Synopsis

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant perform a raw, atmospheric version of the traditional folk song in a stark Welsh slate quarry. Surrounded by rugged rock faces and damp, overcast scenery, the musicians play with a compact ensemble that includes mandolin, drums, bass, banjo and hurdy-gurdy. The video emphasizes the tension and spontaneity of the arrangement rather than a conventional storyline, cutting between close-ups of the performers and wider views of the unusual outdoor setting as the song builds toward its forceful climax.

Factoids & Trivia

• The performance was filmed in August 1994 as part of the MTV project that became *No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded*. The Welsh sessions took place in a slate quarry near Corris, close to the landscape associated with Page and Plant's earlier acoustic work.

• Page and Plant recorded the song for *No Quarter*, released on November 7, 1994. Their version was credited as a traditional song arranged by Page and Plant, following its earlier Led Zeppelin appearance on *Led Zeppelin III*.

• The arrangement expands the familiar acoustic framework with a hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, banjo, bass and percussion. The hurdy-gurdy's sustained drones give the performance much of its old-world, ominous character.

• Page later described the quarry recording as developing through a jam after several takes. That spontaneous approach helps explain the performance's loose transitions and changing intensity.

• Page's version was based in part on a recording by American folk musician Fred Gerlach. The song itself belongs to the broad tradition of "The Maid Freed from the Gallows," a folk narrative that has been recorded under several titles.

• "Gallows Pole" was issued as a single in 1994 and also appeared in the concert film and later video release connected with *No Quarter: Unledded*.