Fool in the Rain is a song by Led Zeppelin, released in 1979 on their last real album, In Through the Out Door. Possibly because the band was released late in their career, and Led Zeppelin had already helped invent the heavy metal genre, the song is very atypical of Led Zeppelin songs (although Led Zeppelin had certainly written many experimental songs before). When I was just starting to listen to classic rock as a lad, I liked this song, and liked Led Zeppelin, but didn't connect the two until my mother, wiser in the ways of classic rock, informed me of the connection.

The major focus of the song, and what sets it apart from other Zeppelin songs, is what could be described as a Latin or Samba beat, giving it more of a groove and a swing than the typical heavy, dramatic Zeppelin song. The lyrics are also romantic, centering around a man who is waiting for a girl on a streetcorner, and believes that he has been stood up, but who finally realizes that he has been "waiting on the wrong block", and this is the titular "fool in the rain". At times, Robert Plant sounds almost like a lounge singer, when he sings

There's a light in your eye that keeps shining, like a star that can't wait for a night.

Having reached the age of 30, I can see what appealed to me about Led Zeppelin, as a typical teenager. It might just be the eyes of a teenager, but Led Zeppelin brought a type of energy and purity of intention to their songs. In the same way that a teenager believes that a girl he has had a crush on for a month is his soulmate, Robert Plant can make you believe he is facing down armageddon in Battle of Evermore, and he can totally capture the voice of a lovelorn man just waiting for a woman to show up, in this song. Whether being able to capture the feelings of romance and yearning of a teenager is the best endorsement for a song's quality is a matter of taste, but this song still appeals to me, years after I have passed out of the target market.

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