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Song: The Lemon Song
Album: Led Zeppelin II [released Oct 22, 1969 (US) | Oct 31, 1969 (UK)]
Single: N/A
Credited to: Jimmy Page, John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Robert Plant
Related Songs:
Killin' Floor - Howlin' Wolf (original)
Traveling Riverside Blues - Robert Johnson (lyrics)
Killin' Floor - Jimi Hendrix (previous cover)
Lyrics:
I should have quit you, long time ago
Whoa, yeah, yeah, long time ago
I wouldn't be here, my children
down on this killin' floor
I should have listened, baby, to my second mind
I should have listened, baby, to my second mind
Everytime I go away and leave you, darlin'
Send me the blues, rain down the line
(Guitar Solo)
Babe, yeah
Treat me right, baby
Oh woah oh, my, my, my, my
(Now take it down a bit)
People tell me, baby, can't be satisfied
Try to worry me, baby, but I'd never end up, guilt-chewin' myself
People worry, baby, can't keep you satisfied
Let me tell you, babe
Ah, you ain't nothin' but a two-bit, no good, jive
I went to sleep last night, I work as hard as I can
I bring home my money, you take my money, give it to another man
I should have quit you, baby, oh, such a long time ago
I wouldn't be here with all my troubles
Down on this killin' floor
Squeeze me, babe, till the juice runs down my leg
Do, squeeze, squeeze me, baby, till the juice runs down my leg
The way you squeeze my lemon, now
I'm gonna fall right outta bed
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey hey hey hey, juice
baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby baby
Hey, babe, babe, babe, babe
I'm gonna leave my children down on this killin' floor
Personal notes: Now this song is pure, raw, Led Zeppelin. Devastating riff. The vocals are excellent. The bass is tasty. And the drums kick the song into groove. This one's a party song. Excellent example of taking a blues structure, and injecting it with a heavy dose of rock n roll. On a different note, I'm not sure how intentional it is, but it's interesting to notice certain lyrical connections between songs in Zeppelin's catalog. For example, on their first album, Robert was singing 'I can't quit you' and on this song, he's singing 'I should have quit you.' Another example of this is in Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Robert sings 'I've really got to ramble', and then on Ramble On, he sings that 'it's time to ramble on.' Furthermore, in Heartbreaker on the second album, Robert sings 'it's been ten years and maybe more since I first set eyes on you', and then later on in Ten Years Gone, Robert sings 'ten years gone, holdin' on.' Another neat example is in Kashmir on Physical Graffiti, Robert sings 'tryin' to find, tryin' to find where I been,' then on the very next album in Achilles Last Stand, he sings 'I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way.' Little things, but they can't help but grab my attention!
Influences: This song is a high-energy cover of Howlin' Wolf's Killing Floor. The 'squeeze my lemon' lyrics are taken from Robert Johnson's Traveling Riverside Blues, which Zeppelin also covered separately on their BBC Sessions release. Speaking of BBC Sessions, Jimi Hendrix also performed a cover of Killing Floor (he was playing it at least as early as 4 Feb 1968), as can be heard on Hendrix's BBC Sessions release.
Killing Floor - Howlin' Wolf
I should have quit you, a long time ago
I should have quit you, babe, long time ago
I should have quit you, and went on to Mexico
If I had o' followed, my first mind
If I had o' followed, my first mind
I'd have been gone, since my second time
I should have went on, when my friend come from Mexico at me
I should have went on, when my friend come from Mexico at me
But no, I'm foolin' with ya, baby, I let ya put me on the killin' floor
Lord knows, I should have been gone
Lord knows, I should have been gone
And I wouldn't have been here, down on the killin' floor
Killin' Floor - Jimi Hendrix Experience
I should have quit you, long time ago (yeah)
I should have quit you, baby, long time ago (yes I should)
But you got me messin' around with you baby, you got me cryin' on the killin' floor (yeah)
If I'd a-followed, yeah, my first mind
If I'd a-followed, pretty baby, my first mind
I would've been gone, since my second time (yeah)
Lord knows (lord knows), I should've been gone
Lord knows, I should've been gone
You got me messin' around with you baby, you got me cryin' on the killin' floor (yeah, that's all)
(you got me hollerin', ooh)
Traveling Riverside Blues - Robert Johnson
If your man get personal, want you to have your fun
If your man get personal, want you to have your fun
Best come on back to Friars Point, mama, and barrelhouse all night long
I got womens in Vicksburg, clean on into Tennessee
I got womens in Vicksburg, clean on into Tennessee
But my Friars Point rider, now, hops all over me
I ain't gon' to state no color, but her front teeth crowned with gold
I ain't gon' to state no color, but her front teeth is crowned with gold
She got a mortgage on my body, now, lien on my soul
Lord, I'm goin' to Rosedale, gon' take my rider by my side
Well I'm goin' to Rosedale, gon' take my rider by my side
We can still barrelhouse, baby, cause it's on the riverside
Now you can squeeze my lemon 'till the juice runs down my...
(Till the juice runs down my leg, baby, you know what I'm talkin' about)
You can squeeze my lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg
(That's what I'm talkin' 'bout, now)
But I'm goin' back to Friars Point, if I be rockin' to my head
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