Robert Plant wrote the lyrics about a girlfriend who made him choose between her and his music 10 years earlier. She got the boot. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine (March 13, 1975) the interviewer, Cameron Crowe, asked Robert Plant what gambles he had taken. Plant replied: "Let me tell you a little story behind the song 'Ten Years Gone' on our new album. I was working my ass off before joining Zeppelin. A lady I really dearly loved said, 'Right. It's me or your fans.' Not that I had fans, but I said, 'I can't stop, I've got to keep going.' She's quite content these days, I imagine. She's got a washing machine that works by itself and a little sports-car. We wouldn't have anything to say anymore. I could probably relate to her, but she couldn't relate to me. I'd be smiling too much. Ten years gone, I'm afraid. Anyway, there's a gamble for you."
Jimmy Page used some 14 guitar tracks to overdub the harmony section on this piece, which was originally intended to be an instrumental number. He cites this track as an example of a Led Zeppelin song that wasn't riff-led, relying on orchestrated guitars instead.
John Paul Jones used a strange 3-necked guitar and bass pedals to play this live. It became too much of a chore and they dropped it from concerts in 1977.
Robert Plant: "'Ten Years Gone' has been meticulously assembled from different sections written by Jimmy. After the tremendous focus dedicated to such a song, we played anything to warm ourselves up. This is how 'Trampled Underfoot' and 'Custard Pie' were born." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
Led Zeppelin played this when they opened and closed the Knebworth Festival in 1979. (thanks, Marshall - Gallatin, TN)
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