Originally named the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that gave them considerable artistic freedom. Initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with eight studio albums over ten years. Their 1969 debut, Led Zeppelin, was a top-ten album in several countries and featured such tracks as "Good Times Bad Times", "Dazed and Confused" and "Communication Breakdown". Led Zeppelin II (1969) was their first number-one album, and yielded "Ramble On" and "Whole Lotta Love". In 1970, they released Led Zeppelin III which featured "Immigrant Song". Their untitled fourth album, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV (1971), is one of the best-selling albums in history with 37 million copies sold. The album includes "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Stairway to Heaven", with the latter being among the most popular and influential works in rock history. Houses of the Holy (1973) yielded "The Ocean", "Over the Hills and Far Away" and "The Rain Song". Physical Graffiti (1975), a double album, featured "Trampled Under Foot" and "Kashmir".
Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin's music, particularly early in their career, while Plant wrote most of the lyrics. Jones's keyboard-based compositions later became central to their music, which featured increasing experimentation. The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery. Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their touring and output, which included Presence (1976) and In Through the Out Door (1979), grew limited, and the group disbanded following Bonham's death in 1980. Since then, the surviving former members have sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off reunions. The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Bonham's son Jason Bonham on drums.
Led Zeppelin are one of the best-selling music artists of all time; their total record sales are estimated to be between 200 and 300 million units worldwide. They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six number-one albums on the US Billboard 200, with five of their albums certified Diamond in the US. Rolling Stone magazine described them as "the heaviest band of all time", "the biggest band of the Seventies", and "unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history". They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; the museum's biography of the band states that they were "as influential" during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.
Albums
Led Zeppelin (1969)
Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Led Zeppelin III (1970)
Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Houses of the Holy (1973)
Physical Graffiti (1975)
Presence (1976)
In Through the Out Door (1979)
Coda (1982)
Communication Breakdown Live
Led Zeppelin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hey girl you'll drive me to ruin.
I don't know what it is that I like about you
But I like it a lot.
Won't you let me hold you
Let me feel your lovin' charms.
Communication breakdown
I'm having a nervous breakdown
Drive me insane!
Hey girl I got something I think you ought to know.
Hey babe I want to tell you that I love you so.
I want to hold you in my arms, yeah!
I'm never gonna let you go,
'Cause I like your charms.
Communication breakdown
It's always the same
I'm having a nervous breakdown
Drive me insane!
Communication breakdown
It's always the same
I'm having a nervous breakdown
Drive me insane!
(Communication breakdown)I want you to love me all night
(Communication breakdown)I want you to love me
(Communication breakdown)I want you to love...yeah! I want you to love!
The song "Communication Breakdown" by Led Zeppelin is a hard-rock classic that is all about frustration and desire. The song speaks about the band's inability to communicate effectively with a girl they are interested in. The lyrics start with Robert Plant singing, "Hey girl, stop what you’re doing. Hey girl, you’ll drive me to ruin", suggesting how badly the girl has disrupted his peace of mind. He goes on to say that he doesn't know what it is that he likes about her but likes it a lot. He then asks the girl to let him hold her, feel her loving charms, and professes his love for her.
However, despite his feelings, Plant faces a communication breakdown with the girl, which is "always the same", according to the lyrics. He's "having a nervous breakdown" that is "driving [him] insane". The song is about struggling to get through to someone who is not as interested in you or communicating effectively, leading to frustration and anxiety. Finally, the chorus of the song is repeated several times and emphasizes the desire for love and connection: "Communication breakdown, it's always the same. I'm having a nervous breakdown, Drive me insane! (Communication breakdown) I want you to love me all night, (Communication breakdown) I want you to love me… yeah, I want you to love!"
Line by Line Meaning
Hey girl stop what you're doin'!
The singer urgently calls out to the object of his affection, interrupting whatever she may be doing.
Hey girl you'll drive me to ruin.
He warns her that her actions will cause his downfall.
I don't know what it is that I like about you
But I like it a lot.
The singer cannot explicitly articulate why he is attracted to the girl, but the intensity of his feelings is obvious.
Won't you let me hold you
Let me feel your lovin' charms.
He implores her to allow him physical intimacy, relishing the prospect of her affection.
Communication breakdown
It's always the same
I'm having a nervous breakdown
Drive me insane!
The constant inability to connect with the girl wears on him mentally and emotionally, and he feels himself breaking down.
Hey girl I got something I think you ought to know.
Hey babe I want to tell you that I love you so.
He needs to confess his love for her, believing it will resolve the communication issues and potentially lead to a relationship.
I want to hold you in my arms, yeah!
I'm never gonna let you go,
'Cause I like your charms.
The singer longs for physical contact with the girl, and vows to keep her close because he is enchanted by her qualities.
(Communication breakdown)I want you to love me all night
(Communication breakdown)I want you to love me
(Communication breakdown)I want you to love...yeah! I want you to love!
He believes physical and emotional intimacy will rectify the communication breakdown and validates their relationship.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHN BONHAM, JOHN PAUL JONES, JIMMY PAGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Robles
Luckiest audience in rock history.
martin moffitt
Still trying to recover from this
Darby Gorman
coughs Troll!
sacheverelle
settle down they were not that fucking epic
User 5748
Ikr
Mike Bernstein
the sound on Jimmy's Telecaster, with the fuzz, and wah wah, WOW,
This is the best version I have heard!
Jaffley Fifteen
he fucking slaughters that wah pedal son. makes that shit sound like hard rock psychedelic insanity
beau nguyen
To me, this is their best version ever.
Purity
royal albert hall 1970 love that concert in general
Lucas
Royal Albert Hall is a nice version too