| "That's the Way" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Led Zeppelin | |
| from the album Led Zeppelin III | |
| Released | 5 October 1970 |
| Recorded | May–June 1970 (?); 30 May 1970 [1] |
| Studio | Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, Headley Grange, Hampshire; Olympic Sound Studios, London [1] |
| Genre | Folk rock |
| Length | 5:37 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | Jimmy Page, Robert Plant |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page |
"That's the Way" is a folk rock ballad by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their third album, Led Zeppelin III , released in 1970. As with several of the tracks on the album, it is an acoustic song.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote the piece in 1970 on a retreat at Bron-Yr-Aur cottage, Wales. [2] Page noted that the two developed it and recorded a rough demo after a long walk before they returned to the cottage. [3]
The original working title of the song was "The Boy Next Door". [4] On the surface, the lyrics are about one boy's parents being against a friendship with another boy due to his long hair and coming from the wrong side of town. [5] It also reflects on the group's early American tours, when they were sometimes harassed for their appearance. [2]
Instrumentation for the song is sparse, consisting of a strummed twelve-string acoustic guitar, with overdubbed mandolin and steel guitar fills; percussion and bass are absent from much of the song until the instrumental outro. [4] According to Page, "And right at the end, where everything opens up, I played a dulcimer." [6] [7] He also plays the bass heard at the conclusion: "I was doing a bunch of overdubs and got excited. [Bassist] John Paul Jones went home, so I put the bass part on it as well! [laughs] That didn't happen often, believe me!" [6] [7]
According to Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin (except for pedal steel): [1]
In a contemporary review of Led Zeppelin III, Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone describes "That's the Way" as the first Led Zeppelin song that has ever truly moved him. [5] Bangs praises the understated, but effective acoustic guitar and vocal approach. [5] In a later review for AllMusic, Denise Sullivan calls it "one of Led Zeppelin's most beautiful ballads (in the true tradition of the folk ballad)". [4]
