5 Interesting Facts About ‘Immigrant Song’ By Led Zeppelin

5 Interesting Facts About ‘Immigrant Song’ By Led Zeppelin | Society Of Rock Videos

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Led Zeppelin was one of the rock outfits who truly deserved the hype. At their peak, they were simply untouchable. Even decades later, their music remains a template for the younger rockers. And one of the songs that propelled them to the top was “Immigrant Song” from their third studio album.

Here are five interesting facts about it:

1. The “land of the ice and snow” refers to Iceland where Led Zeppelin performed in 1970.

“We weren’t being pompous. We did come from the land of the ice and snow”, lead singer Robert Plant explained. “We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be canceled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal.”

2. Immigrant Song was inspired by that particular show.

“The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time,” Plant recalled. “‘Immigrant Song’ was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.”

3. Written by Plant and Jimmy Page, they wanted this to be a humorous retelling of adventures.

However, Led Zeppelin wasn’t exactly known for being funny, so most of their fans took the lyrics rather seriously.

4. The lyrics reflected Plant’s fascination with history and Norse mythology.

The iconic line “Valhalla I am coming” was perhaps one of the reasons why Immigrant Song was used in the 2017 movie Thor: Ragnarok.

5. Jack Black went the extra mile to ask for permission to use this classic.

He wanted to use the song for the cult film School of Rock, so he recorded himself singing in front of a crowd and begging Led Zeppelin.

“It may seem corny, but it worked,” Black said. “The moral of the story is, Don’t be too proud to beg.”

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