First Listen - "Gallows Pole" Led Zeppelin (Hip Hop Fan Reacts)
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
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His sister isn't swinging on the pole, the main character is. It's about a sadistic hangman who decides to kill the guy despite being paid and being "offered" his sister. The hangman is the one laughing.
Yeah he banged the girl and killed the guy anyways.
Dark dark tune.
Yea I think you are right.
I think you are spot on, i even think he actually had the sister as well but still hung her brother.
Yeah, i have no doubt, now i've seen the lyrics. I maybe THOUGHT I heard in my numerous earlier listens that the sister ended up swinging instead, but here it is made clear that the Hangman , by using "your" and "you" is talking about the original "Hangee." Sad, tragic, but FUN, lol!
The last verse is sung from the perspective of the hangman… telling the protagonist, “your brother brought me silver, your sister warmed my soul, but now I laugh and pull so hard, see you swinging on the gallows pole.”
The hangman took the sister, the silver and the gold but still pulled the handle . . . he is the one laughing at the end.
The last verse is from the hangman’s perspective, which makes him quite a bastard.
This is a great example of their versatility. Robert's vocals, just wow. Tightness of the band, just wow.
Banjos, sitars, mandolins, keytars, violins, flutes, saxophones, harmonicas, tambourines and cowbells - I miss all that stuff from those times.
A Banjo? Yeah - only Led Zeppelin could do this!
Umm no, the band can do this as well... led zep is amazing please don't get me wrong, but the band can play multiple instruments and all can can sing except Garth Hudson.. is it John Paul Jones playing banjo?
Pete Townshend played banjo on a few Who tracks also. Check out "Squeeze Box" & "I've Had Enough" from Quadrophenia.
That's right!!
And that outro solo that sounded like a fiddle was Page playing electric guitar. Dude’s a production genius.
This song will stay with me forever. I (vaguely) remember lying on my bed, tripping on mescaline, still in high school, early 70s, listening to this song for hours. ✌🏻💀
Great screen name, I'm surprised I've not seen it used before.
You're right - this track has been and always will be.....
Peace ✨.
Great screen name, I'm surprised I've not seen it used before.
You're right - this track has been and always will be.....
Peace ✨.
Yeah, me too. But can't remember what I was on. :)
This is consistently in my top 5 Zeppelin tracks, maybe top 3 - others come and go but Gallows Pole is always there. Great groove, excellent arrangement and Plant does a fine job delivering the lyrics. I don’t think the style and cadence of them comes naturally to him but he’s versatile enough to pull it off.
I loved your description of it as cinematic Syed, I’d never really thought of it like that but you’re absolutely right.
One last thing - without getting too technical musically, the opening verse riff switches between a major and minor version of the same chord which helps create the uneasy atmosphere, you’re torn between something kind of upbeat but dark at the same time, which I think sums this one up, pretty much.
I agree, def top 5. Others for me How Many More Times (for the best bass opening to any song), When the Levee Breaks (Bonzo, what else), Heartbreaker/Living Lovin' Maid (2 songs that join brilliantly), Rock n Roll (sums it all up nicely)....
III is my favourite LZ album.
Anyone else go to the laser/music nights at the Planetarium in London? They played this track and in "the night sky" was a white horse galloping around a gallows, faster and faster. We were tripping balls at the time. Awe inspiring feast of the senses.
The "prickly" notes are a banjo, which was owned by John Paul Jones, but played by Jimmy.
The story I heard was that Jimmy hadn't played banjo, but picked it up and played this banjo track... it has strings, and he's Jimmy Page, so...
Fabulous song/review. But, I have to say that MOST Zeppelin songs tell a story. It’s the rare ones that don’t. Another reason this is the best band that ever lived. I’m 63. And, I’ve never stopped listening to music.
Gallows Pole is based on a century's old folk song about a maiden begging for someone to buy her freedom from execution and as you read, has been covered several times before Zep got to it. As others have mentioned, no, the condemned guy is still hung even after he bribes the hangman with money from his brother and sex from his sister. Again, as has been mentioned, Jimmy plays a banjo on this. He borrowed it from John Paul Jones, and even though he'd never played one before, noodled about with it and got this song. In addition to banjo, he plays 12-string and electric guitar while Jones plays bass as well as mandolin. To my ear, it sounds a bit folk/country but specifically more of a Bluegrass sound, which makes sense because Bluegrass music came from the Irish, Scots, and UK people who settled into the American south. After you know the story of the lyrics, you realize it's a bit of a macabre number especially as it starts slow then speeds up, sounding jaunty and jolly, before moving to almost a manic speed. The other three bandmembers harmonize on the "ah ha ha has" as the hangman laughs at the condemned man's friends/family and Robert sings "keep-a swinging" and "see-saw, Margery Daw, gonna swing." It's a sly bit of strangeness dressed up as a happy folk song and I love it.
👋😁🤗
One of my all time favorite Led Zep songs.
That makes two of us, I have always loved this album. It always get a bad wrap from fans & critics alike. It was unexpected, I bought it the week it came out and was surprised that it was so different. Great change up while still being a Led Zeppelin gem.
All my favorite Zeppelin tunes are deep tracks, and this one's near the top of the heap! Also recommended :
In the Light
Hey Hey What Can I Do
Tangerine
What Is And What Should Never Be
Ten Years Gone
Custard Pie
LOVE this song - thanks for the great reaction. It's so nice to see younger generations enjoy and appreciate the amazing music we grew up with.
This is a great Led Zeppelin song, and always a pleasure to listen to! As already mentioned by UncleErnie71, I believe that despite the proffered gold and silver, and the seductive charms of the willing sister, the guy is hung anyway. BTW, Bob Dylan also did a brilliant "Gallows Pole" style song of his own very early in his career. It was on the Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3, and called "Seven Curses." (There are a few versions available here on the RUclips BobDylan channel; a live version, and the original studio version. They're both good, but his impeccable delivery in the Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 studio version is chilling.)
Yes, as others have said page borrowed john paul jones banjo having never played one before. Then recorded this!
This is 1 of my Top LZ songs. Just badass!!!
IMO, Robert is the GOAT of rock singers. Just amazing he was.
Hi Syed, I also think you should include "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do", which was the B side to "Immigrant Song". Might be my favorite Zeppelin track. Cheers
This second half of led zepp three is awesome. It’s Jimmy on the banjo apparently he just picked it up and played around for a while and then played this in his first real try with one.
A lot of the sound "effects" with Led Zeppelin were often just about where they recorded (in hallways and stairwells (natural reverb) in old mansions and the like) and by thoughtful mic placement.
Are you talking about the drums in when the levee breaks when you reference the stairwell. That was actually delay in the recording not from the stairwell. There are multiple videos out there about it.
@@craigplatel813 I just seem to remember reading that they did such, can't remember specifics, and I read an interview with Page somewhere about mic placement being a way he used to get certain 'effects'.
Always increases my appreciation of the actual music of LZ listening through your ears
Great reaction as usual! I used to also think it was the sister that was hung, in a cruel betrayal, but I'd say the 4th stanza makes it clear the Hangman is addressing the man he just hung, i.e., the original, doomed dude. On a related note, Robert Plant was also hung, and was even seen being hung on stage during shows.
I’ve never, EVER, seen or heard that. Would love to know your source
@@helenespaulding7562 Er, you mean Plant's "being hung"? Uh, just a juvenile joke about his...pole. Source? Those JEANS, lol! 🤭
@@joescott8877 Helene here. oh……yup…..you said juvenile, not me. But yeah…….the shoe does fit. 🙄😏 BYW….LOVE those tight jeans! 😁
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 LOL, Yes, I'll cop to that shoe fitting, and if I could get away with rocking Plant's articles of clothing, I'd don those, too! 😄
First time hearing this song. 🎵❗ How many INSTRUMENTS are going on here ❓ Complex and beautiful. Another great Reaction. You are always SPOT ON.
I smile every time I get notification that you reacted to a LZ track. Thanks for your reaction! ❤
Back in the day we played what was side one, of Led Zeppelin III, 9 out of 10 times we listened to it but every so often would play the first couple songs from side 2, which is Gallows Pole and Tangerine, which is a cool, quirky track with yet another killer Jimmy Page guitar solo that comes out of nowhere but damn, makes me want to hear that track often, much easier to do in the digital age. Thanks and can't wait for Tangerine and your take on it. Enjoy! 🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶
Only The Mighty Led Zeppelin can make a banjo rock
My favorite of theirs, as far as ones not talked about or generally reacted to on YT
During the first few uneasy minutes, this song is a masterpiece of unresolved tension.
The song starts off so sparse and barren but by the end of this song they have seemingly every acoustic instrument besides the kitchen sink. Zeppelin was always expanding their musical boundaries.
Refreshing hearing your analysis of this Led Zep tune which takes a traditional song to another level. The way the song builds from just a guitar and vocals with the other instruments gradually coming in is brilliant. The drums in particular add that exciting element to the song that gets you tapping along every time.
One of many common, centuries old themes that musically, are rooted in songs brought over by English, Irish, and Scottish immigrants. I suspect that those who know more about ancient literature will have examples from Greek tragedies. What I find interesting about this one is that most of these songs were kept alive by those immigrants who settled in the Appalachians, became Bluegrass in the forties when Bill Monroe and his self taught mandolin style added Earl Scruggs to his band that already included fiddle, and, although he’d had Five-String banjo players prior to Scruggs, it was Earl who brought a different style of playing, three-finger, to the band and Bluegrass was born. Englishmen found it through a black American folk/blues artist, brought it home and added traditional American instruments. Music is universal and timeless. Dylan put his stamp on the story in Seven Curses, father/daughter instead of brother/sister and it was the judge, not the hangman. Well worth a listen.
Love all your stuff man! Great job! Back in the mid 90's Jimmy Paige and Robert Plant put an album out together and re did this song. A lot of Indian influence as Plant was really intrigued by that style. The "MTV Unplugged version is my favorite. Keep going! Awesome, awesome channel!
You might want to check out "Going to California" which I believe is a Zepplin original, but sung and arranged in a very folk-influenced style. Of course, Robert Plant has almost an entire new career as a folk singer. Amazing how many British musicians like Plant and Clapton helped Americans rediscover our own folk music
You should check out another folk ballad done by the folk/rock band Fairport Convention "Matty Groves". It was written in the 17th century. The singer is Sandy Denny the female voice on Zeppelin's "The Battle of Evermore".
Not a comment on the song, but on your 'reaction videos.' I taught 2 media history courses at two universities... Your reaction videos are incredibly astute and I appreciate you giving context to your viewers. It makes me really happy that from time to time, you bring up points I'd not considered. Keep up the great work (your videos have shown increasing depth as the months have passed). A couple suggestions for different artists: from the 90s, try Matthew Sweet ("Sick of Myself," "Girlfriend," "I've Been Waiting") and from the 1970s through 80s, DEVO ("Can't Get No Satisfaction," "Are We Not Men? (We are Devo)") and 1970s through 80s, Talking Heads (it's all genius, no bad choices) & Peter Gabriel (again, all genius, no poor choices)... Cheers!
And Mr Bad Example himself, Warren Zevon.
What a glorious song. John Paul Jones' bass playing superb and to the fore on this track.
And as others have said Syed, it's not the sister who gets hung but the central character. He's not saved after all.
Page was also playing the banjo
There is no such as the best led zepplin song.its what ever is playing.
All my 300 times hearing this song I thought the sister is hanging because she went all crazy and wants the hangman. He wasn't having that i guess. Ahhh the beauty of interpretation. Keep rockin!
The hangman is the one singing the last verse. He hanged the man regardless of the man's brother and sister's attempts to save him.
Not 100% sure but my take on the story is that the hangman took the gold and sisters 'gift' but still hung the guy and the laughing is the hangman. Did the job and got both bribes into the deal.
Thanks for doing the song. One of my favorites.
Pretty straight forward "chorus" effect on the voice. I use this on my bass now and then.
I think III is an important transition for Plant’s singing style. He really stretches his range in the lower register and now has the contrast between the powerful scream of Immigrant Song and the calmer, lower register of Tangerine, Gallows Pole and That’s the Way that is so prominent and beautiful on Stairway and Levee, and some of the higher vocals on the outro to Tiles really foreshadows Plant’s style for the next 3 years before his voice gets kind of damaged
SYED, THE NEXT TWO TRACKS ON THAT SIDE OF THIS ALBUM ARE ACTUALLY ALSO VERY GOOD, TANGERINE AND THAT'S THE WAY! BOTH BASICALLY ACOUSTIC SONGS!!
One of my favorites.
Dylan wrote his own version of this song, it’s called Seven Curses
They did everything and were fabulous! Try Bron Yr Aur Stomp LIVE...crazy good!!
I always thought that it said "she's swingin'", but the lyrics say "see you swingin'"...
Listening closely, it may be "see you".
I had always thought there might be a double entendre, depending on what "pole" she was swinging on... 😉😎
Just FYI, it's likely this song, in some format or other, goes back wayyyyy back, like hundreds of years.
I think it's the banjo that's producing those "prickly" notes your hearing. The comments below are correct, even tho he's been paid off with silver, gold, and sex the hangman still pulls the lever to execute the victim. If you want Zep folk rock you need to listen to Over the Hills and Far Away
Check out Nirvana’s Unplugged live cover of Lead Belly’s “Where did you sleep last night”. It’s hauntingly beautiful.
This is some of Bonham’s finest imo.
Live version with the other drummer is smoking hot.
Now that you have mentioned Lead Belly, I am pretty sure there is an unwritten rule that you must now do the "Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Live On MTV Unplugged)" Lead Belly cover my Nirvana.
Unwritten rule, huh? 😏😉
Weird. I left like three comments under W Geoffrey and none of them are here. At least I can’t see them on my iPhone. Perplexed.
@@helenespaulding7562 Lol. While these unwritten rules may only be in my head, I think it is import to give them a sense of authority, since my saying "I think..." sounds pretty weak.😉
@@helenespaulding7562 They are likely in Syed's spam folder in RUclips Studio. It is not Syed doing this but the RUclips AI. This is an issue I have mentioned to you before that really bugs me about RUclips. They got tired of all the inquiries about why messages were removed. So they try to hide it by having the original message still appear to the poster, but nobody else can see it, unless you tagged someone, and then they only see it in their notifications. Since you have two accounts, you can use your second account to double check if a comment was seen by everyone else if it is one you care about.
@@LeeKennison wow…yes…I see it here under W Geoffrey, but no one has tagged it! So……should I try to copy them and post under helene spaulding, or will the result be the same?
That finger picking is Jimmy Page playing a Banjo on this track witch gives a bluegrass style
The banjo just makes this soar.
Gallows Pole lays a lot of the track for Stairway, in the next album.....
You got there in the end brother! Keep up the great work 👊🏼
Led Belly covers, now there is a cool list to get into, Black Betty for a start.
The way I hear it is, he thought he was going to use others to buy his way out, but the hangman still cheats him, and he's swinging on the gallows.
Jimmy Page is playing the banjo towards the end of the song. He'd never played the banjo before recording this track. Bassist John Paul Jones owned a banjo so Jimmy Page borrowed it for the recording. I'm pretty sure its the only time you hear banjo in a Zeppelin tune.
Robert has a lot of compression and reverb (sounds like in a large hall).
Jimmy is adding some banjo to the overdubs, that is the plunky string sound.
Now this is one of my least favorite albums at the time and now.....some of the songs I liked . Other songs didn't have the Led Zeppelin Signature Style that I had become accustomed to from the first three album especially their second album which is Perfection for me!!! I considered that album Led Zeppelin's first Masterpiece album filled with Masterpiece songs on it!!!! Led Zeppelin were experimenting with different genres and stlyes of music and this experiment was Perfected into another Masterpiece Album with masterpiece songs on it....and that album were "Physical Graffetti," "Led Zeppelin lV," and "House of The Holies" Just masterpieces!!! I will send one to you!!!! lol
👍👍
👍👍👍👍👍👍
I think you’re going to like The Battle of Evermore.
Requesting The Rain Song
Where’s the Beatles? Are you going to finish the album?
The hangman bangs his sister, wallet-dips his brother and still hangs the guy and gets paid.
Hermosa canción, una de mis preferidas de Zepp. !!! Si puedes, reacciona a : Whitesnake, Taka m Me Whit You ( Live in London 15) realmente, patea culos. Saludos !!
Could you react to Tempest by Bob Dylan??? Please!
How did you like that Banjo?
I’m begging you to listen to Future Games by Fleetwood Mac, you would love it. Along the lines of Pink Floyd and some beetles. Ps I’ve watched every one of your videos. Keep it up
It’s the hangman laughing.
Could you tell me how,as a rap fan,you have heard a fair few classic tracks from 60’s,70’s and 80’s,seemed to really like them,that you could go back to rap?
I’ve tried and tried but just cannot get into rap,it leaves me cold.
Especially the blatant sampling from previously mentioned classic tunes.
Have a listen to James Brown and you’ll recognise plenty.
Only mildly influenced by Gerlach's arrangement imo. Also, you may want to reread those lyrics. Plant changes the perspective from that of the prisoner to that if the executioner for the last verse.
No that is not what it's saying at all hahaha. It's saying the hangman took all the silver and gold, slept with his sister and still hung him, and laughs at the end as he watches him hanging...
Can't beat Jimi Page on a double deck acoustic guitar
Where do you live? Don't get me wrong I just wanna know cause of your accent. It's best sounding british accent 😊
London
Leadbelly sang Blues, not folk
Leadbelly sang folk too and this is an old British folk song that made it to America. 👍
That’s a banjo
Dude, he's dead. The hangman tricked him & did his sister & took the gold. Also, you totally missed the banjo playing, which I think was done by Jimmy even though he'd never played one before. It's cool though, you are an optimist I guess!. Also, I have no idea who is playing violin at the end? Maybe J.PJ. not sure.
WRONG, she did not die, he did.
Nope, you got it wrong in the end.
Man, this is a pretty simple story so how can you be so way off in understanding it?
When I first heard this song, I took it as a Joke with the hangman saying the punchline being where despite taking the silver from the brother and despite the sister having sex with the hangman, he starts laughing because he still hangs the poor guy anyway. In fact, you hear the hangman laughing when Robert sings, "Ha, ha, ha, ha...". That had to be the best punchline in Rock history. And if you are still in doubt, the title of the song is Gallows pole, as this is a great example of GALLOWS HUMOR. Pure Genius. Ha, ha, ha...ha, ha, ha, ha.