# Led Zepplin song about Arwen?



## Roilya (Oct 13, 2003)

ive read the lyrics and have heard the song many times, and i really think it is about Arwen and staying behind, while the others go to the west. what do you all think?


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## Holdwine (Oct 13, 2003)

Estel it might help to name the name of the song so we know which song your talking about


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## Roilya (Oct 13, 2003)

good point 3rd maiar, the song is called stairway to heaven.


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## Holdwine (Oct 13, 2003)

i think the song could be about arwen or maybe even galadriel also in some parts


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## Roilya (Oct 13, 2003)

possibly or it could be about all elves leaving and staying.


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## Holdwine (Oct 13, 2003)

i think so also


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## Ol'gaffer (Oct 14, 2003)

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 closed
With a word she can get what she came for


Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she's buying a stairway to heaven 

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
And you know sometimes words have two meanings
In the tree by the brook there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven 

Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she's buying a stairway to heaven 

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking 

Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she's buying a stairway to heaven 

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 forest will echo with laughter 

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 

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 

Your head is humming and it won't go because you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady can't you hear the wind blow and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind 

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our souls
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she's buying a stairway to heaven 

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 closed
With a word she can get what she came for


And she's buying a stairway to heaven, uh uh uh.


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## GuardianRanger (Oct 14, 2003)

There are two really great threads that discuss this topic that I think you may find enjoyable.

Here is the first and, here is the second.

I know in one of the threads I posted a link to an external site that had further analysis on Led Zep songs.

Enjoy


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## BlackCaptain (Oct 14, 2003)

At first I thought it very well could be Arwen... but then I thought this lady could represent The Ring, most specifically in this verse:

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our souls
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
Woe oh oh oh oh oh
And she's buying a stairway to heaven 

The Ring representing Temptation


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## Roilya (Oct 15, 2003)

ah, i have read the link that guardianranger has posted and i have read your other translation and you have me convinced its about arwen. though it could be about the ring never thought about that. thx cap


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## Captain (Oct 15, 2003)

Sorry guys. Although there are references to LOTR in many of their songs, Stairway to Heaven has little relation to it. Robert Plant himself said that he was high and wrote down random phrases that worked well together. I know this being a big Led Zeppelin and classic rock fan.


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## Aiwendil2 (Oct 15, 2003)

Well . . . I've heard that quote from Robert Plant before, but I can't help thinking that one line - "There's a feeling I get when I look to the west and my spirit is crying for leaving" - must have been influenced by Tolkien. Perhaps it happened subconsciously. But you are undoubtedly right that there are no overt Tolkien references in "Stairway to Heaven" of the sort found in "Ramble On", "Misty Mountain Hop", etc.


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## Lúthien Séregon (Oct 16, 2003)

I thought that the line "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold" most closely resembled a theme in Tolkien's writing, as it seemed to portray Arwen's love for Aragorn.


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## Roilya (Oct 16, 2003)

alot of the lyrics closely resemble tolkiens writing, but some people dont like to admit it.


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## Aiwendil2 (Oct 16, 2003)

> I thought that the line "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold" most closely resembled a theme in Tolkien's writing, as it seemed to portray Arwen's love for Aragorn.



But the play on this phrase in "Stairway to Heaven" is on the original version (from, I think, _The Merchant of Venice_ - though I could be wrong) - "Not all that glitters is gold". Tolkien's trick was to reverse it so that it applies to Aragorn: "All that is gold does not glitter". So if the phrase in "Stairway" is a reference to anything, it would be a reference to Shakespeare rather than to Tolkien. But I think that it's far more likely to be a conscious reference to neither - for the phrase "not all that glitters is gold" has been quoted quite a lot and has come into somewhat widespread use without any specific reference to Shakespeare.


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## KPurpleRainbow (Oct 16, 2003)

"Stairway To Heaven" is a great, great song, and Led Zeppelin are perhaps the greatest rock band of all time. They also mentioned ~Lord Of The Rings~ themes in the song "Ramble On."


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## Captain (Oct 16, 2003)

Ramble On was greatly influenced by Tolkien. I do not doubt that LOTR had some influence on Stairway to Heaven, but it is not wholly about it.


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## Lúthien Séregon (Oct 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by Aiwendil2 _
> *But the play on this phrase in "Stairway to Heaven" is on the original version (from, I think, The Merchant of Venice - though I could be wrong) - "Not all that glitters is gold". Tolkien's trick was to reverse it so that it applies to Aragorn: "All that is gold does not glitter". So if the phrase in "Stairway" is a reference to anything, it would be a reference to Shakespeare rather than to Tolkien. But I think that it's far more likely to be a conscious reference to neither - for the phrase "not all that glitters is gold" has been quoted quite a lot and has come into somewhat widespread use without any specific reference to Shakespeare. *


 

Even if this quote may have been related to Shakespeare, the fact that this sentence is tied in with the lines such as "There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, And my spirit is crying for leaving" suggests a more Tolkienish reference.


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## Roilya (Oct 17, 2003)

im glad your starting to see the truth captain. has anybody tried to translate ramble on?


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## The_Swordmaster (Oct 17, 2003)

The song The Battle of Evermore seems to be about the seige on Minas Tirith.



> Oh the war is common cry, Pick up you swords and fly.
> The sky is filled with good and bad that mortals never know.
> 
> Oh, well, the night is long the beads of time pass slow,
> ...



I think the mortals are refering to men obviously. The long night is refering to when Gandalf says there will be no morning to Pippin in Minas Tirith. Atleast I think he says that. Also he mentions the ring wraiths. They do not have anyting to do with a castle besides in the seige of Minas Tirith.


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## Roilya (Oct 18, 2003)

I think your right swordmaster, good job.


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