The band was inspired to cover the song after hearing Baez's version. Both guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant were big fans of Baez. Baez's original album had indicated that the song was a traditional number, and Led Zeppelin followed suit by crediting the song as "Trad., arr. Page". In the 1980s, Bredon was made aware of Led Zeppelin's version of the song. Since 1990 the Led Zeppelin version has been credited to Anne Bredon/Jimmy Page & Robert Plant, and Bredon received a substantial back-payment in royalties.
This was the number Page played to Plant at their first meeting together, which took place at Page's riverside home at Pangbourne in late July 1968. It is often stated that the song evolved when Plant played to Page the guitar arrangement which eventually found its way onto the album. In an interview he gave with Guitar World magazine in 1998, Page refuted this story, noting that he had worked out the arrangement long before he met Plant, told him he would like it on the album, and that Plant at that time did not even play the guitar.
It is rumoured that Page recorded another version of the song, with Steve Winwood, in 1968, which was never released.
At the 1:43 mark of Led Zeppelin's version of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", it is possible to hear a very faint trace of Plant singing, "I can hear it calling me" just before he sings the same line in full volume. It is as if he "hears it calling him." This "ghost" is the vocal bleed from Plant's scratch vocal, and it appears on the drum tracks, which were recorded live with the full band.
The band only played this song live at Led Zeppelin concerts on their 1969 concert tours, but Page and Plant brought it back for their 1998 reunion in a 9-minute version. When he played this song live, Page tended to use a fuzzbox. Led Zeppelin cite their best performance of the song to be at Copenhagen, Denmark, late 1968, during which Jimmy played the song with heavy fuzz.
A live, filmed performance of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", from Led Zeppelin's gig on Danmarks Radio at Gladsaxe, Denmark, on March 17, 1969, is featured on the Led Zeppelin DVD (2003).
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Led Zeppelin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I said baby, you know I'm gonna leave you
I'll leave you when the summertime
Leave you when the summer comes a-rollin'
Leave you when the summer comes along
Babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, baby
Baby, I wanna leave you
I ain't jokin', woman, I've got to ramble
Oh yeah
Baby, baby, I be leavin'
We really got to ramble
I can hear it callin' me the way it used to do
I can hear it callin' me back home
Babe, oh
Babe, I'm gonna leave you
Oh, baby
You know, I've really got to leave you
Oh, I can hear it callin' me
I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?
Oh
I know, I know
I know I never, never, never, never, never gonna leave you, babe
But I gotta go away from this place
I gotta quit you, yeah
Oh, baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, oh
Don't you hear it callin' me?
Oh, woman, woman, I know, I know
It feels good to have you back again
And I know that one day, baby, it's really gonna grow, yes, it is
We gonna go walkin' through the park every day
Come what may, every day
Oh, my, my, my, my, my, my babe
I'm gonna leave you, go away
Oh
So good, see, baby
It was really, really good
You made me happy every single day
But now, I've got to go away
Oh, oh, oh
Baby, baby, baby
That's when it's callin' me
I said that's when it's callin' me back home
The lyrics of Led Zeppelin's song "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" narrate a story of a man who has made up his mind to leave his lover. The song expresses the internal battle of emotions and the push and pull of a relationship that has come to an end. The lyrics start with the singer reassuring his lover that he will be leaving her, and he is not joking about it. He intends to leave her in the summer when the season is ripe for going on a journey. The repeated "baby, babe" at the start is almost frantic, signaling the confusion and turmoil in his mind.
The second paragraph signifies the singer's urgency to leave, as he hears his calling to ramble and travel once again. But in the background, there is an obscure melody that implies a hint of sincerity and a longing to stay back. It resonates with the sentiment that the choice of leaving is out of necessity, not inclination. The third verse follows the singer's response to the call that he hears, questioning if his lover hears it too.
The chorus brings back the certainty that he has to leave, but not before acknowledging the good times they had together. Acknowledging the happiness his lover has brought him, he says that he has to go away despite everything. The finale repeat of "baby, baby, baby" comes full circle, emphasizing the singer's reluctance to leave while still affirming his decision.
Line by Line Meaning
Babe, baby, baby, I'm gonna leave you
I am letting you know that I will be leaving you.
I said baby, you know I'm gonna leave you
I have told you before that I will be leaving you.
I'll leave you when the summertime
I will leave you when the summer starts.
Leave you when the summer comes a-rollin'
I will leave you when the summer arrives.
Leave you when the summer comes along
I will leave you when the summer is here.
Baby, I wanna leave you
I want to leave you.
I ain't jokin', woman, I've got to ramble
I am serious and I need to leave.
Oh yeah
An expression of affirmation or agreement.
Baby, baby, I be leavin'
I am going to leave, baby.
We really got to ramble
We need to travel and leave.
I can hear it callin' me the way it used to do
I can hear the calling of the road, just like I used to.
I can hear it callin' me back home
I can hear the road calling me back home.
Babe, oh
A term of endearment for the person being addressed.
Babe, I'm gonna leave you
I am going to leave you, babe.
Oh, baby
A term of endearment for the person being addressed.
You know, I've really got to leave you
You know that I really need to leave you.
Oh, I can hear it callin' me
I can hear the road calling me.
I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?
Do you not hear the road calling me, just like it used to?
I know, I know
I understand.
I know I never, never, never, never, never gonna leave you, babe
I know that I will always be with you, babe.
But I gotta go away from this place
But I need to leave this place.
I gotta quit you, yeah
I need to leave you, yes.
Oh, baby, baby, baby, baby
A term of endearment for the person being addressed.
Baby, baby, baby, oh
A term of endearment for the person being addressed.
Don't you hear it callin' me?
Do you not hear the road calling me?
Oh, woman, woman, I know, I know
I understand, woman.
It feels good to have you back again
It feels good to be with you again.
And I know that one day, baby, it's really gonna grow, yes, it is
I know that one day our relationship will really grow and become something great.
We gonna go walkin' through the park every day
We will walk through the park together every day.
Come what may, every day
No matter what happens, we will be together every day.
Oh, my, my, my, my, my, my babe
A term of endearment for the person being addressed.
I'm gonna leave you, go away
I am going to leave you and go away.
So good, see, baby
It was so good to be with you, baby.
It was really, really good
Our relationship was really good.
You made me happy every single day
You made me happy every day.
But now, I've got to go away
But now, I must leave.
Oh, oh, oh
An expression of surprise or excitement.
Baby, baby, baby
A term of endearment for the person being addressed.
That's when it's callin' me
That is when the road is calling me.
I said that's when it's callin' me back home
That is when the road is calling me back home.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Robert Anthony Plant, James Patrick Page, Anne L. Bredon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@oxbagaowkf
Babe, baby, baby, I'm gonna leave you
I said baby, you know I'm gonna leave you
I'll leave you when the summertime
Leave you when the summer comes a-rollin'
Leave you when the summer comes along
Babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, baby
Baby, I wanna leave you
I ain't jokin', woman, I've got to ramble
Oh yeah
Baby, baby, I be leavin'
We really got to ramble
I can hear it callin' me the way it used to do
I can hear it callin' me back home
Babe, oh
Babe, I'm gonna leave you
Oh, baby
You know, I've really got to leave you
Oh, I can hear it callin' me
I said don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do?
Oh
I know, I know
I know I never, never, never, never, never gonna leave you, babe
But I gotta go away from this place
I gotta quit you, yeah
Oh, baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, oh
Don't you hear it callin' me?
Oh, woman, woman, I know, I know
It feels good to have you back again
And I know that one day, baby, it's really gonna grow, yes, it is
We gonna go walkin' through the park every day
Come what may, every day
Oh, my, my, my, my, my, my babe
I'm gonna leave you, go away
Oh
So good, see, baby
It was really, really good
You made me happy every single day
But now, I've got to go away
Oh, oh, oh
Baby, baby, baby
That's when it's callin' me
I said that's when it's callin' me back home
@LedZeppelinGold
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
------------------------
Babe, baby, baby, I'm gonna leave you
I said, baby, you know I'm gonna leave you
I'm leave you when the summertime
Leave you when the summer comes a-rollin'
Leave you when the summer comes along
Babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, babe, baby, mm-baby
I'll wanna leave you
I ain't jokin', woman, I've got to ramble
Oh, yeah, baby, baby, I will really, really nn-got to ramble
I can hear it callin' me
I can hear it callin' me the way it used to do
Oh, I can hear it callin' me back ho-wome
Baby, oh, babe, I'm gonna leave you
Hoh, baby, you know I've really got to leave you
Oh, I can hear it callin' me
I said, don't you hear it callin' me the way it used to do, oh
I know, I know
I know I never, never, never, never, never gonna leave you, babe
But I gotta go away from this place, I gotta quit you, yeah
Oh, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, oh
You hear it callin'
Don't you hear it callin' me again
Oh, woman, ah, a-woman, I know, I know
Feels good to have you back again, and I know that one day, baby
it's gonna really grow, yes it is
We're gonna go walkin' through the park every day
Come what may, every day, oh, my, my, my, my, my, my babe
I'm gonna leave you, go away
Hoh, oh, god, miss your lips, sweet baby
It was really, really good
You made me happy every single day
but now I've got to go away, oh, oh, oh
Baby, baby, baby
That's when it's callin' me
I said, that's when it's callin' me back home
---------------
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@HiveQu33n
imagine hearing this for the first time in 1968
@anthonymartire2036
Must’ve absolutely blown everyone away. I heard this song for the first time while I was cooking like a week ago and had a full on moment. Live for the first time must’ve been unreal.
@Nico-wm4ck
That would have seriously made my life!
@billcraven9485
That's when it happened to me. Changed me forever.
@oldfashionedstar5614
Imagine you hearing this for the time on the feb 6 2021 like me
@TheChiz18
Yeah my dad has told me too many times about it....over and over and over. I love it though.
@johnbyron1077
The dislikes are from Babe and her friends.
@manithor7572
John Byron;
Or maybe from people who don't like plagiarism 😏
@colebramante7433
@@manithor7572 Wasn't this one of the songs that was like actually original?
@manithor7572
@@colebramante7433
Noooo, this is Joan Baez's song originally.