The Ocean (Led Zeppelin song): Difference between revisions

"The Ocean" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. "The Ocean" refers to the sea of fans seen from the stage; this song was always dedicated to the audience at concerts. Drummer John Bonham counted in with "We've done four already, but now we're steady, and then they went 1, 2, 3, 4!"

This song is done in a 15/16 beat through the verses of the song, and then transitions to a 4/4 beat in the choruses and the outro.

The "girl who won my heart" is a reference to Plant's daughter Carmen (born November 21, 1968), who was three years old at the time of recording. In concert, Plant always updated the lyric to her current age.

At approximately 1:38 into the song, a phone can be heard ringing in the background. Some speculate that this was intentional - the sheet music (printed after the fact) that accompanies the CD box set has the word "ring" printed twice above the percussion tab of this song. Others are of the opinion that while Led Zeppelin recorded the song a ringing phone was captured in the mix.

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 studio, the others being "Since I've Been Loving You" from 1970's Led Zeppelin III, "Ten Years Gone" from 1975's Physical Graffiti, and "Bonzo's Montreux" from 1982's Coda.

The song is also known for a lyric intentionally misprinted on the insert sleeve of the LP. A lyric referring to "the hellhound" (a homage to Robert Johnson who, as legend has it, could not have received such talent without meeting the devil and his "hellhound" at the "crossroads") was deemed unfit to print in the lyric sheet and was changed to the nonsense phrase "high hopes hailla".

The hard rock song unwinds to a coda consisting of a guitar solo and a

The Beastie Boys sampled this song on "She's Crafty", as did Fort Minor in their song "Dolla".

Trivia

• "The Ocean" is fans as seen from the stage. It was always dedicated to the audience at concerts.
• The voice on the intro is drummer John Bonham. When he says, "We've done four already but now we're steady," he is referring to the takes. They had tried to record it four times prior but couldn't get it right, so as a pep talk he said his famous line.
• In the last line, the "Girl who won my heart" is Robert Plant's daughter Carmen, who was three years old at the time.
• This is one of the few Zeppelin songs where all four members shared the writing credit.
• The Beastie Boys sampled this on "She's Crafty." It wasn't their first use of Zeppelin - they took some of Bonham's drums from "When The Levee Breaks" for "Rhymin' And Stealin'."
• Robert Plant used parts of this (and other Zeppelin songs) for his solo song "Tall Cool One," reportedly in response to the earlier sampling by the Beastie Boys.
• It can barely be heard due to all the guitar overdubs, but during the last minute or so, John Paul Jones and John Bonham sing for one of the only times on a Led Zeppelin album. They are harmonizing the phrase "Doo wop."
• If you listen carefully, you can hear a phone ringing in the studio at 1:37-1:38 and again (second ring) around 1:41.
• The lyrics about "The Hellhound" refer to blues musician Robert Johnson, who according to legend, sold his soul to the devil. On the lyrics sheet that came with the album, the word "hellhound" was replaced with "high hopes hailla."

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