"Other Arms" is a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

song performed by English rock singer

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following the ...

, the first track from his 1983 album ''

The Principle of Moments ''The Principle of Moments'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Robert Plant, formerly of Led Zeppelin. It was Plant's second Top 10 album in the US and UK. It also gave him his first solo Top 40 hit with "Big Log". The most ...

''. It was Plant's first number-one hit on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Top Tracks Classic Vinyl is a Sirius XM Radio channel focusing on classic rock music mostly from the late-1960s to the mid-1970s, with the channel's name meant to indicate that it consists of music that first appeared on vinyl records. This encompasses musi ...

chart.

Details

According to the book ''What'd I Say: The Atlantic Story'',

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

intended to release "Other Arms" as a single, but Plant refused, not wanting to be pigeonholed as a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

artist. Instead, two slower-tempo songs from ''The Principle of Moments'' were released: "

Big Log "Big Log" is a song by English recording artist Robert Plant from his second solo studio album, ''The Principle of Moments'' (1983). It was the first single from the album and became his first Top 40 solo hit, peaking at No. 11 on the UK Singles C ...

" and "

In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition "Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by E ...

". Both became top-ten hits on the Mainstream Rock chart and top-fifty hits on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. 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 "Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for ei ...

" by

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

. The song was written by Plant and guitarist

Robbie Blunt Robert William Blunt (born 4 March 1951) is a rock guitarist who has worked with a variety of bands, most notably with Robert Plant's solo band in the 1980s. Since leaving Plant's band in the mid 1980s, Blunt has provided session work for a numb ...

. The lyrics do not include the song's title; instead the chorus features the repeated line "lay down your arms".

References

1983 songs Robert Plant songs Songs written by Robert Plant Songs written by Robbie Blunt {{1980s-rock-song-stub