Nobody's Fault but Mine
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| “Nobody's Fault but Mine” | |||||
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| Song by Led Zeppelin | |||||
| Album | Presence | ||||
| Released | March 31, 1976 | ||||
| Recorded | November-December, 1975 | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock | ||||
| Length | 6:27 | ||||
| Label | Swan Song | ||||
| Writer | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant | ||||
| Producer | Jimmy Page | ||||
| Presence track listing | |||||
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"Nobody's Fault but Mine" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1976 on their album Presence.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The track features a phase-treated, delta blues-based riff in E minor (and later E major) from Jimmy Page which is complemented by vocalist Robert Plant. Jimmy Page triple-tracked his guitar intro; playing one guitar an octave higher than the others.
Drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones maintain the rhythm of the song, adding some syncopated accents during repetitions of the introductory phrase. The song also features a harmonica solo by Plant.
Many of the lyrics in the song such as "Devil he told me to roll" are traditional although American blues singer Blind Willie Johnson, recorded it first in December 1927.[1] The 1927 version was about Johnson fretting about physically not being able to read his Bible, being totally blind, and incurring the wrath of God. The song in a sense is apocryphal in that Johnson later died from pneumonia that set in from sleeping on a wet mattress after the roof burned off of his house. Johnson never applied for a copyright for the song and so the band was free to apply their own.
When the album Presence was released, the lyrics of "Nobody's Fault but Mine" invited speculation as to what the song was actually about. Some thought it concerned Jimmy Page's heroin addiction.[citation needed]
[edit] Live history
From 1977 onwards, "Nobody's Fault but Mine" became a vital component of Led Zeppelin concerts, and was played at virtually every show until the group's final tour of Europe in 1980.[1] One live version, from Led Zeppelin's performance at Knebworth in 1979, is featured on disc 2 of the Led Zeppelin DVD. During live performances, Plant often exclaimed, "Oh Jimmy!" right before Page went into his guitar solo.
"Nobody's Fault but Mine" was performed at Led Zeppelin's reunion show at the O2 Arena, London on December 10, 2007.
[edit] Other versions
Robert Plant performed a version of the song during his solo tours in 1988 and 1990.
Jimmy Page performed this song on his tour with The Black Crowes in 1999. A version of "Nobody's Fault but Mine" performed by Page and The Black Crowes can be found on the album Live at the Greek.
Page and Plant would also record a version in 1994, released on their album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded. This version of the song is performed similarly to acoustic virtuoso John Renbourn's version as heard on his 1967 release "Another Monday". Page and Plant played an acoustic version on their subsequent 1995 No Quarter tour, sometimes swapping it with "When the Levee Breaks".
This song was recorded by the rock band The 77s on their album Drowning With Land In Sight. Led Zeppelin parody cover band Dread Zeppelin also recorded a version of this song on their album 5,000,000.
A version of this song was played intermittently by Jerry Garcia with the Grateful Dead throughout their career, sometimes with lyrics, sometimes without.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Dave Lewis (1994), The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9.
[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
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