This is a nod to Neil Young, who had a song called "Down By The River." It's done in his style.
The band recorded this for Led Zeppelin 4, but they thought it wasn't good enough at the time. It was included on Physical Graffiti to fill the double album.
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote this in 1970 as an acoustic piece at Bron-yr-Aur, the cottage in Wales where they went after a grueling US tour. The cottage had no electricity or running water.
Led Zeppelin never played this live.
Plant recorded a version with Tori Amos in 1995 for the Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium. Plant is a huge fan of Amos and wanted to get a different take on the song by having her sing while he played guitar. Tori is also a huge Zeppelin fan.
It was Robert Plant's idea to include this song on the album, though not everyone agreed with him. Says Plant: "Everybody laughed when I suggested to include 'Down By The Seaside' on Physical Graffiti." John Paul Jones in particular hated this track. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
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