The Rain Song Over the Hills and Far Away D'yer Mak'er Led Zeppelin

The Rain Song Album: Houses Of The Holy (1973)
Over the Hills and Far Away Album: Houses Of The Holy (1973)
D'yer Mak'er Album: Houses Of The Holy (1973)
by Led Zeppelin

The Rain Song was written after George Harrison, who is a huge fan, told Zep drummer John Bonham that the trouble with Led Zeppelin is that they don't do any ballads. Bonham brought in the idea, and the rest of the band worked with him to put it together. It is was one of the few Zeppelin songs where all four members shared the composer credit.

Running 7:39, The Rain Song has a wistful vibe, with Robert Plant singing about the changing emotions of love. He uses the seasons as a metaphor, starting with the springtime of his love and ending with the coldness of winter. Good times don't last forever, upon us all a little rain must fall.

In a nod to George Harrison, Jimmy Page played the first two notes of the Harrison-written Beatles song "Something" in the intro to "The Rain Song."

On The Rain Song, John Paul Jones played the Mellotron, one of the first synthesizers; it sounds here like an orchestra for violins.

Robert Plant has mentioned The Rain Song as one of his best vocal performances with Led Zeppelin.

Drummer John Bonham took brushes to his drums on The Rain Song, demonstrating his versatility. Surprisingly, he continued to use them even when the song gets heavy.

Super-producer Rick Rubin loves The Rain Song. "It defies classification," he told Rolling Stone. "There's such tasteful, beautiful detail in the guitar and a triumphant feel when the drums come in – it's sad and moody and strong, all at the same time." I could listen to this song all day.

Over the Hills and Far Away evolved from the Yardbirds song "White Summer," an acoustic solo by Jimmy Page. Many of the same riffs and chords are in it. After The Yardbirds broke up, Led Zeppelin continued to play "White Summer" live.

Over the Hills and Far Away was one of the few Led Zeppelin songs released as a single in the US. It made it only to #51.
The music was inspired by Jimmy Page's Celtic ancestry.

This began as an instrumental. Robert Plant came up with backing tracks and then lyrics.

Plant's lyrics were to Over the Hills and Far Away were inspired by the J.R.R. Tolkien book The Hobbit, and to Tolkein's 1915 poem of the same name. "Over The Hills And Far Away" describes the adventure the Hobbits embark on.

Page and Plant started writing Over the Hills and Far Away in 1970 at Bron-yr-Aur, the cottage in Wales they went to after a grueling US tour. It had no electricity or running water.

There's an old English song called "Over The Hills And Far Away" that dates back to the 18th century (It appears in John Gay's play The Beggar's Opera). This might be where the band got the title.

If you listen closely, you can hear an acoustic guitar playing throughout the song.

The title D'yer Mak'er is pronounced "Jamaica," as spoken by the locals in that country. It's a play on the phrase "did you make her":

"She went to the Caribbean."
"Jamaica?"
"No, she went on her own."

The title could also be a sexual reference.

Many people thought the title was pronounced "Dear Maker" and read way too much into it. Jimmy Page had an interest in the occult and Robert Plant wrote some very spiritual lyrics, which led to deeper meanings in many of Led Zeppelin's songs, but not this one.

D'yer Mak'er was meant to imitate reggae and its "dub" derivative emerging from Jamaica in the early '70s. Bonham's inability to replicate a reggae beat on his drums, however, turned the song into an odd melange of what sounded like '50s doo-wop and reggae. This song and "The Crunge" are considered the two "joke" songs on the album.

Led Zeppelin had a curious history of single releases in America. While the band was active, they released just 10 singles (they didn't release any in the UK while they were extant), which typically did just well enough to get a mention from Casey Kasem on American Top 40. "D'yer Mak'er" was one of those singles (backed with "The Crunge"), peaking at #20. Zeppelin was never a "singles band," so these releases were intended to drive sales of the albums, which they did. They often sold well enough to make the charts, however, leaving poor Mr. Kasem to wonder how to pronounce the title to this one.

The distinctive drum sound was created by placing three microphones a good distance away from John Bonham's drums.

Led Zeppelin never performed D'yer Mak'er live. It would have been difficult to re-create the reggae band.

D'yer Mak'er is one of the few Zeppelin songs where all four members share the composer credit.

Sheryl Crow sang D'yer Mak'er on Encomium, the 1995 Led Zeppelin tribute album.