Expert: Chris M. Zangara - 4/14/2004

Question
hello, my name is ryan and i was wondering where i can find an in depth analysis of stairway to heaven by led zeppelin.  if you could give me a website where i might find such an analysis or if you have one of your own.  i am looking for an analysis of pretty much every line if not every 2 lines at a time.  if you could help me that would be great thanks
Ryan

Answer
Hello Ryan.  Here's my analysis of the lyrics, as I know them from quotes form band members and fan club fans from around the world.  After that, please continue reading on more info about the song.   Thanks.

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold.
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
And when she gets there she knows if the stores are all closed.
With a word she can get what she came for.
(Over confidence, she thinks she can have anything at any time.  Pretentiousness.)

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure.
Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook there's a songbird who sings. Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
(Self explanatory.  Be careful what you wish for…)

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west.
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
(Longing for freedom. A life free of material things..  Longing for spiritual perfection..)
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees.
And the voices of those who stand looking.
(Not sure – a Tolkien reference.  Smoke means peace and pipe smoking. But there are those who stand looking who just don't get it.)

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune.
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long.
And the forests will echo with laughter.
(Follow your heart and it will lead to your destiny..)

And it makes me wonder.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow don't be alarmed now.
It's just a spring clean for the may-queen.
("What it is, it's the beginning of Spring, it's when the birds make their nests, when hope and the New Year begins. And it's nothing to do with any of that weird stuff you read about in America!"  Robert Plant. Meaning if the bushes are rustling, don't worry, it's the new wind of spring.  The May queen.)

Yes there are two paths you can go by.
But in the long run.
There's still time to change the road you're on.
(Self explanatory.  No matter what road you choose, there's always time for you to change it.)

Your head is humming and it won't go - in case you don't know.
The piper's calling you to join him.
(The wanting to give up a life of hardship and follow your heart.  The Piper. The music.)
Dear lady can you hear the wind blow.
And did you know your stairway lies on the whispering wind.
(The redemption of the lady who thought all was hers to begin with.  The realization that life is fleeting and you better get your shit together and care for others as well.)



And as we wind on down the road.
Our shadows taller than our soul.
(The past is stronger than the present.)

There walks a lady we all know.
Who shines white light and wants to show.
How everything still turns to gold.
(We all can have anything we want if we try hard enough.)

And if you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last.
(Stop and listen to your heart for the answers to the trials of your life.)

When all are one and one is all.
(We are all one.)

To be a rock and not to roll.
(To stand tall and not run away.)

And she's buying the stairway to heaven.






STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN:

Regarding the meaning of the song. Well, there's no specific meaning. The song was written for that purpose.

Before the song became the most requested song on radio history (this record has never been broken, even 34 years to this day..) housewives were requesting the song while they waited for their husbands to come home from work.

The song was requested for weddings and funerals alike.

Robert Plant once stated that the song was "...a women's quest for spiritual perfection" and ".. a simple wedding song"

Jimmy Page said, more sincerely, that the song has whatever meaning the listener wants to put to it. It was a song of hope.

Jimmy credits Roberts lyrics while Plant credits Jimmy's magical folk to rock guitar playing. It's obvious that the song inspired everyone in Led Zeppelin at the time.

Notable lines include "If there's a bussel in your hedgerow.." A bussell in your hedgerow refers to the beginning of spring. When the flora and animals, etc wake up and are new and refreshed after the winter.

After the tragedy that Zeppelin experienced during their career, especially Robert Plant (Robert and his wife Maureen were nearly killed in a car accident in 1975. She suffered a fractured skull and pelvis and
Robert's ankle was crushed. He had to walk for almost a mile before a fruit truck picked him up and pretty much saved his family. He wouldn't walk again for 6 months. In 1979 his son had died from a respiratory
infection & in 1980 his childhood friend John Bonham had died and Zeppelin came to an end.)

After that, it was over for Robert Plant. He refused to sing any Zeppelin songs while touring to promote his solo work. Eventually, in the late 80's and early 90's he came around and accepted his past. He performed
some Zeppelin songs in concert but NEVER touched Stairway To Heaven. It would be a kind of sacrilege to play the song without the full band..and Bonham was dead. Robert has said continuously that Stairway is not his favorite Zeppelin song. It is Kashmir. It's taken much compromise with Plant to even get it done during the Live Aid and Atlantic 88 reunions.

Jimmy Page felt the same. Although he describes Stairway as his favorite(along with Kashmir), he will not play it without, at least, Robert Plant on vocal. He as played the song in his solo concerts but
only as an instrumental with the audience filling in for Robert. Some very emotional
moments there.

In 1994 on Japanese television Jimmy Page and Robert Plant played a shortened live version of Stairway To Heaven before a shocked crowd and talk show hosts.

Page and Plant went out to sit on 2 stools and asked the audience for any requests. One shouted "Babe I'm Going To Leave You." Agreed. But Jimmy Page himself surprised everyone, especially Robert Plant, by strumming the opening riff of Stairway To Heaven. From there on, the song took shape and a short but magical version was performed. A truly wonderful moment.



LYRICS:

Many of Plant's lyrics stem from old American blues to ancient English and Greek mythology but mostly in the form of legend. Achilles Last Stand mentions the Mighty Arms of Atlas but the song is actually about the call of the road, meaning touring as Led Zeppelin and also hints at the world travels of Robert when not on tour..

Again, Plant drops references here and there, but there is no complete song about a particular figure in mythology. Immigrant Song is Zeppelin putting themselves in the form of Vikings. Over The Hills and Ramble On have Lord Of The Rings references which are fictional of course. A lot of the songs have references to the English countryside and the Welsh plains where Plant and Page grew up as lads. A lot of old Scottish wars happened there. A lot of history. But nothing can really be pinned down as mythological in Zeps tunes. They wrote mainly about where they were and the feelings they had at a certain point in time. Hence the incredible variety of the band.

Stairway To Heaven was recorded at Headly Grange in England.  Most of the 4th Album was recorded there.

Headly Grange was a huge, hundred year old mansion that was cold and drafty and had limited privileges. It was perfect.

Stairway was literally recorded in front of a roaring fireplace with Robert Plant & Jimmy Page sitting cross-legged on the floor. Jimmy came in with the intro intact. After a small while of "humming" from Plant, Robert starting to write the lyrics right then and there.

"Something was moving my pen..." he has been quoted to say on many an interview.

Jimmy Page admitted that Robert "...had come up with 90% of the lyrics right there on the spot! We were all stunned..."

The song broke the rules of traditional music recordings of the day as it actually "sped up" as the song went along. It was also much longer than the usual "radio friendly" 2-minute format. And it was a true
tour-DE-force in that not only did the tempo speed up, but the emotion grew throughout the songs acoustic beginning, the intro of John Bonham's percussion, and the final part where, not only, the band plays at full
force, but Jimmy Page carved his name into rock and roll history with the, still, best rated guitar solo of all time.

Jimmy Page, again, was the first and only KING of 'light and shade.'

For most solos, Page would lay down 3 different solos while alone in the studio. He would pick the best out of the 3 and that was it.  No 50-100 takes that most bands, even today, still do.

Jimmy chose the first take. He was using his old Telecaster guitar that he hadn't played since the later days of the Yardbirds and the first few months with Led Zeppelin.

The song evolved from there and many actual rehearsal tapes have surfaced in the past year that really reveal the makings of this classic. (If you would like a copy of some Zep rehearsals, let me know.)

John Paul Jones was present at the living room presentation by Page with his intro guitar part to Stairway. He thought that the keyboards, with an Old English flute & strings section, would better suit the folkish
instrumental much better than a simple bass guitar. (JPJ always said the keyboards were his "main" instrument. He was playing the piano as a child long before he took up the bass guitar. He was essential in orchestrating many Led Zeppelin songs including Kashmir and The Rain Song.)



Hope this helped.
Chris.