If you close your eyes and think of your favorite Led Zeppelin song, chances are some big, rocking, powerful chords are involved. You might even have a memory when, upon playing the band’s music, you popped or broke a few speakers. Yes, Led Zeppelin more often than not is enjoyed LOUD. But that doesn’t mean some of their best work isn’t emotional, or that it doesn’t pull on your heartstrings.
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Sometimes the loudest, most rollicking bands also have the capacity to stir your feelings in other ways. For it’s often the case that the biggest personalities are the ones with the softest souls. Here below, we wanted to dive into three songs from the famed British-born classic rock band that show their more tender side. Three songs that might just bring tears to your eyes.
[RELATED: 3 Movies Every Led Zeppelin Fan Should See]
“Since I’ve Been Loving You”
If a classic-rock song could cry, this would be it. The opening line from Jimmy Page sounds like tears falling to a handkerchief. Released in 1970 on the album Led Zeppelin III, this song starts with a weep and grows into a crashing, crying crescendo. It’s a classic rock blues song about love, life’s difficulty and losing your worried mind. The emotion the song summons up is astonishing, from John Paul Jones’ organ playing to Plant’s vocals to the heartbreaking heartbeat from John Bonham.
Oh
Workin’ from seven to eleven every night
Really makes life a drag
I don’t think that’s right
I’ve really been the best, the best of fools
I did what I could, yeah
‘Cause I love you, baby, how I love you, darlin’
How I love you, baby, mama, love, little girl, little girl
But, baby, since I’ve been lovin’ you, yeah
I’m about to lose my worried mind, aw, yeah
“Going to California”
A rare acoustic song from the masters of hard rock, this track on the band’s 1971 fourth album, Led Zeppelin IV, is a wistful, nostalgic offering. For anyone who has literally driven to California or around the state’s hills and coasts while listening to this song, they know what the combination of doing so while listening to the song can summon. It’s like your watching your life fly before your eyes underneath golden sunshine.
Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Going to California with an aching in my heart
Someone told me there’s a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let ’em tell you that they’re all the same
Oh, the sea was red, and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons start to tremble and shake
The children of the sun began to awake (watch out)
“Stairway to Heaven”
The most classic of classic rock songs, this is Led Zeppelin’s best known offering, both because it climbs to the heavens with skill and musicianship and it’s supremely emotional. If you really want to shed a tear, check out this version from Seattle band Heart, performing it in homage to their pals and bringing them to tears. Released on Led Zeppelin IV, the song is an all-time classic.
There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, makes me wonder
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