Great B-Sides: Hey, Hey, What Can I Do by Led Zeppelin
I mean, Led Zeppelin didn’t write tunes that every one liked. They left that to the Bee Gees.
Wayne Campbell
As noted in the movie Wayne’s World, Led Zeppelin didn’t play the pop game. They avoided releasing singles, instead preferring listeners to experience their albums as a whole. They didn’t release singles at all in the UK, and only had cursory releases in other countries. In fact they only released one non-LP track during their tenure, ‘Hey, Hey, What Can I Do’, an outtake from 1970’s Led Zeppelin III.
Given the divisive nature of that record’s closer ‘Hats Off To (Roy) Harper’, it’s somewhat surprising that this likeable song was excluded. The most likely explanation is that the band felt that the song was too straightforward – it’s driven by Page’s acoustic strum, and it features a singalong chorus. But I love the lyric that feels akin to the blues songs that early Led Zeppelin delved into, even if the story of a wayward female lover is implausibly hypocritical from one of rock’s most decadent, shark wielding, bands.
Strangely, the song was difficult to track down for a while – it wasn’t released on the original version of the outtakes collection Coda, although it was restored to later editions.
I also enjoy The Hold Steady‘s cover version:
Want to tell you about the girl I love
My she looks so fine
She’s the only one that I been dreamin’ of
Maybe someday she will be all mine
I want to tell her that I love her so
I thrill with her every touch
I need to tell her she’s the only one I really loveI got a woman, want to ball all day
I got a woman, she won’t be true, no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said I got a little woman and she won’t be trueSunday morning when we go down to church
See the menfolk standin’ in line
I said they come to pray to the Lord
With my little girl, looks so fine
In the evening when the sun is sinkin’ low
Everybody’s with the one they love
I walk the town, keep a-searchin’ all around
Lookin’ for my street corner girlI got a woman, want to ball all day
I got a woman, she won’t be true, no no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said I got a little woman and she won’t be trueIn the bars, with the men who play guitars
Singin’, drinkin’ and rememberin’ the times
My little lover does a midnight shift
She followed around all the time
I guess there’s just one thing a-left for me to do
Gonna pack my bags and move on my way
‘Cause I got a worried mind sharin’ what I thought was mine
Gonna leave her where the guitars playI got a woman, she won’t be true, no no
I got a woman, want to ball all day, yeah, yeah
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I got a little woman and she won’t be trueI said she won’t be trueNo, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah (hey, hey, what can I say?)Ah (hey hey, what can I do) keep on, keep on
(No, no, what can I say?) she won’t
Keep on, keep on (hey, hey, what can I do?)
(No, no, what can I say?)
(Hey, hey, what can I do?)
(No, no, what can I say?) hey, hey what can I do, I got a women she won’t be true
(Hey, hey, what can I do?) oh oh hear what I said I got a woman wanna bawl all day
(No, no, what can I say?) keep on keep on
(Hey, hey, what can I do?)
Aphoristical
Graham Fyfe is fascinated by pop music, and he may just be the only blogger in the world to cover Neil Diamond and Ariana Grande.
Great song, thanks for highlighting it. There really is nothing un- Led Zeppelin about this song. Jimmy Page wasn’t afraid to use the acoustic guitar and Robert Plant’s vocals are as good as any Led Zep song.
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At the same time it’s a bit more relaxed and commercial sounding than most of their material. Sounds a bit like an old blues chestnut too.
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Yeah, ” Hats off to Roy Harper” was well-intentioned but kinda sucked. This is a good tune. You will, I think, like my upcoming posts.
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Looking forward to your series about hats.
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Funny!
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There are some good songs about hats. ‘Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat’, Newman’s original version of ‘You Can Leave Your Hat On’…
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‘Hats off to Larry.’
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I saw this headline – “Fireball in New Zealand” and wondered exactly what your role was in that.
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Exceptional opening quote!
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Party on Geoff!
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It’s party time, excellent!
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The minute I saw your title I thought of The Hold Steady’s cover version. I think I’ve heard it at least five times as many as I have the original, and I’m a life long Zep head.
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Yeah, it works well for the Hold Steady.
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It’s fun and loose…which they weren’t known for. Just super likable. Love Jimmy’s acoustic in this. He was super in the studio with the sound he got.
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Yes, he was an amazing producer – everything always sounds great on Led Zeppelin records.
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Great choice!
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Yes, it’s clearly a well loved b-side.
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Great tune (of course). Lovely post for it. Did you know Hootie also covered this one? On the Encomium Led Zeppelin tribute disc. Yup.
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Like 1537 says. I have this on 45.
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Yes, definitely the most essential Led Zep single, since it’s the only non-album one.
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I have an old jukebox and wanted to fill it with all the cool 45’s I could find. This made the grade.
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Yes, you’ve told me about your jukebox before. You should take a photo and make a post about it sometime.
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I think the juke was the original access to the “B-side”. I forgot what the actual A-side was and had to look. You have a guess or do you know? You like the trivia thing.
(I gave the juke to my daughter, Princess Falda and her guy)
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The Immigrant Song
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Correct!
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I only know because I did some reading for my post, although makes sense it was the first single from LZ III.
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Aph, when I read your take and you reminded me of when it was cut it blew my mind. CB is a dinosaur. Great single no matter when it was cut.
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