Dazed and Confused

Been dazed and confused so long it's not true
Wanted a woman never bargained for you
Lots of people talk and few of them know,
Soul of a woman was created below.

You hurt and abuse tellin' all of your lies.
Run around sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize.
Sweet little baby, I don't know where you've been.
Gonna love you baby, here I come again.

Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay
Try to love you baby, but you push me away.
Don't know where you're goin', only know just where you've been,
Sweet little baby, I want you again.

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true.
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.
Take it easy baby, let them say what they will.
Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?



- Released 1967

- During The Yardbirds 1967 American tour, Jake Holmes performed as the opener at the Village Theater in Greenwich Village on August 25, 1967. The Yardbirds were inspired by his performance and decided to work up their own arrangement for a new song.

- Jake Holmes "Dazed and Confused"



- Folk singer Jake Holmes wrote and recorded "Dazed and Confused" for his debut solo album "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes", released in June 1967. Like the other tracks on the album, the song does not include any drums. It was recorded entirely with the trio of Holmes on guitar, keyboard and vocals, Ted Irwin on guitar and Lee Underwood on bass. The song has been incorrectly mislabeled as a tale about a bad acid trip. Holmes himself has confirmed that this is not the case. In 2001 he gave an interview to Shindig! magazine and said this about "Dazed and Confused": "I never took acid. I smoked grass and tripped on it, but I never took acid. I was afraid to take it. The song's about a girl who hasn't decided whether she wants to stay with me or not. It's pretty much one of those love songs." Reference

- When the Yardbirds disbanded in 1968, the song "Dazed and Confused" was re-worked by Page yet again, this time while as a member of Led Zeppelin. Page took the title, came up with a new set of lyrics, and changed enough of the melody to escape a plagiarism lawsuit from Jake Holmes.

- Jimmy Page performed this with The Yardbirds with different lyrics as "I'm Confused." It appears on the album Live Yardbirds.

- The Yardbirds "I'm Confused"



- The Led Zeppelin version was not credited to Jake Holmes, and they also had a different ASCAP code asigned to it.

- Led Zeppelin recorded their version in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London, and the song was included on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. It begins with a slow-tempo bluesy rhythm, propelled by John Paul Jones' descending bass line. It then changes to a faster tempo during the darkest part of the song, again featuring bowed guitar by Page, followed by a furious guitar solo (similar to Page's solo from the Yardbirds' "Think About It"), before finally returning to the initial rhythm. John Bonham's sporadic, explosive drumming throughout helped define the song's power and intensity. Reference

- The Yardbird's "Think About it"



- The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

- The song was also used as the basis for the title of the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, which chronicled the lives of various American youths on their last day of high school in 1976. However, it is not found on the film's soundtrack. The film's director Richard Linklater appealed to Led Zeppelin band members to use some of their songs in the movie but, although Page agreed, Robert Plant refused.