Going to California Lyrics
Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Going to California with an aching in my heart
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
[Verse 2]
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let 'em tell you that they're all the same
Oh, the sea was red, and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons start to tremble and shake
The children of the sun began to awake (watch out)
[Verse 3]
Seems that the wrath of the gods
Got a punch on the nose, and it started to flow
I think I might be sinking
Throw me a line, if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path runs straight and high
[Verse 4]
To find a queen without a king
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... La la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems, mm...
Ah, ah, ah, ah
About
A hauntingly beautiful acoustic tune released on the legendary untitled Led Zeppelin IV, the song tells the story of a man who has left his unkind woman and is off to California with dreams and hopes of finding his real love.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
In an interview he gave to Spin magazine in 2002, Plant stated that the song “might be a bit embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22.”
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant wrote this song, drawing inspiration from Joni Mitchell, specifically her song “California.” Mitchell lived in the musically fertile but earthquake-prone Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles; “California” finds her recalling her adventures on a trip to Europe but looking forward to a return home. In “Going To California,” Plant plays the part of a guy who’s looking to leave his no-good woman behind and make a fresh start in California.
Page and Plant were both enthralled by Joni Mitchell’s songwriting; in “Going To California,” the guy in the song is looking for a girl just like her, one with “love in her eyes and flowers in her hair” who “plays guitar and cries and sings.”
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