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The Lemon Song" is laced with sexual innuendo, and features some of Led Zeppelin's most blues-influenced playing. It was recorded virtually live in the studio, and no electronic devices were used to create the echo on Robert Plant's vocal. It was made solely by Plant's voice and the acoustics in Mystic Studios, which was a 16 × 16 foot room with wooden walls.[1] Another notable aspect of this song is John Paul Jones' complex bass guitar performance.
The song borrows from Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor", which was a song Led Zeppelin often incorporated into their live setlist during their first concert tour of the United States. For the second and third North American tours the song evolved into "The Lemon Song", with Plant often improvising lyrics onstage.
Other lyrics, notably "squeeze (my lemon) 'til 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 in the same year (1937) called "She Squeezed My Lemon" (by Arthur McKay).[2] The song also borrowed from Albert King's "Cross-Cut Saw".[1]
On the early 1970s British re-issue of Led Zeppelin II, the label on the record lists "Killing Floor" as the third track and is credited to Chester Burnett (Howlin' Wolf's real name), while the liner lists "The Lemon Song" and credits Led Zeppelin. 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".[3] The parties settled out of court. Though the amount was not disclosed, Burnett received a check for US$45,123 from Arc Music immediately following the suit, and subsequent releases included a co-songwriter credit for him.[4][5]
