THE LEMON SONG /KILLING FLOOR

 

No vamos a descubrir nada nuevo , ni es la primera vez que tratamos este tema , ( ver diferentes posts alegóricos en nuestro blog ) ,  simplemente nos viene de gusto recordar lo que significó la influencia de HOWLIN' WOLF en muchos de los artistas que se dedicaron al Blues allá a finales de los 60's principios de los 70's , que no negaron las influencias del "Lobo Aullador " , os mostramos dos de los ejemplos seguramente más populares como son Led Zeppelin y Jimi Hendrix , el tema elegido en esta ocasión es Killin' Floor , rebautizada como The Lemon Song. Sabido es de todos que las fuentes donde bebieron los músicos ingleses y también americanos de la época fueron los grandes nombres del blues clásico y que sirvieron para dar a conocer de una forma mucho mas amplia lo que había significado hasta entonces la denominada por algunos "música del diablo" .... sin ir más lejos The Rolling Stones ( ver varios posts en SENTIR EL BLUES )  en sus inicios se dedicaban a versionar temas popularizados ( aunque seguramente menos ) por los auténticos bluesmen, y como los Stones podríamos nombrar a  grupos como  , The Doors, The Animals ..... etc.etc.  

I should have quit you, a long time ago

I should have quit you, babe, long time ago

I should have quit you, and went on to Mexico

If I had-a followed my first mind

If I had-a followed my first mind

I'd been gone, since my second time

I shoulda went on, when my friend come from Mexico at me

I shoulda went on, when my friend come from Mexico at me

But no, I was foolin' with ya, baby, I let ya put me on the killin' floor

Lord knows, I shoulda been gone

Lord knows, I shoulda been gone

And I wouldn't have been here, down on the killin' floor

Yeah

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"Killing Floor" is a 1964 song by American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist Howlin' Wolf. Called "one of the defining classics of Chicago electric blues", "Killing Floor" became a blues standard with recordings by various artists. It has been acknowledged by the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, which noted its popularity among rock as well as blues musicians. English rock group Led Zeppelin adapted the song for their "The Lemon Song", for which Howlin' Wolf is named as a co-author.

Original song

Howlin' Wolf recorded "Killing Floor" in Chicago in August 1964, which Chess Records released as a single. According to blues guitarist and longtime Wolf associate Hubert Sumlin, the song uses the killing floor – the area of a slaughterhouse where animals are killed – as a metaphor or allegory for male-female relationships: "Down on the killing floor – that means a woman has you down, she went out of her way to try to kill you. She at the peak of doing it, and you got away now ... You know people have wished they was dead – you been treated so bad that sometimes you just say, 'Oh Lord have mercy.' You’d rather be six feet in the ground."

"Killing Floor" is an upbeat twelve-bar blues with an "instantly familiar" guitar riff provided by Sumlin. Backing Howlin' Wolf (vocals) and Sumlin (electric guitar) are Lafayette Leake (piano), Buddy Guy (acoustic guitar), Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon (bass), Sam Lay (drums), Arnold Rogers (tenor sax), and Donald Hankins (baritone sax). The song appears on several Howlin' Wolf compilation albums, including his 1966 album The Real Folk Blues.

Jimi Hendrix rendition

Jimi Hendrix performed "Killing Floor" early in his career, including early vocal performances with Curtis Knight and the Squires in 1965 and 1966.Shortly after arriving in England in September 1966, Hendrix performed the song when he sat in with Cream. "Killing Floor" was included in the set list of the newly formed Jimi Hendrix Experience. The song was often a set opener, and Hendrix played the song at a faster tempo, with a different rhythm guitar and bass line. Early recordings include live versions from October 1966 in Paris (The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set), March 1967 in the BBC studios (BBC Sessions), and June 1967 at the Monterey International Pop Festival (Jimi Plays Monterey).

            

I should have quit you a long time ago

Ooh-whoa, yeah, yeah, long time ago

I wouldn't be here, my children

Down on this killin' floor

I should have listened, baby, a-to my second mind

Oh, I should have listened, baby, to my second mind

Everytime I go away and leave ya, darlin'

A-send me the blues, rain down the line, no

Hey, yeah-yeah-yeah, keep up, yeah, oh, yeah

Babe-yeahh, yeah, treat me right, baby

Ooh-whoa, whoa-whoa, my, my, my, my-hah

Now take it down a little bit

People tell me baby can't be satisfied-a

Try to worry me, b-ba-baby

But I never did end up guit-chewin' myself

People worry, baby, can't keep you satisfied

Huh, let me tall ya, babe

Ah, you ain't nothin' but a nn-two-bit, no-good jive

I went to sleep last night, I work as hard as I can-a

I bring home my money, you take my money, give it to another man

I should have quite you, baby

Oh, such a long time ago-ho

I wouldn't be hear with all my troubles

Down on this killin' floor

Squeeze me, babe, 'till the juice runs down my leg

Do, squeeze, squeeze me, baby, until the juice runs down my leg

The way you squeeze my lemon-a

I'm gonna fall right outta bed, 'ed, 'ed, bed, yeah

Yeah

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Juice, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby

Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby

Hey, babe, babe, babe, babe, oh, no

No, no, now, now

I'm gonna leave my children down on this killing floor

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Led Zeppelin version

"The Lemon Song"

Song by Led Zeppelin

from the album Led Zeppelin II

Released 22 October 1969

Recorded Los Angeles, 1969

Genre

Hard rock blues rock

Length 6:20

Label Atlantic

Songwriter(s)

John BonhamChester Burnett a.k.a. Howlin' WolfJohn Paul JonesJimmy PageRobert Plant

Producer(s) Jimmy Page

Led Zeppelin performed "Killing Floor" live in 1968 and 1969,and it became the basis for "The Lemon Song", which they recorded on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. It was recorded in Los Angeles when the band were on their second concert tour of North America. In some early performances Robert Plant introduced the song as "Killing Floor"; an early UK pressing of Led Zeppelin II showed the title as "Killing Floor" and was credited to Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf's real name). For the second and third North American tours the song evolved into "The Lemon Song", with Plant often improvising lyrics onstage (the opening lyrics to both songs are identical).

Other lyrics, notably "squeeze (my lemon) till the juice runs down my leg," can be traced to Robert Johnson's "Travelling Riverside Blues". It is likely that Johnson borrowed this himself, from a song recorded earlier in the same year (1937) called "She Squeezed My Lemon" (by Arthur McKay).The song also references Albert King's "Cross-Cut Saw" In December 1972, Arc Music, owner of the publishing rights to Howlin' Wolf's songs, sued Led Zeppelin for copyright infringement on "The Lemon Song".The parties settled out of court. Though the amount was not disclosed, Howlin' Wolf received a check for US$45,123 from Arc Music immediately following the suit, and subsequent releases included a co-songwriter credit for him.

"The Lemon Song" was performed live on Led Zeppelin's first three concert tours of the United States (on the first tour as "Killing Floor"), before being dropped from their live set in late 1969. However, the 'squeeze my lemon' sequence continued to be inserted into the "Whole Lotta Love" medley and ad-libbed elsewhere. Jimmy Page performed this song on his tour with the Black Crowes in 1999. A version of "The Lemon Song" performed by Page and the Black Crowes can be found on the album Live at the Greek.

Recognition and legacy

"Killing Floor" is recognized as a blues standard, with Skip James' 1931 recording "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" as the likely inspiration.In 1991, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.The panel identified it as "one of Wolf’s most recognizable songs. It has long been a staple among many blues bands and ranks as one of Wolf’s most often-covered songs, by both blues and rock acts."