Instrumentation for the song is spare, consisting of a strummed twelve-string acoustic guitar, with overdubbed mandolin and steel guitar fills; percussion and bass are absent from much of the song until the instrumental outro. According to Page, "And right at the end, where everything opens up, I played a dulcimer." He also plays the bass heard at the conclusion: "I was doing a bunch of overdubs and got excited. John Paul Jones went home, so I put the bass part on it as well! [laughs That didn't happen often, believe me!"