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Led Zeppelin — The Rover
Album: Physical Graffiti
Avg rating:
7.6

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2913









Released: 1975
Length: 5:27
Plays (last 30 days): 2
I've been to London, seen seven wonders
I know to trip is just to fall
I used to rock it, sometimes I'd roll it
I always knew what it was for

There can be no denyin' that the wind'll shake 'em down
And the flag we're flyin' is the new flag of the land

Just join hands
If we could just join hands
If we could just join

With fields aplenty when Heaven sent me
I saw the kings who ruled them all
Still by the firelight and purple moonlight
I hear the rustic river's call

And the wind is cryin' from a love that won't grow cold
My lover, she is lyin' on the dark side of the globe

Could just join hands
If we could just join hands
If we could just join hands, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Do it, ow

You got me rockin' when I oughta be rollin'
Darlin', tell me, darlin', which way to go
Keep me rockin', baby, can you keep me strollin'?
Won'tcha tell me, darlin', which way to go? That's right

Oh how I wonder, oh how I worry
And I would dearly like to know
How all this squander of earthly plunder
Will leave us anything to show

And our time is flyin'
See the candle burnin' low
Is the new world risin'
From the shambles of the old

If we could just join hands
If we could just join hands
If we could just, if we could just
If we could just, if we could just
If we could just join hands, hey

That's all it takes, that's all it takes
That's all it takes, that's all it takes
Hey-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Ooh yeah
Ah, ah, yeah
That's right, that's right, that's right, that's right
Comments (231)add comment
I'm privileged to say that I saw them at Earl's Court in '75. It was my first  gig. Talk about setting the bar high! 
Nice William! The Cars (JWIN) into The Rover released only 3 years apart. A nice window into some peak highlights and differences of what was hot in the mid-late 70s.
The Man with the Sticks was a Wiltshire roof thatcher called Lot Long. This was discovered in 2023 from some old Victorian photos of English rural life.
Best riff ever.
 changodelaplaya wrote:

March 14, 1975, San Diego Sports Arena... I was 14 years old, my first "rock concert", and my grandmother paid the nine bucks for a general admission ticket.
I had no idea who they were, really... even though I had an album by them, that I used to call "The Man with the Sticks" album.

They completely blew me away.

Since then, I've seen Mr. Plant twice... once in Austin, a few years back, and again a few weeks back, here, in Spokane, Washington.

He hasn't lost any of his voice or swagger... even though he can't ever seem to find his "baby". ;-)




Well hello, cousin. I saw 'em at 15 years old In Nassau Coliseum on Long Island... February 14, 1975.
You know, my roommates in the late 70s in college were so into Zep and I wasn't. Looking back, I really missed something.
With the exception of a song here and there, I just never liked Led Zep. Nothing over the last 50 years has happened to change that.
one of their sexiest tracks!
GREAT TUNE!!!
 kenbelanger wrote:

Where's that confounded bridge




Bill made the transition from Spoon's Eddie's Ragga pretty awesome.
🤘🎸
Crank it up and skin up✌️
love this song
 PhoenixArtDj wrote:

What does it say that this still sounds fresh 55yrs later?




That you have seen the future, and 2030 sounds good to you?
 red wrote:

overplayed song heard too often on fm radio.



Too funny, this comment was left 19 years ago. Guess it's still being overplayed. Hey red, if something is a masterpiece can you really overplay it? Change your color pal. 
When this song comes on, I always think it's one of those dumb 80s metal bands like Great White trying to sound like Zeppelin. 
Where's that confounded bridge
I did the same thing, 10 all the way. I think this is the first time I read the words. Oh, that's what he's saying. Dig! To the best band EVER!!! 

 
jelgator wrote:
How could I have given this a 9 last time?
 
10!!!
 

What does it say that this still sounds fresh 55yrs later?
 johnnycache wrote:
Good band
 
but tragically underrated
Man,Bonzo’s drumming is solid and intense✌️
Beautiful guitar solo and I like Bonzo's drumming
 johnnycache wrote:
Good band
 
A mild understatement
Good band
 changodelaplaya wrote:
March 14, 1975, San Diego Sports Arena... I was 14 years old, my first "rock concert", and my grandmother paid the nine bucks for a general admission ticket.
I had no idea who they were, really... even though I had an album by them, that I used to call "The Man with the Sticks" album.

They completely blew me away.

Since then, I've seen Mr. Plant twice... once in Austin, a few years back, and again a few weeks back, here, in Spokane, Washington.

He hasn't lost any of his voice or swagger... even though he can't ever seem to find his "baby". ;-)
 

Wow,
I was at the same concert, just right of the stage, six rows back.... I knew of them, but they still just flat ass blew me away. My ears are still ringing.
The only Zeppelin album I still listen to
This is THE Anthem of our present times. 10 
80s kid here, and I'm not jealous, honest, not even a bit. 

 
joejennings wrote:
I saw them 09/03/71 at Madison Square Garden in NYC! It was just before Led Zeppelin 4 was released! When they did "Black Dog" which nobody had hear before, the house almost came down!!!
 

This riff is Godlike!! Absolute rock and roll hall of fame riff, and so underrated in Zep songs too!!

i wish the reissue didn't sound so shitty though. gotta get yourself a first pressing!! 
There aren't enough dancing bananas in the world to express my thoughts about this song.

I saw them 09/03/71 at Madison Square Garden in NYC! It was just before Led Zeppelin 4 was released! When they did "Black Dog" which nobody had hear before, the house almost came down!!!
Master Jimmy Page takes ALL but a very few  rock 'guitarists' to school with this.
"This one goes to 11"
 Aikau wrote:








 

Very nice. I sure can use this right now! THanks!!








March 14, 1975, San Diego Sports Arena... I was 14 years old, my first "rock concert", and my grandmother paid the nine bucks for a general admission ticket.
I had no idea who they were, really... even though I had an album by them, that I used to call "The Man with the Sticks" album.

They completely blew me away.

Since then, I've seen Mr. Plant twice... once in Austin, a few years back, and again a few weeks back, here, in Spokane, Washington.

He hasn't lost any of his voice or swagger... even though he can't ever seem to find his "baby". ;-)
 jasko wrote:
Axel Plant
   
Yes in his new band... AC/ZZ.
 jelgator wrote:
How could I have given this a 9 last time?
 
10!!!
 

Too funny, I just posted basically the same thing.
Tundra
"9" What was I thinking?  Initiating upgrade sequence to "10"
 jp33442 wrote:
Better then stairway to heaven
 
I wouldn't say it's better thAn STH. Perhaps you've just heard the latter too many times and it is rather overplayed. BUT STH really is an amazing song and deserves its place at the top o' the heap.
This song doesn't really compare. Good, but not in the same league.
Volume - Unreasonable
Rating - 10
Better then stairway to heaven
yes! Thank you!!!
Axel Plant


R.I.P.
schöner bass
Plant's vocal sounds a bit ropey as if the producer didn't quite give him enough oomph
I love this song !
How could I have given this a 9 last time?
 
10!!!
 michaelc wrote:
{#Sleep} dull so later Zeppelin 

 
Cya!  {#Wave}
{#Sleep} dull so later Zeppelin 
All killer - no filler in my book
 LowPhreak wrote:
I just gave it another '10'. That's a 20 now, right?  {#Dancingbanana_2}

Also, for you anal retentive types it's a perfectly good excuse to blow up your speakers or amp.  {#Clap} Don't be shy!

 
Grand! Done and colon duly blowed - solid song
this song KICK ASS!!!
Hey-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Ooh yeah
Ah, ah, yeah
That's right, that's right, that's right, that's right
 kingart wrote:
Well, other folks here like this. I am not so big a fan of it. The components are pretty solid, but they don't gel. This is more AC/DC territory, which is not so bad, it's just not Zep. And it's not in the pedigree of Dazed and Confused, Song Remains the Same, Trampled, etc.  This is filler, not killer. 

 
The Rover is not so much your typical formulaic hit, it's a bit different which is what Zep was fairly known for.

Except for the last minute or so on the fade-out which I think is perfect R&R groove-meistering, they could have done a slightly different arrangement or changed the vocals/lyrics a bit and it would have seemed a little more coherent. But maybe they wanted to leave it that way.

As a side note, Bonzo's cymbal sound like on this tune is what finally convinced me as a drummer to play only Paistes. They come out very nicely here. 
 kingart wrote:
Well, other folks here like this. I am not so big a fan of it. The components are pretty solid, but they don't gel. This is more AC/DC territory, which is not so bad, it's just not Zep. And it's not in the pedigree of Dazed and Confused, Song Remains the Same, Trampled, etc.  This is filler, not killer.
 
While I kinda sorta reluctantly agree (PG didn't have quite enough strong material for 4 sides), I will say that Zep filler is better than most band's best.
Well, other folks here like this. I am not so big a fan of it. The components are pretty solid, but they don't gel. This is more AC/DC territory, which is not so bad, it's just not Zep. And it's not in the pedigree of Dazed and Confused, Song Remains the Same, Trampled, etc.  This is filler, not killer. 
Funny how on this song they sound more like a band trying to sound like LZ.

Great tune.  
{#Music}
I just gave it another '10'. That's a 20 now, right?  {#Dancingbanana_2}

Also, for you anal retentive types it's a perfectly good excuse to blow up your speakers or amp.  {#Clap} Don't be shy!
Try to find this vinyl used in a record store.  They just get snapped up unless they are completely knackered, and knackered even sell for double what a normal used album brings.

Yeh yah Yeh yah Yeh yah Yeh yah Yeh yah Yeh yah Yeh yah Yeh yah 
man this was my favorite on my headphones way back then, my eyes closed and the fabulous sounds bouncing ear-to-ear!!!{#Tongue-out}
Man I just love when it starts to fade then BAM it all comes swooping back in again, the crashing percussion, the bass, Page and Plant
Ohhhhhhh yea!....Flashback to high school head banging!  John Bonham rocks!!
{#Drummer} 
From a time when the band seemed to just effortlessly master their genre.
 Propayne wrote:
Great Zep tune that the classic rock stations haven't discovered and played to death yet.

 
Too long for their format generally.  Hear it occasionally on the "Get the Led Out' segments they all have.
Spin said about The Rover:

"...heavy without being overbearing, epic without being self-indulgent, anthemic almost just by showing up...."


Right on!
 coloradojohn wrote:
Yeah, this was the scene: Danny's just dropped by in his Z-28, and he's with his younger brother, John, and Danny's got his guitar, and John has this LP in his hands, and Danny asks me if I have any rolling papers. We use the LP jacket to sift, and a fat twisty appears. This goes on the turntable and we crank it up. If we could just If we could just If we could just join hands... When it gets to the end, we flip it over. We talk of music, of Led Zep, of Jimmy Page, and Danny finds the chords of every song on the 2-disc LP. We fly high; hours go by...

 
You can now do the non-musical stuff legally.
 oldfart48 wrote:
funny, sound to me like zep doing the KINKS......{#Dance}

 
Just right!


Once heard a NY dee-jay say before playing this, (in a Noo Yock accent of course):

"Now you're gonna heah...the most rockinist suong...in the whole frickin' UNIVOISE!"  {#Yell}
.
.
.
{#Notworthy}
{#Dancingbanana_2}
LZ has withstood the test of time just fine.
It's definitely not standing the test of time.  Sounded good to me when it first came out.  Now, meh.
nice melodic lead on this one.
I always felt this excellent song was one of the most underrated in the Zep catalog.
This album got me through college...used to run a 30 foot extension audio chord out the second story window of my frat house to a mattress on the sunny side of the house. ( from a cassette deck ). Almost an entire double LP of  10's in my opinion.
check out the DVD from their mid-late 70' s tours the opening "Immigrant Song" with interspersed shots of the audience enjoying it is priceless. Physical Graffiti and the Stones' Sticky Fingers top my album list.
Didn't know this was a Robert Plant band until I heard his voice. {#Doh}Like it! I think I drifted away from LZ a bit too soon.
Oh yeah, here we go! Playing the good stuff  Big thanks to RP.
Love this! and this was the scene: Danny's just dropped by in his rumbling day-glo orange and red Camaro Z/28, and he's with his even wilder younger brother, John, who's my school-, Scouts-, and work-buddy. Mom and Dad are fighting somewhere else for the evening, so the coast is clear. Danny's got his guitar, some beer, and lots of weed. John is holding this LP like the Bible in his hands. Danny asks me if I have any rolling papers. I do. This goes down on Dad's Garrard turntable and we crank it up. Danny uses the LP jacket to sift, and the first fatty J appears. We remark how catchy the song is, but wow, how really, really trippy! "If we could just If we could just If we could just join hands..." When it gets to the end, we flip it over. And again. We sing along, we laugh, we talk of music, of Led Zep, of Jimmy Page, and Danny somehow finds and jams the chords of every song on the 2-disc LP. We fly high, and the enlightened hours go by... Those were The Days!
R.I.P. Danny and John, I miss you like the brothers you were to me! ROCK ON! And keep on jammin', RP!
One of the best Zep tunes ever!!!
Bad A$$...  {#Devil_pimp}
funny, sound to me like zep doing the KINKS......{#Dance}
MOST EXELLENT!!
My take is that this tune was a touch stone for too many other less talented bands to create so much of the crap rock music of the 80's.

They didn't dare to imitate some of the better innovate music these guys created over the years but this was accessible and "copyable."

All great artists spawn many other less talented imitators.  Beatles, Stones, Bowie, Dylan, Neil, Clash, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Floys, Zep, Radiohead etc.
For me this tune is 10 - Godlike, my fave Zep tune. You never hear this on FM these days, and I've lived in several different parts of the U.S.

I used to love woodshedding this one on my drums. The groove at the end/fade out is killer, as is Jimmy's guitar work. 

"YAY yeah...YAY yeah...YAY yeah...!"

To which I say: FAWK. YASS.  {#High-five}

Thanks Bill! 
Thank you!!     {#Clap} {#Notworthy} {#Notworthy} {#Clap}
 martinc wrote:
Celebration Days DVD is a must see. It was my christmas gift from my kids. I raised them well!
 
Yeah, after "Kashmir," I was dumbstruck.  Those guys were good!
 martinc wrote:
Celebration Days DVD is a must see. It was my christmas gift from my kids. I raised them well!
 
Agreed, the video and sound on the blu-ray is outstanding. It is amazing how good they sound!
I'll bet you Robert really wanted to say "dark side of the moon" instead of "dark side of the globe"
Celebration Days DVD is a must see. It was my christmas gift from my kids. I raised them well!
Also my favorite Zepp album. 
 rabaak wrote:

I usually am a big Led Zeppelin fan. But this song does nothing for me. 
 
Agree
How much poorer would the world be without this band?

Almost(?) the  perfect album.
 Proclivities wrote:


At the time this album was released, The Eagles were still releasing pop/country tunes like "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It To The Limit".   Joe Walsh wasn't even in the band yet.

 
Exactly. I can't hear any southern California rock in this song. A little too heavy for the Eagles. Besides, Don Henley couldn't keep up with John "Bonzo" Bonham in his day.
Puts me right where I need to be!!  Turn it up!!  {#Clap}
 trekhead wrote:

EAGLES called , they'd like their sound back.  {#Lol}


 

At the time this album was released, The Eagles were still releasing pop/country tunes like "Lyin' Eyes" and "Take It To The Limit".   Joe Walsh wasn't even in the band yet.

 Baby_M wrote:
I like this, and I usually don't like Zeppelin.
 
I usually am a big Led Zeppelin fan. But this song does nothing for me. 
OUTSTANDING track from GODLIKE band.

One of the reasons I listen to RP - they play the songs from a record that did not dominate the FM airwaves of my youth - like this song. 

And not just Kashmir and Trampled Under Foot/


Tedious!
There will always be iTunes, thank godness
DIVES FOR THE MUTE BUTTON{#Arghhh}

God this tune just shoots my butt back to my teenage years like no other.

Love Physical Graffiti. Just seems this double album has lots of space to breath and to let songs take their time. 

And of course the packaging...

 Synth80s wrote:
As much as I respect the classics like Zeppelin II and Houses of the Holy, this is my favorite Zep album and this song just kills.  It has attitude and balls.
 

When I first heard Led Zep II as a teenager, I thought it was fantastic. Now...eh. But Physical Graffiti is still great to my faded ears. Still not sure why Led Zep I doesn't get more praise—some of the guitar work on that is ohmigodamazing. 

 Cynaera wrote:
Turning this UP!  Perfect Zep for a perfect day. 10. I just love "Physical Graffitti." (Note to self:  Get this on CD!)
 
Damn - just ordered something from Amazon... Gotta go back now. I think I must be living that whole "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die" thing... I LOVE this song.

Still not quite over the seemingly perpetual glorification of this band...this seems fresh though
This song is a brutal reminder of how incredible Led Zeppelin was to me at 10 years old in the land of synth pop that was 1985.

In an instant... it brings back the same feelings. 
I like this, and I usually don't like Zeppelin.
In many ways their most musically mature album.
Great Zep tune that the classic rock stations haven't discovered and played to death yet.
As much as I respect the classics like Zeppelin II and Houses of the Holy, this is my favorite Zep album and this song just kills.  It has attitude and balls.
Nice!
{#Yes}I am with you  'how many more times' can we take this sailorgirl wrote:
Maybe back in the day, but no longer please {#Hand}
 


Maybe back in the day, but no longer please {#Hand}