"The Rover" is a song by Englishrock band Led Zeppelin, being the second track on their 1975 album Physical Graffiti. It was originally meant to be an acoustic piece, being written at Bron-Yr-Aur in 1970 and then recorded during the Houses of the Holy sessions in 1972. However, it was decided to hold the track off the Houses of the Holy album, and it eventually saw its way onto Led Zeppelin's next studio album Physical Graffiti. By this time it had obtained a distinctly heavier feel, with several studio overdubs having been laid by Jimmy Page in 1974. "The Rover" opens with a drum beat from John Bonham, and throughout the song, Page plays a distinctive riff using a Phase Shifter effect. The intro is very close to The Kinks' track "Wicked Annabella" from their 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. "Rover" is old Britishslang term for a wanderer, and the lyrics are fitting to this definition: "I've been to London, seen seven wonders. I know to trip is just to fall . . . Traversed the planet when heaven sent me. I saw the kings who rule them all." The sleeve credit for this track includes the line "Guitar lost courtesy Nevison...Salvaged by the grace of Harwood", which would seem to be a reference to difficulties encountered during the mixing of the track, Harwood being Keith Harwood and Nevison referring to Ron Nevison, both audio engineers on Physical Graffiti . "The Rover" was only played once live in 1973 as a soundcheck in Chicago and bootleg recording which does exist but other than that it wasn't played live at Led Zeppelin concerts, although the band played the opening bars as an introduction to "Sick Again" throughout their 1977 concert tour of the United States. Progressive metal group Dream Theater published a medley of Led Zeppelin songs in their 1995 EP A Change of Seasons, which featured parts of "The Rover".
Sources
Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
