Listen To Jimmy Page’s Original Idea For “The Rain Song”
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 22: (EDITORS NOTE: Image has been converted to black and white.) Jimmy Page poses in the winners room at The Ivor Novello Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel on May 21, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Jimmy Page is recently streaming the instrumental track “The Seasons,” and tells the original idea behind “The Rain Song.”
Founder and guitarist of Led Zeppelin, Page shared that he was first considering “The Seasons” to follow their opening track “The Rain Song” and be featured as a beginning segment for their fifth album. In the YouTube description of “The Seasons,” Page explained:
“My original idea for the opening tracks for Houses of the Holy was that a short overture would be a rousing instrumental introduction with layered electric guitars that would segue into ‘The Seasons,’ later to be titled ‘The Rain Song.’
“Again there would be a contrasting acoustic guitar instrumental movement with Mellotron that could lead to the first vocal of the album and the first verse of the song.”
Eventually, in 1973’s Houses of the Holy “The Seasons” had the working title of “The Plumpton and Worcester Races” but was finally released as “The Song Remains the Same.”
Page told Guitar World in 1993:
“It was originally going to be an instrumental — an overture that led into ‘The Rain Song.’
“But I guess Robert [Plant] had different ideas. You know, ‘This is pretty good, Better get some lyrics – quick!'”
While in the 2014 deluxe remastered edition of Houses of the Holy, “The Rain Song” had different versions including a “minus piano” but still featuring Plant’s vocals.
Stream “The Seasons” below.
