‘Immigrant Song’ is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is built upon a repeating riff and features lyrical references to Norse mythology, with singer Robert Plant's howling vocals mentioning war-making and Valhalla. The song was included on their 1970 album, Led Zeppelin III and released as a single. Several live recordings have also been issued on various Led Zeppelin albums. Other artists have recorded renditions of the song or performed it live. Though Led Zeppelin are typically regarded as an album-oriented group, ‘Immigrant Song’ is one of the band's several hit singles.
‘Immigrant Song’ was written during Led Zeppelin's tour of Iceland, Bath and Germany in the summer of 1970. The opening date of this tour took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, which inspired Plant to write the lyrics. He explained in an interview: “We weren't being pompous ... We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be cancelled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. 'Immigrant Song' was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.” Six days after Led Zeppelin's appearance in Reykjavik, the band performed the song for the first time in concert during the Bath Festival.
‘Immigrant Song’ is one of Led Zeppelin's few releases on the 45 rpm single format. It was issued in the United States on 5 November 1970, and reached number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100. In a review of Led Zeppelin III, Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone described ‘Immigrant Song’ as the closest to being as classic as ‘Whole Lotta Love’, praising the song's "bulldozer rhythms and Plant's double-tracked wordless vocal crossings echoing behind the main vocal like some cannibal chorus wailing in the infernal light of a savage fertility rite." In March 2023, Rolling Stone ranked ‘Immigrant Song’ at number 18 on their "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time" list. Cash Box described the song as "filling the aural spectrum once again with wall-to-wall power," stating that the song has "biting vocals and an unmatched instrumental impact."
Led Zeppelin originally denied Richard Linklater permission to use ‘Immigrant Song’ in the movie School of Rock (2003), but star Jack Black was able to convince them by making a video of himself performing the song. ‘Immigrant Song’ was included in both the trailer for the Marvel blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and twice in the film itself, due to director Taika Waititi's suggestion of the song from the time of his first involvement with the film and to the persistent efforts of the movie's music supervisor Dave Jordan.
Label – Atlantic
Songwriters – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant
Producer – Jimmy Page
SONG LYRICS
[Intro](2, 3, 4)
[Chorus]
Ahh! Ahh!
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
[Verse 1]
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new land
To fight the horde, sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming
[Refrain]
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
[Chorus]
Ahh! Ahh!
We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
[Verse 2]
How soft your fields so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords
[Refrain]
On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the western shore
[Verse 3]
So now you'd better stop
And rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all your losing
[Outro]
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Ah, ah
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh