Song is available on YouTube

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has shared an unreleased demo for “The Seasons,” which later became known as “The Rain Song,” which was included on the band’s 1973 album, Houses of the Holy. The rocker shared the song and message in an animated YouTube video in celebration of the album’s 50th anniversary.

“My original idea for the opening tracks for Houses of the Holy was that a short overture would be a rousing instrumental introduction with layered electric guitars that would segue in to ’The Seasons,’ later to be titled ‘The Rain Song’. Again there would be a contrasting acoustic guitar instrumental movement with melotron that could lead to the first vocal of the album and the first verse of the song,” Page states.

“‘The Seasons’ was a memo to myself as a reminder of the sequence of the song and various ideas I’d had for it in its embryonic stage. I’d worked on it over one evening at home. During the routining of the overture now titled ‘The Plumpton and Worcester Races,’ the half time section was born and the overture shaped in to the song, ‘The Song Remains The Same.’ These rehearsals were done in Puddle Town on the River Piddle in Dorset, UK.

“The first set of recordings were done at Olympic Studios with George Chkiantz.

“We then came to record at Stargroves, Sir Mick Jagger’s country home, and, like Headley Grange, with the Rolling Stones recording truck.

“‘The Song Remains The Same’ was played on a Fender 12 string, the same one used on Becks Bolero, with my trusty Les Paul number one on overdubs in a standard turning. ‘The Rain Song’ was an unorthodox tuning on acoustic and electric guitars. On live shows, it became a work-out feature for the double neck.”

Houses of the Holy was Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio record which also featured “The Songs Remains The Same” and “No Quarter.” However, the song’s title track was shelved until the band released its double album Physical Graffiti two years later. The cover was designed by Hipgnosis and based on a photograph taken at Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. The album has been certified Diamond by the RIAA, selling more than 10 million copies.