Other Arms

"Other Arms"
Japanese release picture sleeve
Song by Robert Plant
from the album The Principle of Moments
Released	1983
Genre	Rock
Length	4:20
Label	Es Paranza
Songwriters	Robbie Blunt Robert Plant

"Other Arms" is a rock song performed by the English rock singer Robert Plant, the first track from his 1983 album The Principle of Moments. It was Plant's first number-one hit on the Billboard Top Tracks chart.

Details

According to the book What'd I Say: The Atlantic Story, Atlantic Records intended to release "Other Arms" as a single, but Plant refused, not wanting to be pigeonholed as a hard rock artist.^[1] Instead, two slower-tempo songs from The Principle of Moments were released: "Big Log" and "In the Mood". Both became top-ten hits on the Mainstream Rock chart and top-fifty hits on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2] Despite not being released as a single, "Other Arms" became a number-one hit on the Mainstream Rock chart. It reached the number-one spot on August 13, 1983, ending the 9-week chart-topping run of "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.^[3]

The song was written by Plant and guitarist Robbie Blunt.^[4] The lyrics do not include the song's title; instead the chorus features the repeated line "lay down your arms".^[5]

References

1. Ertegun, Ahmet M. (2001). What'd I Say: The Atlantic Story. Welcome Rain Publishers. p. 385. ISBN 1-56649-048-0.
2. "Robert Plant: Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
3. Whitburn, Joel (February 1, 2003). Joel Whitburn's rock tracks. Record Research Inc. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-89820-153-6. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
4. DeGagne, Mike. "Robert Plant: The Principle of Moments". allmusic. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
5. Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (April 1, 2002). All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and soul (3rd ed.). Backbeat Books. p. 866. ISBN 978-0-87930-653-3. Retrieved December 3, 2010.