Ten Years Gone

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"Ten Years Gone"

Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album 'Physical Graffiti'
Released	February 24, 1975
Recorded	1974
Genre	Hard rock
Length	6:31
Label	Atlantic Records
Writer(s)	Page/Plant
'Physical Graffiti' track listing
"Down by the Seaside" (9)	"Ten Years Gone" (10)	"Night Flight" (11)

"Ten Years Gone" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. Originally intended to be an instrumental piece, Jimmy Page used some 14 guitar tracks to overdub the harmony section. Robert Plant later added lyrics, which are dedicated to an old girlfriend who, ten years earlier, had made him choose either her or his music.

This is one of the few Led Zeppelin songs in which it is possible to hear the squeak of John Bonham's bass drum pedal in the recording studio, the others being "Since I've Been Loving You" from 1970's Led Zeppelin III, "The Ocean" from 1973's Houses of the Holy, and "Bonzo's Montreux" from 1982's Coda.

Live versions of this song were performed on Led Zeppelin's 1977 concert tour of the United States. John Paul Jones used an unusual triple-necked guitar that included a six-string, twelve string, a mandolin and bass pedals. The band also played the song when they played the first date of the Knebworth Festival on August 4, 1979. They didn't play it on their second and final Knebworth appearance on August 11.

Page and Plant performed this song once on their Japanese Tour at Osaka on February 15, 1996. Jimmy Page also performed this song on his tour with The Black Crowes in 1999. A version of "Ten Years Gone" performed by Page and The Black Crowes can be found on the album Live at the Greek.

[edit] Sources

Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9