Playing for Change - "When the Levee Breaks" (featuring John Paul Jones)
“When The Levee Breaks” is a powerful, thought-provoking and emotionally-charged classic by Led Zeppelin, from their Led Zeppelin IV album. The song is a rework of the 1929 original release by Kansas Joe Mccoy and Memphis Minnie about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927; the most destructive river flooding in U.S. history. “It seems that little has changed since 1927, or even 2005 with Katrina. It’s still a really powerful track, both musically and lyrically.”- John Paul Jones Legendary multi-instrumentalist, John Paul Jones, is accompanied by Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and over 20 musicians and dancers from seven different countries
If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break
If it keeps on raining, the levee's going to break
When the levee breaks, we'll have no place to stay
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan, oh
Mean old levee taught me to weep and moan
It's got what it takes to make a mountain man leave his home
Oh well, oh well, oh well
Ooh
Oh, don't it make you feel bad
When you're trying to find your way home
You don't know which way to go
If you're going down south, they got no work to do
If you're going north to Chicago
Ah, ah, ah, hey
Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good
No, crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move, ooh
All last night I sat on the levee and moaned
All last night, sat on the levee and moaned
Thinking about my baby and my happy home
Oh-ho
Going
I'm going to Chicago
Going to Chicago
Sorry, but I can't take you, ah
Going down, going down now
Going down, I'm going down now
Going down, going down
Going down, going down
Oh
Going down, going down now
Going down, going down now
Going down, going down now
Going down, going, dow-dow-dow-dow-down now