“Since I’ve Been Loving You” is a slow blues number on Led Zeppelin III,
Compare the opening verse of “Never”
Working from 11:00 to 7:00 every night
Ought to make life a drag
And I know that ain’t right
to the opening verse of “Since I’ve Been Loving You”
Working from 7:00 to 11:00 every night
It really makes life a drag
I don’t think that’s right.
Also, both songs include the turn of phrase “the best of fools,” plaintive cries of “I love you, baby” and references to crying, though the lyrics are in somewhat altered form in “Since I’ve Been Love You.” This means that the opening and closing verses as well as the bridge of “Since I’ve Been Loving You” draw heavily from “Never.” In Led Zeppelin Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song
Despite the obvious lifts, however, Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is far superior to Moby Grape’s track. “Since I’ve Been Loving You” has a much more varied dynamic range, more memorable hooks, and Led Zeppelin display greater musicianship than Moby Grape do in “Never,” even though the members of Moby Grape were accomplished musicians themselves. Also, Led Zeppelin adds an original refrain, “Since I’ve been loving you/I’m about to lose my worried mind” that gives the song a more satisfying structure. The phrase “my worried mind” is not entirely original, though. It had been used in several blues songs dating back to before World War II. Lucille Bogan’s 1934 recording “Sweet, Sweet Man” contains the lines “And if he don’t come back/I will lose my worried mind.”
A number of other blues songs include a reference to “my worried mind”. Notably, the phrase is in Muddy Waters’s version of the song “Trouble in Mind” which was released in 1966, and he had already used the phrase as early as 1951 in “Long Distance Call”.
A single phrase like “my worried mind” is fair game, but the lifting of several lines, not to mention the theme, from “Never” is another matter. Though uncredited on the LP, Moby Grape vocalist Bob Mosley is most likely responsible for the lyrics to “Never”. Though Robert Plant did try alter the lyrics somewhat, his haphazard attempts to be original have some rather awkward results. For example, Robert Plant doesn’t seem to have a good grasp of what it’s like to work in the wage labor force. Where Bob Mosley laments working the graveyard shift (“working from 11:00 to 7:00 every night”), Robert Plant turns the numbers around (“Working from 7:00 to 11:00 every night”). Plant is either spending pretty much every waking hour at work or else he’s complaining about working a four-hour evening shift. Also, Plant doesn’t seem to get Bob Mosley’s image of “the best of fools”. Where Mosley sings, “I’ve been to see the best of fools” Plant changes this to “I’ve really been the best, the best of fools”. Perhaps some sort of confession.
While the music of “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is original, it’s interesting to note that the opening guitar lick in this track is very similar to the one in the Yardbirds’ “New York City Blues,” which was recorded in 1965. Jimmy Page had been a member of the Yardbirds before forming Led Zeppelin, but he didn’t join the Yardbirds until 1967. The intro to “New York City Blues” was Jeff Beck’s (interesting to note that Beck also recorded a version of “Trouble in Mind”).
To keep things in perspective, though, “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and “New York City Blues” share only those five notes, so this isn’t really all that significant. Bob Mosley and Moby Grape, however, should have received some sort of acknowledgment for “Since I’ve Been Loving You.” According to Perfect Sound Forever, Bob Mosley received an out-of-court settlement in 2005 but this did not result in any change to the songwriting credits.
| Never by Moby Grape performed by Moby GrapeWorking from eleven To seven every night Ought to make life a drag Now I know that ain’t right Thinking ’bout those bad times I wish you really knew How happy I would be If I were living love with you I’ve gone a long time Can’t you hear me? I need you, baby I’m so all alone |
Since I’ve Been Loving You by Jimmy Page/Robert Plant performed by Led ZeppelinWorking from seven to eleven every night It really makes life a drag I don’t think that’s right I’ve really been the best, the best of fools But baby, since I’ve been loving you Everybody trying to tell me Since I’ve been loving you Said I’ve been crying Do you remember mama when I knocked upon your door? I’ve been working from seven to eleven every night |
Deal with it 😀 , the best band of all time 😀
I’d argue that Moby Grape was a superior band (even though Led Zep does win on this song).
thats funny
ridiculous statement
Moby Grape was the real thing. Musicians know this.
@Ammar i agree.. Despite the controversy, and you must admit it’s obviouls they “borrowed liberally” in several cases, but i don’t think it takes anything away from the band.
Here is another interpretation of the song, maybe it can convince you:
http://aplicatealrock.blogspot.com.es/2015/05/since-ive-been-loving-you.html
It’s pretty obvious Jimmy Page and Zeppelin pinched from all sources. The well known rip offs of killing floor for example brilliantly performed and repacked in the lemon song and Dazed and confused was actually a Yardbirds number re-written.
I like the rest of you recognise that Led Zep are the ultimate rock group but I don’t reckon they realised how big they would become when they did these records…
Most of these songs have been given a new lease of life that the original artists would never in a million years be able to match and you it’s like when Hendrix did “all along the watchtower” even Bob Dylan does it Hendrix style now…
Moby Grape would never have been heard of and The Yardbirds would be an extinct species.
I do think Led Zepp should credit the originals but not necessarily pay for copyright breach.
Every band copies others to some extent these were just way better that’s all and we have really good records to listen to as a result.
It’s all borrowed from the blues but great stuff
WELL SAID YOUNG MAN!!!
I am huge fans of both Moby Grape and The Yardbirds, and I can say Led Zeppelin had no part in my hearing their music. Jerry Miller and Jeff Beck (and Clapton) easily rival, even surpass Page, especially in technicality. Beck and Miller were far more melodic players. Also, zep did nothing for the Yardbirds, except cover their worst song (dazed and confused.) If anything, zep got lucky to use the renown of the Yardbirds name. I love Zep but in terms of originality, Moby Grape and the Yardbirds blow zep out of the water, both bands pioneered their genres of music. It also speaks volumes that Clapton was quoted saying Jerry Miller was the best guitar player ever. I would rather listen to Grape and Yardbirds (with Beck) over zeppelin any day. To say Zep granted the legacy of Moby Grape and The Yardbirds is flat out wrong. Most fans of either band are probably not the biggest zep fans anyway
You do know that Jimmy Page was with The Yardbirds way before LZep? And the Moby Grape tune is copied no doubt, but many blues artist pinched other artist’s styles, licks and lyrics, so sing me the blues.
Actually no. The Moby Grape song “Never” came out in 1968. Moby Grape nicked their song introduction from a 1966 Yardbirds track called “New York City Blues”. The Yardbirds predated Moby Grape by two years. The Moby Grape song is not the original.
Lol to a musically trained ear, the intro to never is not even remotely close to a rip off of New York City blues (which also happens to be a rip)
Lovely post 🙂
atif guitar chords
hardy guitar chords
The article said the music for “Since I’ve been loving you was original.” I don’t know about that? Go and listen to Gary B.B. Coleman’s :The Sky is crying” They are eerily similar.
B.B. Colemans version of The Sky is Crying was recorded in 1992. The original was recorded by Elmore James in 1959 and doesn’t sound like this.
Just seen this! yes I agree, I just left a comment explaining the same point as you.
Since I’ve Been Loving You is basically The Sky Is Crying by B.B. Coleman (1959), musically speaking – which i understand set the bar for that blues sound.
There is a segment about 4 mins into this recording that is almost identical to the intro minute or so on led zeps.
Either way, all great music 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Gt46aX9Z4 – The Sky Is Crying –
I was listening to the song “elevator to heaven” by Chris bell and it sounds very similar to “since I’ve been loving you” with the exception of a tempo change and it is probably played in a lower key. But I have been trying to find if either was sample from the other but nothing is coming up. If anyone knows if they are related let me know 🙂
Not just “inspired by” but “identical except for the words” right through… Slower and lower ain’t enough to make it yours. At least credit the source brother
@Marissa Nicole Sorci I did notice that too, I thought I was the only one who noticed this, it’s the same song intro basically but on guitar you just scoot all the notes in the intro of since I’ve been loving you one fret back.
Yo he notado exactamente lo mismo que ustedes. I have noticed exactly the same thing as you.