THE WANTON SONG
As recorded by Led Zeppelin
(From the 1975 Album PHYSICAL GRAFFITI)
Words and Music by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant
Thanks to Kerry O'Brien and Steve Gorenberg for transcribing the Power Tab
version of this. I decided to submit this because there was no better text
version of the song. Awesome song by the way.
Gtr I (E A D G B E) - 'Elec. w/dist'
Gtr II (E A D G B E) - 'Elec. w/dist'
Intro (0:00, 3:03)
Moderately Q=110
$
(G5) F7 F#7
4/4
Gtrs I, II
S S S S S S S S H 3x S S S S S S S S E E +S E.
||------------------------||-----------------------------|||o----------------------o||-----------------------------|||------------------------||-------------------2-(2)-3---|||------5-5-----5-5-------||-----5-5-----5-5---1-(1)-2---|||o----------------------o||-------------------3-(3)-4---|||--3-3-----3-3-----------||-3-3-----3-3-------1-(1)-2---|
(G5) S S S S S S S S H 3x||------------------------||||o----------------------o||||------------------------||||------5-5-----5-5-------||||o----------------------o||||--3-3-----3-3-----------||
N.C. Bb5 S S S S S S S S +S E S +S S S S S E S E S S +S S Q.|-----------------------------------|------------------------|||-----------------------------------|------------------------|||-----------------------------------|-7---6---5-------x-3----|||-----5-5-----5-5-(5)-----------3---|-------------------3----|||---------------------3-4-(4)-5---5-|---5---4---3-(3)---1----|||-3-3-----3-3-----------------------|------------------------||
Verses (0:20, 1:24, 3:23) (G5) Gtr I S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S H||-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|||o----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|||-----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|||------5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5------|||o----------------------|----------------------|----------------------|||--3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3----------|
F7 F#7 (G5) S S S S S S S S E E +S E. S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S H|----------------------------|----------------------|----------------------||----------------------------|----------------------|----------------------||-------------------2-(2)-3--|----------------------|----------------------||-----5-5-----5-5---1-(1)-2--|-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5------||-------------------3-(3)-4--|----------------------|----------------------||-3-3-----3-3-------1-(1)-2--|-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3----------|
To Coda S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S +S E S +S S S S|----------------------|-----------------------------------||----------------------|-----------------------------------||----------------------|-----------------------------------||-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5-(5)-----------3---||----------------------|---------------------3-4-(4)-5---5-||-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3-----------------------|
N.C. Bb5 S E S E S S +S S Q.|-------------------------|||-------------------------|||-7---6---5-------x-3-----|||-------------------3-----|||---5---4---3-(3)---1-----|||-------------------------||
(G5) S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S H|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------||----------------------|----------------------|----------------------||----------------------|----------------------|----------------------||-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5------||----------------------|----------------------|----------------------||-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3----------|
F7 F#7 (G5) S S S S S S S S E E +S E. S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S H|----------------------------|----------------------|----------------------||----------------------------|----------------------|----------------------||-------------------2-(2)-3--|----------------------|----------------------||-----5-5-----5-5---1-(1)-2--|-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5------||-------------------3-(3)-4--|----------------------|----------------------||-3-3-----3-3-------1-(1)-2--|-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3----------|
S S S S S S S S H S S S S S S S S +S E S +S S S S|----------------------|-----------------------------------||----------------------|-----------------------------------||----------------------|-----------------------------------||-----5-5-----5-5------|-----5-5-----5-5-(5)-----------3---||----------------------|---------------------3-4-(4)-5---5-||-3-3-----3-3----------|-3-3-----3-3-----------------------|
N.C. Bb5 S E S E S S +S S Q.|-------------------------|||-------------------------|||-7---6---5-------x-3-----|||-------------------3-----|||---5---4---3-(3)---1-----|||-------------------------||
(0:59, 2:03) Fmadd2 Fm B°7 Cm7/E D#Bb5bC#°7 C D9 Gtrs I, II H E E E E +H E E E E +H E E E E +H E E E E|-^3----3-1-----|----------------|------------3---|---------------5-||-^1----1-1---3-|-(3)----3-4---4-|-(4)----4-6---5-|-(5)----5-6-/8-5-||-^1----1-1---1-|-(1)----1-----3-|-(3)----3-3---3-|-(3)----3------5-||-^3----3-3---3-|-(3)----------5-|-(5)----------5-|-(5)-------------||-^3----------2-|-(2)----------3-|-(3)----------4-|-(4)-------------||-^1------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
My favourite part: D5Am7 C5/G Gm7 Bb/D Bb5/Bb5/F +E S S E E S S E E E E S S E S S S S E E e|-(5)-(5)-(5)------------------|--------------------------||-(5)h=6p==5----5-(5)(5)-------|--------------------------||-(5)-(5)-(5)-7-5-(5)(5)---5---|-3-(3)(3)-3-------3---3---||-------------7-5h=7p=5----5-7-|-3h=5p=3--3-x-x-x-3---3---||------------------------7-----|----------5-x-x-x---5---5-||------------------------------|--------------------------|
D9 D5Am7 Gm7 E S S E E +E S S E E +E S S E S S S S S S S S S S|-5-(5)-(5)-----------------|----------------------------------||-5h=6p==5------------------|----------------------------------||-5-(5)-(5)-7-5-(5)-------3-|-(3)-(3)(3)-------3-------5-----5-||-----------7-5-(5)-7p5---3-|-(3)h=5p=3------------------------||-----------------------7---|------------5-4-5---4-5S7---6-7---||---------------------------|----------------------------------|
D9 Am7 C5/G Gm7 Bb/D Bb5/Bb5/F E S S E E S S E E E E S S E S S S S E E e|-5-(5)-(5)------------------|--------------------------||-5h=6p==5-------------------|--------------------------||-5-(5)-(5)---5-(5)(5)---5---|-3-(3)(3)-3-------3---3---||-----------7-5h=7p=5----5-7-|-3h=5p=3--3-x-x-x-3---3---||----------------------7-----|----------5-x-x-x---5---5-||----------------------------|--------------------------|
1. D9 D5Am7 Gm7 Bb/F Gtr I < E S S E E +E S S E E +E S S q S S Q.|-5-(5)-(5)-----------------|-------------------------|||-5h=6p==5------------------|-------------------3----o|||-5-(5)-(5)-7-5-(5)-------3-|-(3)-(3)(3)--------3-----|||-----------7-5-(5)-7p5---3-|-(3)h=5p=3---------3-----|||-----------------------7---|------------5--3h5------o|||---------------------------|-------------------------||
|
| Gtr II| <| E S S E E +E S S E E +E S S q H|-5-(5)-(5)-----------------|-------------------------|||-5h=6p==5------------------|---------------3--------o|||-5-(5)-(5)-7-5-(5)-------3-|-(3)-(3)(3)----3---------|||-----------7-5-(5)-7p5---3-|-(3)h=5p=3-----3---------|||-----------------------7---|------------5-----------o|||---------------------------|-------------------------||
Guitar Solo (2:28) 2. Bb5/Bb5/F Bb5 F/Bb5 C5 ~ +E S S Q H Q Q e e e a E|------------------------||--------------------||------------------------||-6b8--6-------------||-(3)--------------------||---------3-----3h5--||-(3)h5p3----------------||-----------3-5------||---------5--------------||--------------------||------------------------||--------------------|
|
| +E S S E S S S S E q Q Q E E E E|------------------------||--------------------||------------------------||--------------------||-(3)-------------3---3--||--------------------||-(3)h5p3---x-x---3---3--||------3----3-3---5--||---------5-x-x-5---5----||-1----1--1-0-1---3--||------------------------||--------------------|
D5C5 F5 C/F5 G5 ~~~ ~~~~~~~~ +H. Q E +S S Q e e S S E +H. E E|-----------------|---------------------5---|------------------------||-----------------|-8b10r(8)p6-8------5---8-|-(8)--------------------||-(5)-------------|---------------5-7-------|-------------------5pb6-||-----------------|-------------------------|------------------------||-----------------|-------------------------|------------------------||-----------------|-------------------------|------------------------|
|
| +Q Q E E E E Q Q E E E E +E E E S S E E E E|-----------------|-------------------------|------------------------||-----------------|-------------------------|------------------------||-----------------|-------------------------|------------------------||-(5)--5--5-7-5---|-------------------------|------------------------||-(3)--3--3-5-3---|------------3--3-3-3---5-|-(5)-5-5-x-x---5-5-0----||---------------0-|-1----------1--1-0-1---3-|-(3)-3-3-x-x-0-3-3-0----|
Bb5 F/A Bb5 C5
~~~
|----3-----|
+Q q q e S T +T S S a E|---------------------------------||---------------------------------||-(5)pb7==5---5-5---5r(5)p3---3h5-||---------------------------5-----||---------------------------------||---------------------------------|
|
| Q Q E E E E|---------------------------------||---------------------------------||---------------------------------||--3--------3---3-3-------3-----5-||--1--------1---1-0-------1-----3-||---------------------------------|
F5 C/F5 G5
~~~~~
|---3----| |--3--|
+Q. +E Q E E E e Q E E E E E E|-----------------------6---7-|-8-8b10---8--------------||------------------8b10-------|------------6---6-----6--||-(5)-----(5)\----------------|--------------7---7------||-----------------------------|-------------------------||-----------------------------|-------------------------||-----------------------------|-------------------------|
|
| +E E E E E E E E Q Q E E E E|-----------------------------|-------------------------||-----------------------------|-------------------------||-----------------------------|-------------------------||-(5)-5-5--5---5-6-5----------|-------------------------||-(3)-3-3--3---3-5-3------0---|-3------3---3-3-3--------||-----------------------------|-1------1---1-0-1---3----|
G5/D G5 Bb5 F/A Bb5 C5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ S S Q. +Q Q E E +S E. +E S +S +S S S S|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------||-8-8-8--------(8)--------|---------------18--(18)-----------------------||-------------------------|---17b19==(17)----------17r(17)-(17)-15-17-17-||-------------------------|----------------------------------------------||-------------------------|----------------------------------------------||-------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
|
| e e e S S S E. E E Q Q E E E E|-------------------------|----------------------------------------------||-------------------------|----------------------------------------------||-------------------------|----------------------------------------------||-5---5--5----------------|-3----------3--------3---3--------3------5----||-5---5--5-x-x--x--5--5-0-|-1----------1--------1---0--------1------3----||----------x-x--x--3--3-0-|----------------------------------------------|
~~~~ +H E E E E|----------------------------||---------------17-18-18b20==||-(17)-------17--------------||----------------------------||----------------------------||----------------------------|
|
| +E E E E E E E E|----------------------------||----------------------------||----------------------------||--(5)-5-5-5--5--6--5--------||--(3)-3-3-3--3--5--3--0-----||----------------------0-----|
F5 C/F5 G5
|--3--| |---3---|
+E E Q E +Q E E E S S S S Q +Q. E|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------||-(18)r-18-18b20-18-(18)---17------17s|=15----15----15---(15)-----18-----||-----------------------------17------|----16----16---------------17b19==||-------------------------------------|----------------------------------||-------------------------------------|----------------------------------||-------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|
| Q Q E E E e e e E e e e E E|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------||-------------------------------------|----------------------------------||-------------------------------------|----------------------------------||--------------------------------5----|--5-----5-------5---5--5----------||---3-------3---------3--3--3----5----|--5-----5-------5---5--5----0-----||---1-------1---------1--0--1----3----|--3-----3-----x-3---3--3-x--0-----|
Bb5 C5 +E Q E +E S S E S S|----------------------------------------------------||-(18)--18------18-----(18)--18-18-18----------------||-(17)r-17b19---17b19==(17)r-17-17-17b19-17-17pb19===||----------------------------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------|
|
| Q Q E E E E|----------------------------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------||----------------------------------------------------||---3---------3----------3----------3-----5----------||---1---------1----------1----------1-----3----------||-----------------------------0----------------------|
D5 C5 ~~~~ E +Q S S E e E e|------------------------------||-18------------------------17-||-17r=(17)---17-17-17-17-17----||------------------------------||------------------------------||------------------------------|
|
| +E E E S S E E E E|------------------------------||------------------------------||------------------------------||-(5)---5--5--5--5--5--7--5----||-(3)---3--3--3--3--3--5--3----||----------------------------0-|
D.S. al Coda F5 G5 Gm7 < Q Q a +E e S S E +H H|----------------------------------------|-----------------|||-18b20--18b20===18r(18)-17----17--------|------------3----|||---------------------------17----17b19==|=(17)r------3----|||----------------------------------------|------------3----|||----------------------------------------|-----------------|||----------------------------------------|-----------------||
|
| <| Q Q E E E E +Q H.|----------------------------------------|-----------------|||----------------------------------------|--------3--------|||----------------------------------------|--------3--------|||----------------------------------------|--------3--------|||--3------3-----------3---3--3-----5-----|--(5)------------|||--1------1-----------1---1--1-----3-----|--(3)------------||
Outro (3:40) & N.C. Bb5 N.C. Bb5 Gtrs I, II S E S E S S +S S S S S S E S E S E S S +S S S S S S E 5x|-----------------------------||-------------------------------|||-----------------------------||o-----------------------------o|||-7---------------------------||-------------------------------|||-------------------3-3-3-----||--------------------3-3-3------|||---5-x-4-x-3-(3)-x-1-1-1-0-0-||o-x-5-x-4-x-3-(3)-x-1-1-1-0-0-o|||-----------------------------||-------------------------------||
N.C. Bb5 S E S E S S +S S Q. +W|------------------------|--------*||------------------------|--------*||-------------------3----|-(3)----*||-------------------3----|-(3)----*||-x-5-x-4-x-3-(3)-x-1----|-(1)----*||------------------------|--------*|
Duration Legend
---------------
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; T - 32nd; X - 64th; a - acciaccatura
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration)
Irregular groupings are notated above the duration line
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests. Multi-
bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for. Low
melody durations appear below the staff
Tablature Legend
----------------
h - hammer-on
p - pull-off
b - bend
pb - pre-bend
r - bend release (if no number after the r, then release immediately)
/\ - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
s - legato slide
S - shift slide
- natural harmonic
[n] - artificial harmonic
n(n) - tapped harmonic
~ - vibrato
tr - trill
T - tap
TP - trem. picking
PM - palm muting
\n/ - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
\n - tremolo bar down
n/ - tremolo bar up
/n\ - tremolo bar inverted dip
= - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
<> - volume swell (louder/softer)
x - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
o - on rhythm slash represents single note slash
Misc Legend
-----------
| - bar
|| - double bar
||o - repeat start
o|| - repeat end
*| - double bar (ending)
: - bar (freetime)
$ - Segno
& - Coda
Tempo markers - = BPM(8/16=s8/s16), where s8 = swing 8ths, s16 = swing 16ths
