A song from
Led Zeppelin's 1971 epic album
Led Zeppelin IV (or
Zoso), named for the fact that
John Bonham played the
percussion part with four
sticks. The
time signature is about as far out as you can get and still call the music
rock and roll: it starts in
5/4 time, but intersperses blocks of
3/4 time at every turn. The lyrics are
inscrutable, but they add to the
Tolkienesque aura surrounding the album: a man leaves his lover because he doesn't want her to be around when he stops being able to "hold out" against whatever it is that has followed him "through the roads of time." Has he angered the
old gods? Are
orcs or
trolls after him? When his secret catches up with him, do you really want to know what it is, if knowing means seeing? Just enjoy the frenetic, bounding pace of the song, the rumbling
bass, and
Plant's screeching, agonized vocals.
Lyrics:
Oh, baby, it's crying time.
Oh, baby, I got to fly.
Got to try to find a way,
Got to try to
get away,
Cause you know
I gotta get away from you babe.
Oh, baby, the river's red,
oh, baby, in my head.
There's a funny feeling going on...
I don't think I can hold out long.
And when the owls cry in the night,
oh, baby baby, when the pines begin to fly,
Baby baby baby,
how do you feel?
If the rivers run dry, baby, how would you feel?
Crazy baby,
the rainbow's end,
Hmmm, baby, it's just a den
for those who hide, hide their love in depths of life
and ruin dreams that we all knew so, babe.
And when the owls cry in the night,
and baby when the pines begin to cry,
oh baby baby, how do you feel?
If the rivers run dry, baby, how do you feel?
Ooh, yeah, brave I endure
ooh, yeah, strong shields and lore,
they can't hold the wrath of those who walk
And the boots of those who march,
Baby, through the roads of time so long ago.