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Hey Hey What Can I Do
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Hey Hey What Can I Do" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| B-side by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album 'Led Zeppelin (boxed set) | ||
| Released | October, 1990 | |
| Recorded | 1970 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 3:55 | |
| Label | Atlantic | |
| Writer(s) | Page/Plant/Jones/Bonham | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |
| Chart positions | ||
| 'Led Zeppelin (boxed set) track listing | ||
| "Celebration Day" (13) |
"Hey Hey What Can I Do" (14) |
"White Summer/Black Mountain Side" (15) |
"Hey Hey What Can I Do" is a song by English rock group Led Zeppelin. It is one of the more famous Led Zeppelin songs never to be released on an album during the band's existence, and it's the only non-album Led Zeppelin song released between 1968 and 1990. Their dedication to the idea of the album as a whole resulted in a very limited number of singles being released by the band. This song was one such rare single, appearing as the B-Side of "Immigrant Song". The song was first released on CD in October 1990 on the 4 CD Led Zeppelin boxed set collection. In 1992 it was released on a CD version of the 1970 single, and in 1993 it was included on the Complete Studio Recordings 10 CD boxed set, as one of four bonus tracks on the Coda disc. The song is not included on the individual version of Coda.
The lyrics of the song tell of a man's love for a woman (possibly a prostitute) that he will never have all to himself; a woman who 'wants to ball all day', 'stays drunk all the time', and who 'won't be true.' The first verse is a declaration of his love and his desire to tell her that she is the only one for him. The second verse describes her infidelity and his jealousy and frustration. In the third verse he comes to the conclusion that he must leave her 'where the guitars play', a sentiment reinforced by the vamp in which the lead singer, Robert Plant, is backed by the rest of the band repeating the two lines; 'Hey hey what can I do' and 'Oh Lord what can I say.'
Several bands have covered Led Zeppelin's song or played it live:
- A live version of the song was performed and recorded by Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes during their 2000 tour is featured on the the album Live at the Greek.
- The Hold Steady covered the song on a 2 song 7".
- It was also covered by Hootie and the Blowfish on their album Scattered, Smothered and Covered.
The music is also the inspiration of the theme music for the ABC television series, What About Brian, which is a show based on the theme of Hey Hey What Can I Do.
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page • Robert Plant • John Paul Jones • John Bonham
Studio albums: Led Zeppelin • Led Zeppelin II • Led Zeppelin III • Live albums: The Song Remains the Same • BBC Sessions • How the West Was Won Compilations: Box Set • Profiled • Remasters • Box Set 2 • Complete Studio Recordings • Early Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One • Latter Days: Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two • Coda The Song Remains the Same • Led Zeppelin DVD Peter Grant • Richard Cole • Swan Song Records • The Yardbirds • XYZ • The Firm • Page and Plant • Strange Sensation • Bootlegs • Concerts • Songs |
