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Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You Lyrics
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You (A. Bredon)
Babe, I'm gonna leave you
Tell you when I'm gonna leave you
Leave you when ol'summer time, summer comes a-rollin'
Leave you when ol'summer comes along
Babe, that highway's a-callin'
That ol' highway's a-callin'
Callin' me to travel on, travel on out Westward
Callin' me to travel on alone
Babe, I'd like to stay here
You know I'd really like to stay here
My feet start goin' down, goin' down that highway
My feet start goin' down, goin' down alone
Babe, I got to ramble
You know I got to ramble
My feet start goin' down and I got to follow
They just start goin' down, goin' down, and I got to go
Tell you when I'm gonna leave you
Leave you when ol'summer time, summer comes a-rollin'
Leave you when ol'summer comes along
That ol' highway's a-callin'
Callin' me to travel on, travel on out Westward
Callin' me to travel on alone
You know I'd really like to stay here
My feet start goin' down, goin' down that highway
My feet start goin' down, goin' down alone
You know I got to ramble
My feet start goin' down and I got to follow
They just start goin' down, goin' down, and I got to go
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I think it's about a man being dad: he is singing a lullaby while informing mom in hearing-range that he is going to hit the road as soon as it dries. But Baez took the human drama to her and our hearts. IMHO it is a rock ballad and, in 1962, the first of the kind. Led Zeppelin in 1969 did nice remake.
Yes, this song did inspire Led Zeppelin - I'm surprised this, the original version, has so few comments! I really like Joan's live performance, as her voice has this haunting quality and the guitar conveys a sense of urgency and restlessness. I like vphi's interpretation.
Personally, I like to interpret it as a metaphor. Like being in a relationship which you know isn't quite right - you feel like you can't commit and you can already see how it will end - but winter is cold and lonely and you care about them, so you don't want to leave them until summer.