After their 1975 US tour and London concerts , Led Zeppelin took a break from performing . To remain tax exiles , the group members needed to limit their time in the UK . This is alluded to in the song 's opening lines : " It was an April morning when they told us we should go , and as I turned to you , you smiled at me , how could we say no " . Jimmy Page and Robert Plant went to Morocco in June 1975 , where they developed material for their next album . Page heard local music , which influenced his guitar parts on " Achilles Last Stand " . North African and Middle Eastern music had inspired earlier Led Zeppelin songs , such as " Friends " , " Four Sticks " , " No Quarter " , and " Kashmir " . Although " Achilles Last Stand " uses mythological imagery drawn from William Blake 's Albion , the Atlas myth and the Greek hero Achilles , its lyrics centre around the group 's travels during their exile . The title is an ironic reference to Plant 's August 1975 automobile accident , in which he severely injured his ankle , as Achilles was brought down by an arrow to his calcaneal tendon . Plant was unable to walk for a year , and recorded much of '' Presence '' in a wheelchair ; the working title of " Achilles Last Stand " was " The Wheelchair Song " . Group biographer Martin Popoff described Plant 's lyrics : " Achilles Last Stand " opens with Page 's Moroccan-influenced solo guitar arpeggios , which Led Zeppelin biographers have described as haunting and mysterious . Drummer John Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones then establish a driving hard rock rhythm that persists throughout the song . After the long introductory riff is played four times , Plant begins singing . His vocal sections are broken up by brief instrumental passages , and Page adds the first of several overdubbed guitar parts . At 3:42 , the song shifts , and Page plays his first solo . In addition to a change in tempo , the section includes breaks and a switch to 5/4 time , with the rest notated in 4/4 time in the key of E minor with a moderately-fast tempo of 146 beats per minute . When the vocals return , Page adds more guitars . After a brief slide-guitar part , Plant begins an Eastern-influenced scat-style vocal . At 8:25 , Page plays a second solo with more overdubbed parts ; a minute and a half later , the song winds down with chords echoing the opening
London concerts
Earls Court 1975
Achilles Last Stand