Ramble On


"Ramble On" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin from their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was co-written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and was recorded in 1969 at Juggy Sound Studio, New York City, during the band's second concert tour of North America. In 2010, the song was ranked number 440 on list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Composition and recording

The song's lyrics were influenced by The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, mentioning among other things the dark land of Mordor. Page explained that he achieved the smooth, sustaining violin-like tone on the solo by using the neck pickup on his Les Paul with the treble cut and utilising a sustain-producing effects unit built by audio engineer Roger Mayer.

Live performances

Until 2007, "Ramble On" was never performed live in its entirety at Led Zeppelin concerts. At the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert on 10 December 2007, at the O2 Arena in London; Page ended the song with a brief section of "What Is and What Should Never Be"'s bridge.

Reception

In a retrospective review of Led Zeppelin II , Michael Madden of Consequence of Sound praised the remastering of "Ramble On", believing the track now sounds "mellow and well-balanced". Madden further stated the track "gets a boost from John Paul Jones' garter snake bass playing." When reviewing the added bonus tracks of the Deluxe Edition, Madden called the rough mix of "Ramble On" as the best of all the bonus tracks, calling Page's acoustic strums "particularly driving".

Chart positions

Single (digital download)

Chart Peak position
Canadian Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart66