D’yer Mak’er Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
You don't have to go-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
You don't have to go-oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
You don't have to go
Ay, ah, ah, ah, ah, ay
All those tears I cry, ah, ah, ah, ay
All those tears I cry, oh, oh, uh, ay
Baby, please, don't go

[Chorus]
When I read the letter you wrote me, it made me mad, mad, mad
When I read the words that it told me, it made me sad, sad, sad
But I still love you so, I can't let you go
I love you, ooh, baby, I love ya

[Verse 2]
Oh, uh, uh, uh, oh, oh
Every breath I take, uh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, every move I make
Oh, baby, please, don't go, uh
Ay, ah, ah, ah, ah, ay
You hurt me to my soul, oh, oh, oh, oh
You hurt me to my soul-oh-oh
Darling, please, don't go
[Chorus]
When I read the letter you sent me, it made me mad, mad, mad
When I read the news that it broke, it made me sad, sad, sad
But I still love you so and I can't let you go
I love you, ooh, uh—baby, I love you, ah

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 3]
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
You don't have to go, oh, oh, oh, oh
You don't have to go, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, baby, babe, please, please, please, please

[Outro]
Ah, uh, ah, uh, ah, ah, baby
Ah, ah, I really love you, baby
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, darling
Oh, oh-woah, oh, baby, I still love you so
Oh, baby, I still love you so, oh, ooh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah (Fire)
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, oh (Fire)
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Oh, yeah (Fire)
Awe, baby, baby

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

Sixth track off “Houses of the Holy”, “D'yer Mak'er” is a reggae-inspired track about losing a lover.

The title is a play on an old British joke, which spins on the pronunciation of “Jamaica” to come off as “did you make her?”:

‘My wife’s gone to the West Indies.’
‘Jamaica?’
‘Nah, she wanted to go.

Guitarist Jimmy Page admitted in a 1977 interview that he was surprised more people didn’t understand the title.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Led Zeppelin say about "D'yer Mak'er"?
Genius Answer

Guitarist Jimmy Page said in a 1977 interview:

I didn’t expect people not to get [the joke in the title.] I thought it was pretty obvious. The song itself was a cross between reggae and a ‘50s number, “Poor Little Fool,” Ben E. King’s things, stuff like that.

He also told Louder Sound:

In America they had no clue what [the title] meant, and it was just boring to have to explain what it was. You’d think: ‘why didn’t we name it something else?’ At least the Brits got it, thank God.

What has the media said about the song?
Genius Answer

Rolling Stone ranked it as Led Zeppelin’s #20 song, saying:

Not ‘Dire Maker,’ as it’s generally known, but a rough phonetic riff on ‘Jamaica,’ this began with the notion of playing reggae music, a new phenomenon in 1972. What emerged was a sort of rock-steady heavy-metal doo-wop jam; Plant’s giddy vocals turn a string of stuttered vowel sounds into one of the band’s catchiest pop songs.

Comments