D’Yer Mak’er, composed by Led Zeppelin, is known as one of the two songs on the album “Houses of Holy” that is considered to be “joke” songs along with “The Crunge”. That being said, the title D’yer Mak’er originated from the contraction of the phrases “Did you make her” and the word “Jamaica”. Robert Plant, lyricist and lead singer of Led Zeppelin, confirmed that the title of the song is based on a bit of Cockney humor. The reason the song is said to be a joke is because when one says “Jamaica” it sounds like “Did ya’ make her?” in a heavy british accent. Robert Plant was amused with the fact that some of the fans completely disregarded the apostrophes and pronounced the song “Dire Maker”. The genre of the song is most definitely rock because it includes instruments such as electric guitars, percussion, bass guitar, and more. This song was meant to imitate reggae and its derivative “dub” songs that emerged from Jamaica in the early 1970s. On top of being the most unique song on the album, “D’yer Mak’er” was also the first songs ever released by Led Zeppelin where all four members share the composer credit.
Led Zeppelin was an english rock band that emerged in the late 1960s, known for their experimental song creations. D’Yer Mak’er was first recorded in September of 1973 in Stargroves, England and was published by Alfred Publishing Co. John Bonham, drummer of Led Zeppelin, was rehearsing in Stargroves in 1972 when he began to play a beat similar to the doo-wop that originated in the 1950s. Bonham tributed this song on the sleeve of record to Rosie and the Originals for the doo-wop influence within the song. After playing around with it he then started to make the beat into a slight off-beat tempo, which brought the emergence of the Reggae dub we hear in this song. The distinctive reggae dub sound is created by placing three microphones directly in front of Bonham’s drum set. On another note, John Paul Jones, bass guitarist in Led Zeppelin, did not care for this song very much because he once stated, “it started off as a studio joke and wasn't thought through carefully enough”, furthermore concluding his distaste for the song. Upon the album’s release, the song was never played live because they could not re-create the reggae band and still have the drum solos in the song play at the same time. This song was also said to bring the introduction of marijuana to hard rock such as metal. The reggae dub in this song ended up being a huge success and drew many fans to the band.
After thoroughly listening to this song, what I noticed the most about it is the electric guitar that is moving chords in the background accompanied by the snare drum and the bass drum. This song has a mixture of rock, blues, reggae dub influences, and heavy metal. The piece opens up with a snare drum solo introduction and then an electric guitar is added to the melody along with the percussion. A vocal drum beat is playing throughout various parts of the song in the background. The genre of D’Yer Mak’er would most definitely be considered reggae rock because the song has influences from Jamaica and also includes many hard rock portions of the song as well. The form of the song is in verse chorus form because the song ranges from verse to verse including the chorus and even the bridges within the piece. The original published key in this song is c major. It is obvious that it is a c major key because this song has no flats and it also does not have sharps. Major chords are often associated with “happy” or “positive” sounding songs and that sums up this song because the multiple verses flow nicely together and often put the listeners in a positive or happy place. Although the lyrics are directed toward a former lover, the overall sound of the piece is very enjoyable. The pitch of this song is considered to be consonance because the sound waves go well together throughout most of the song. There really is not a constant beat throughout the song, however, within the bridge and the chorus verses the beat is very “dub like”. Furthermore, it is played at a tempo of 80 BPM. BPM refers to the beats per minute within a song. A tempo of 80 BPM is not categorized as being a fast song nor a slow song. D’Yer Mak’er typically has a moving melody in the chorus verses that appear in the song. Looking at the song as a whole, the beginning of the song starts off with a slow beat and as the song progresses into the first chorus verse the beat gets stronger. The beat gets stronger because the chords played on the guitar are becoming more of the dominant sounds in the song at the chorus verse. After the first chorus, the sounds of the song returns to a soft melody when the bridge begins. The song varies from loud to soft sounds however at the middle of the song at 2:37, after the chorus starting with “when I read the letter…”, an instrumental bridge is added to the song. This bridge contains an electric guitar solo accompanied with the reggae dub that is played throughout the song by John Bonham on the drums. At the end of the guitar solo the drum plays a quick transition into Page’s next verse. At the end of the song there is an outro where Page repeats his whine calling for his former lover accompanied with him whispering “fire” at the end of some of the lines to create a unique effect. For the first time, a quick piano riff is added to the song right before Page’s last vocal line that eventually fades out concluding the song. Furthermore, Robert Plant has a very distinct voice throughout this song; at times he is almost talking the lyrics and then as the song progresses he gets more and more into the lyrics, yelling in various areas of the piece, causing a more dramatic effect. This dramatic effect catches the listener's eye and makes this song very enjoyable and powerful to some if they are experiencing the lust Jimmy Page gives off throughout this piece.
This song itself is about a man begging for his wife or girlfriend not to leave him. Throughout the song Jimmy Page reiterates how much he truly loves and cares for this girl stating that he cannot let her go. The first verse or intro of the song states that this girl does not have to “go oh oh oh oh oh”. This form of the lyrics are repeated throughout the entire song except the chorus. The intro is repeated twice and then transitions into the second verse which talks about “all those tears I cry ay ay ay ay”, making it obvious that the narrator of the song is heartbroken and cannot have his baby leave him. As the song progresses the chorus is then added which basically talks about a disappointing letter that this woman sent him and coming from the previous lyrics it is evident the letter involved her plans of leaving him. The lyrics of this song and the background melody/beat do not blend well together because Page is whining throughout the song to a very “upbeat” form of music. Referring to these lyrics, this piece is a sad call for a woman however the reggae dub that is repeated throughout this entire song makes the mood of this song somewhat positive. Although the lyrics are negative, the style of this piece is very fun and enjoyable and puts the listener in a good mood.
D’Yer Mak’er is an exceptionally unique song considering that it is a blend of reggae dub, hard rock, rock blues and heavy metal. The title of the song adds to the uniqueness of this song as well considering the fact that it is based on a type of “Cockney” humor. It is said that “D’Yer Mak’er” was released as a joke song in the “Houses of Holy” album. This song does not seem to sound as a joke, but more as a unique blend of different genres. The musical piece ended up being a huge success and brought a different kind of attention to Led Zeppelin as a whole for their experimental ways.