When the Levee Breaks - Remaster

The lyrics to this song (written by Memphis Minnie in 1927) are based on The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. African-American plantation workers were forced to work on the levee at gunpoint, piling sandbags to save the neighboring towns. Hence the lyrics, "I works on the levee, mama both night and day, I works so hard, to keep the water away." After the levee breached, Blacks were not allowed to leave the area, and were forced to work in the relief and cleanup effort, living in camps with limited access to the supplies which were coming in. Many left at the first chance since there was no work in the Delta after the destruction of all of the plantations; hence the lyrics, "Oh cryin' won't help you, prayin' won't do no good" and "I's a mean old levee, cause me to weep and moan, gonna leave my baby, and my happy home"

Memphis Minnie McCoy (born Lizzie Douglas), was a blues artist who recorded "When The Levee Breaks" in 1929. Robert Plant had the record in his collection.

Heavily produced in the studio, the song was a nightmare to mix, but the results are impressive - it's a great headphone listen. All this studio wizardry made the song very difficult to perform live, which Led Zeppelin did only twice: once in a "warm up" gig in Denmark before their 1975 US tour, and again on their second night in Chicago.