Ten Years Gone

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Ten Years Gone
Appears on Physical Graffiti
Published by Flames of Albion Music
Registration ASCAP 500236622
Release date 24 February 1975
Recorded January - February 1974 at
Headley Grange, Hampshire with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio.
Mixed at Olympic Studios, London.
Genre Rock music
Language English
Length 6 minutes 55 seconds
Composer Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Label Swan Song Records
Producer Jimmy Page
Engineer Ron Nevison

'Ten Years Gone' is a song by English Rock and roll|rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1975 album Physical Graffiti.

Overview

Some have speculated that this song was a variation of the never-released Led Zeppelin track 'Swan Song (Led Zeppelin song)|Swan Song', the name they chose for their own record label.[1] Originally intended to be an instrumental piece, Jimmy Page used some 14 guitar tracks to overdub the harmony section.[2] 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. Plant explained in an interview in 1975:

Let me tell you a little story behind the song 'Ten Years Gone' on our new album. I was working my ass off before joining Zeppelin. A lady I really dearly loved said, 'Right. It's me or your fans.' Not that I had fans, but I said, 'I can't stop, I've got to keep going.' She's quite content these days, I imagine. She's got a washing machine that works by itself and a little sports car. We wouldn't have anything to say anymore. I could probably relate to her, but she couldn't relate to me. I'd be smiling too much. Ten years gone, I'm afraid. Anyway, there's a gamble for you.[3]

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 (song)|The Ocean' from 1973's Houses of the Holy, 'Houses of the Holy (song)|Houses of the Holy' from 1975's Physical Graffiti, and 'Bonzo's Montreux' from 1982's Coda (album)|Coda.

Live performances

Live versions of this song were performed on Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977|1977 concert tour of the United States. John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones originally played the melody on an acoustic guitar but then introduced an unusual triple-necked guitar that included a six-string, twelve string, a mandolin and bass pedals. Some have speculated that this song was a variation of the never-released Led Zeppelin track 'Swan Song', the name they chose for their own record label.[4] Jimmy Page used his 1960's Botswanna Brown Fender Telecaster featuring a Parsons and White B-string bender. The band again played the song on the first date of the Knebworth Festival 1979|concerts at Knebworth on 4 August 1979, which was also their last time playing it in concert. They cut it from their set on their second and final Knebworth appearance on 11 August, due to problems with the sound system.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant performed this song once on their Japanese tour at Osaka on 15 February 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.

Credits

Personnel
  • Musicians:
    • Jimmy Page – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, producer, remastering, digital remastering
    • Robert Plant – vocals
    • John Paul Jones – bass guitar
    • John Bonham - drums, percussion
  • Production:
    • Peter Grant – executive producer
    • Keith Harwood - mixing
    • Ron Nevison - engineer, mixing
    • Joe Sidore - original CD mastering engineer (mid-1980s)
    • George Marino - remastered CD engineer (1990)

References

  1. Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream. London: Omnibus Press, 71. ISBN 978-1-78038-547-1. 
  2. Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream. London: Omnibus Press, 71. ISBN 978-1-78038-547-1. 
  3. Crowe, Cameron (13 March 1975). "The Durable Led Zeppelin: A conversation with Jimmy Page and Robert Plant". Rolling Stone (182). ISSN 0035-791X.
  4. Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream. London: Omnibus Press, 71. ISBN 978-1-78038-547-1.