were used on the
minute and twenty-three seconds into
drum kit, one at ten feet and the other
the piece. When the Levee Breaks was
at twenty feet up the stairwell (Hoskyns
heavily produced in the studio, which
107). The use of the stairwell gave the
made the song hard to replicate live. It
drums an echoing effect which could be
was only performed a few times on tour
captured by only two mikes instead of
in 1975 because of the difficulty (Wiki).
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
The drums are the first thing heard in
sustaining a pitch, which is another
the song, which meant the drums had to
blues style characteristic. This dip in
grab your attention. They were able to
pitch means that mood is viable and not
accomplish this through their recording
static and varying the pitch of a note
technique using an echoing quality. The
mimics this.
drums serve as the underlying figure
throughout the song. The same beat is
The lyrics in this song are telling a story
played throughout, with a few symbol
about how fate can depend on one
crash disruptions within. The guitar
thing, a levee. It tells us about the
plays the rhythm, but also serves as
African American culture of how during
another repeating figure overtop the
tough times they would pray or mourn.
drumbeat. Robert Plant sings vocals
These lyrics are telling the story of how
and plays the harmonica, incorporating
praying will not help and that the levee
his technique of vocal quality into the
is going to break and they will have to
harmonica’s sound. The harmonica’s
leave their home. The vocal quality
sound was added to enhance the blues
given to these lyrics also spell out blues.
feeling of the song and to mimic the
Robert Plant varies his vocal quality
crying sounds of the people who live
between the lyrics. There are four
near the levee. The harmonica often
different sets of lyrics sung at separate
sounds with this droning sound, further
periods in the song and separated by
enhancing the entire drone and echoing
instrumentation, using a 2/4 meter.
sounds. He also sinks the pitch when
None of the phrases are repeated word
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
for word throughout the song, but the
When listening to this song, I hear a
form of the phrases is repeated. The
story through music and am able to
lyrics follow a similar form, mostly in
imagine visions of what the story is
fourteen bar phrases (or broken down
telling. Led Zeppelin takes rock and roll
to 4 + 4 + 6 measures). The first and
and blends it with blues and makes a
third sets are sung similar in style, with
roots song. The beat rhythm of this
a lamenting and mourning quality and
piece has been further used in other
attach themselves with the blues
genres of music. Kind of ironically, it
quality. The second and last set of lyrics
has been duplicated in rap songs such as
are louder, faster, and posses an angry,
Beastie Boy’s Rhymin’ and Stealin, Dr.
yelling quality and attach themselves
Dre’s Lyrical Gangbang, and Ice T’s
with the rock and roll quality. The styles
Midnight (Shadwick 108). The lyrics can
in which the lyrics are sung follow the
also be taken as a story for today with
instrumentation and style. The song
the occurrence of natural disasters such
finishes differently than the beginning
as Hurricane Katrina. Natural disaster
meaning that the storm has passed, the
and social strife associated with them
levee has broken, and now it is time to
will always happen throughout human
leave for Chicago and a new life. Plant
existence. Led Zeppelin may have been
also includes vocals other than words,
inspired to create this song in reaction
which could be described as sounds of
to civil rights issues occurring in America
grief.
at the time. Not only does this song
have a rough, down to earth, weeping,
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
musical quality to it, but it also tells a
also remember events of the past and
story about real events with historic
When the Levee Breaks is a song able to
value. Music is a way we can evoke
fulfill this purpose.
feelings which others have felt, and to
Lyrics:
“When the Levee Breaks”
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,
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 go no work to do,
If you don't know about 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 me baby and my happy home.
Going, going to Chicago... Going to Chicago... Sorry but I can't take you...
Going down... going down now... going down....
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“When The Levee Breaks”
Led Zeppelin Sings A Story
Bibliography
Barry, John M. Rising Tide. Simon and Schuster. New York, NY. 1997
Hoskyns, Barney. Led Zeppelin IV. Holtzbrinck Publishers. New York. 2006
Grossman, James R. Land Of Hope. University of Chicago Press. Chicago. 1989
Shadwick, Keith. Led Zeppelin: The story of a band and their music 1968-1980. Backbeat
Books. San Francisco. 2005
Wikipedia: When The Levee Breaks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Levee_Breaks#Led_Zeppelin.27s_version
Accessed April 2nd 2008
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