Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

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"Bron-Y-Aur Stomp"
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.png
Netherlands single picture sleeve, 1970
Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin III
Released5 October 1970 (1970-10-05)
Recorded13 December 1969; May–June 1970 (?); 6 July 1970 [1]
Studio Olympic Sound Studios, Barnes, London; Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Headley Grange, Hampshire; Island Studios, London [1]
Genre
Length4:17
Label Atlantic
Songwriters
Producer Jimmy Page

"Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" is a song recorded by English rock band Led Zeppelin for their third album, Led Zeppelin III , released in 1970.

Contents

Background

The title of the song is a misspelling of Bron-Yr-Aur by omission of the 'r' in yr, and takes its name from a house in Gwynedd, Wales, where the members of Led Zeppelin retreated in 1970 to write much of Led Zeppelin III after having completed a concert tour of North America. [5] [6] Bron yr Aur means "hill of gold". Its pronunciation is [ˈbrɔnərˈaɪr] . The cottage had no electricity or running water, but the change of scenery provided inspiration for many of the songs on the album, including "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp".

Composition and recording

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" in 1970. The song was heavily influenced by a number called "Waggoner's Lad" by Bert Jansch, a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. It is a country music-inflected hoedown, [7] with lyrics about walking in the woods with Plant's blue-eyed Merle dog named Strider. [5] Plant reportedly named his dog after Aragorn (often called Strider) from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings . [8] However, there are no explicit references to Tolkien works in "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp".

The group recorded the song at Headley Grange in 1970, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. [9] They completed it at Island Studios in London, and Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. [9] Guitarist Jimmy Page used an acoustic guitar, drummer John Bonham played spoons and castanets, [5] and bassist John Paul Jones played a double bass. [10]

Personnel

According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin: [1]

Jennings Farm Blues

Led Zeppelin also recorded the song as an electric blues rock instrumental, "Jennings Farm Blues", a rough mix of which later surfaced as a studio out-take on a number of Led Zeppelin bootleg recordings. [5] Jennings Farm is the name of the property at Blakeshall on which the Plant family stayed in the early 1970s. [11] "Jennings Farm Blues" was released on 2 June 2014, as part of the remastering process of all nine albums.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Guesdon & Margotin 2018, p. 202.
  2. ↑ Shadwick, Keith (2005). Led Zeppelin: The Story of a Band and Their Music 1968–1980 (1st ed.). San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p.  138. ISBN   0-87930-871-0.
  3. ↑ Grant Jackson, Andrew (20 July 2012). Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of the Beatles' Solo Careers. Scarecrow Press. pp. 42–. ISBN   978-0-8108-8223-2.
  4. ↑ Davis, Stephen (2005). Hammer of the Gods. Pan Macmillan. p. 119. ISBN   978-0-330-43859-9.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Lewis, Dave (1994). The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-7119-3528-9.
  6. ↑ Sutcliffe, Phil (2003). "Back to Nature". Q . Special Led Zeppelin edition. p. 34.
  7. ↑ Led Zeppelin –III Platinum Bass Guitar: Authentic Bass TAB. Alfred Music. 2013. pp. 3–. ISBN   978-1-4706-2493-4.
  8. ↑ Drout, Michael D. C. (2007). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Taylor & Francis. pp. 540–. ISBN   978-0-415-96942-0.
  9. 1 2 Lewis, Dave (2012). Led Zeppelin: From a Whisper to a Scream; The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin. Omnibus Press. p. 38. ISBN   978-1-78038-547-1.
  10. ↑ Akkerman, Gregg (2014). Experiencing Led Zeppelin: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 37. ISBN   978-0-8108-8916-3.
  11. ↑ Thompson, Dave (2014). Robert Plant: The Voice That Sailed the Zeppelin. Backbeat Books. pp. 94–. ISBN   978-1-61713-614-6.

Bibliography

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