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)
I
Led Zeppelin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby sometimes seem to slip into days?
Oh, twenty-four hours
Baby sometimes seem to slip into days, yeah
One minute seems like a lifetime
Oh baby, when I feel this way
Sittin' lookin' at the clock
Time moves so slow
Until I just can't look no more
How come twenty four hours
Baby sometimes seems to slip into days?
A minute seems like a lifetime
Baby when I feel this way
To sing a song for you
I recall you used to say
Oh baby this one's for we two
Which in the end is you anyway
How come twenty four hours
Baby sometimes seem to slip into days?
A minute seems like a lifetime
Baby when I feel this way
There was a time that I stood tall
In the eyes of other men
But by my own choice I left you woman
And now I can't get back again
How come twenty-four hours
Sometimes seem to slip into days, yeah
Well, well, well well
A minute seems like a lifetime
Baby when I feel this way
A minute seems like a lifetime
Oh baby, when I feel this way
I feel this way
The lyrics of "I" by Led Zeppelin depict the slow passage of time when one is apart from a lover. The singer is sitting and watching the clock, willing the time to pass faster so that he can be reunited with his lover. However, time seems to drag on and a single minute feels like a lifetime. The song is filled with feelings of longing and frustration, and the singer can't seem to shake the feeling that a part of him is missing without his lover by his side.
The line "To sing a song for you, I recall you used to say, 'Oh baby this one's for we two, which in the end is you anyway'" suggests that the singer is performing for his lover, and in doing so, he is performing for himself too. He remembers the times they shared together and the songs they sang, reminding him of the love they once had.
The final verse hints at regrets and lost opportunities. The singer reflects on the times when he was admired by other people, but he chose to leave his lover and now he cannot get her back. The repetition of the chorus throughout the song emphasizes the feeling of time dragging on, emphasizing his longing and sense of loss.
Overall, "I" is a poignant song about the pain of being separated from someone you love and the desire to be reunited. The lyrics and vocals capture the restless, yearning energy that can come with such longing.
Line by Line Meaning
How come twenty four hours Baby sometimes seem to slip into days?
The singer is frustrated that time seems to be moving slow and it feels like a day is taking forever to end.
Oh, twenty-four hours Baby sometimes seem to slip into days, yeah
The singer repeats their frustration about how one day can feel like it's taking forever.
One minute seems like a lifetime Oh baby, when I feel this way
The singer feels like a minute is taking too long and it feels like they've been waiting forever.
Sittin' lookin' at the clock Time moves so slow
The singer is looking at the clock and time seems to be moving too slowly.
I've been watchin' for the hands to move Until I just can't look no more
The singer has been waiting for time to pass but it's been really slow and they can't wait anymore.
To sing a song for you I recall you used to say Oh baby this one's for we two Which in the end is you anyway
The singer dedicates a song to someone they used to be close to but now they're not together. The song is still for them even though they're not together anymore.
There was a time that I stood tall In the eyes of other men But by my own choice I left you woman And now I can't get back again
The singer used to have pride and was looked up to by others but they made the choice to leave someone they loved and now they can't go back to that person.
Well, well, well well A minute seems like a lifetime Baby when I feel this way
The singer repeats that a minute feels like a lifetime when they feel a certain way.
A minute seems like a lifetime Oh baby, when I feel this way I feel this way
The singer repeats that a minute feels like a really long time when they feel a certain way.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JIMMY PAGE, ROBERT PLANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@JeffSmith-it4tm
0:00 Good Times Bad Times
2:47 Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
9:29 You Shook Me
15:57 Dazed and Confused
22:23 Your Time Is Gonna Come
26:58 Black Mountain Side
29:10 Communication Breakdown
31:39 I Can't Quit You Baby
36:21 How Many More Times
@dougsmith9687
When you're 73 and you hear Led Zep the way they were . . . you're 20 again.
Hard to beat the LZ sound. Forever young!!!!!!!
@fmills1583
Ditto, LZ 1 & 2 can't be matched even by any of the rest of the LZ albums.
@richard7408
Classic zep.....
Been listening to it for 50+years and today sounds as good as day 1.
You think they'll be playing Cardi B and Drake 50 years from now?
@jimfollett1475
73 here also. First saw Zep in Dallas in 1970.
@robs_abq
@@richard7408 Cardi B? Drake? Who are they?
@Cecibenassi
I'm almost 68 and They are here. And so do I, hearing.
@joseluismoles35
That drum, that drum,... The quality of the bass line, the talent of the guitar, the diferent shapes of the voice.
An absolutely master piece.
JOHN BONHAM, JOHN BONHAM ,
@dietermachmuller9431
My wife and I have both turned 70. With this music we have not only grown up musically...
It was our best time back then: school from 1967, apprenticeship until 1971, dance school during that time, birth of my son in 1975, oh, just wonderful! Even today, when the old bones join in, we allow ourselves to wriggle to the music...
Led Zeppelin also allowed us to understand our son when he started growing up with Metallica and making music himself...
@stephanusghibellino
Baby boomers are lame, sorry.