#Lyrics led zeplin full#

The message is then addressed to the lady mentioned at the beginning of the song: the winds are changing and it’s time that everyone realises that humanity can really aspire to something better. Our minds are still confused, but the sweet melody of the piper is resounding in our heads, leading us towards spiritual perfection. Moving forward with the lyrics, we arrive at the last verse before the iconic Jimmy Page solo:

#Lyrics led zeplin full#

There are no destinies that have already been written we are all free to make our decisions with full autonomy. But if it’s true that you can find many ways to change yourself, then it is also true that you always have the opportunity to hange your mind and take another path. The bustle in the hedgerow represents our mind, confused by the possibility of this spiritual path, or perhaps simply unprepared for it. This is the reference to May Queen that we mentioned earlier. It’s just a spring-clean for the May Queen Instead of giving this notion any more airtime though, let’s leave the rebuttal to Plant himself: “To me it’s very sad, because ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that’s not my idea of making music.” This really should be enough to put the idea to bed once and for all. It is now that we arrive at the famous verse which, if listened in to reverse, supposedly contains a disturbing invocation of Satan. And those who hesitate and are watchful ( “Those who stand looking”), could be those with a conservative outlook, who disapprove of this kind of spiritual journey because they are imprisoned in societal materialism, unable to look forward. But, just when we least expect it, we will be called to live in peace and harmony, at one with nature and each other ( “And it’s whispered that soon, If we all call the tune / Then the piper will lead us to reason”). Robert Plant wanted to guide us on a sort of spiritual journey, to help improve ourselves and the people around us.

In essence, it is the place where we can remove ourselves from the materialism of contemporary society and turn our attention to the unknown, to the stranger. The West is a clear reference to the idea of purity in the Wild West, which was no longer wild in those days by any means, but is still a representation of adventure, mystery and charm. Moving on, Jimmy Page’s guitar and John Paul Jones’ keyboards embrace us with their ethereal melodies. When you take the lyrics at face value, you can see that the woman is nothing more than an allegory of a greedy, materialistic, arrogant society that believes that everything, including a path to heaven, can be acquired with money alone. According to some, the lady is the Virgin Mary, and Led Zeppelin seem to tacitly confirm this, mentioning the May Queen later in the song, May being traditionally the month dedicated to Mary.īut let’s avoid entering into this kind of debate and read the lyrics for what they really represent. But this notion has an easy counter in the many references to Christianity in the song as a whole.

Who is this ambiguous female figure? Fans of occultist theories have argued that this is a metaphor for an initiation into a new type of Pagan religion an obscure, unknown belief. The narrative begins with one of the most famous arpeggios in the history of music:

And it is that Celtic esotericism and spirituality that truly comes through in the lyrics – no more, no less. Its lyrics are rich with cryptic references to allegories and mysticism, offering far more than the simplistic satanism that many detractors argue is its main theme. Robert Plant wrote the lyrics of course, and he has repeatedly said that he drew inspiration from the works of the Scottish writer Lewis Spence, notably from his book Magic Arts in Celtic Britain. Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin’s immortal masterpiece, is the latter. Then, there are others that transcend music, achieving poetic status and enduring for eternity. There are songs that, once you’ve listened to them, fade away without having any impact.