The meaning of Stairway To Heaven?

[journey]

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.

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.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

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.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

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.

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.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can 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 soul.
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.

And she's buying a stairway to heaven.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've been trying to figure out what this song is about. It seems to have a mixture of meaning. Like, part of it seems to be about following a dream. It also sounds like it could be about death or drug addiction. I'm clueless about the meaning to be honest. And, who is this lady we all know? She believes all that glitters is gold. Does that mean she's naive or superficial?

Does anyone have any guesses about the meaning?

[Mattman]

I've always thought that the true meaning of a song is in the listener's interpretation of it.  For me, "Stairway To Heaven" is indelibly linked with Lord of the Rings, because I first read the book and heard the song at the same time, so they kind of got linked in that regard.  Zeppelin always had those quasi-mystical lyrics, and with lines like "the piper will lead us to reason" and "the forests will echo with laughter", and references to "the lady who shines white light", I always associate "Stairway To Heaven" with Frodo's journey in The Lord of the Rings.

[Skeba]

For what I can tell from the lyrics is this.

The lady in the beginning of the song could be just about anyone, you, me, anyone. She lives by material values and is trying to "buy a stairway to heaven". Let it be by drugs, materia, whatever.

The next verse I think is how sometimes words by our leaders, let them be religious or political are wrongly interpreted by other people, and then "force fed" to masses in order to gain personal advange.

The verse about the "And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune Then the piper will lead us to reason..." is, I think, a reference to Jesus' second coming. There's another thing later on to support this idea that the Piper is Jesus, when the piper is mentioned again.

I think the end is about how everyone of us will die one day, and the lady mentioned in the song. Well let's call her god.

If you look at the lyrics in that light, you'll get the idea of how I view the song.
But then again.. That's only how I see it.

[Danny Top Hat]

I just think it's a nice, positive, uplifting song.  I think the lady wanted to "buy" a stairway to heaven for the reasons Skeba gave but, as it says, when she gets there she realises that she doesn't need money and life is beautiful, blah blah fishcakes.  At the end of the song we see her again and, because she's figured this out, she now shines a white light, and wants to show us how everything turns to gold (again with the life is beautiful, etc...).

The rest of the song is mainly just full of lovely (and I mean really lovely) messages that more people should take heed of.  "It may see like a problem but chill out, life is great."

This stanza is the best example there (the last two lines of which being some of my favourite lryics ever), but in general a lot of the song follows that pattern.  Is there a problem?  Nah, everything great!

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.

[Dizzy]

According to Robert Plant, it's "a bunch of words which sounded good over a complex piece of music."  That's a direct quote.

[LeftToDecay]

According to Robert Plant, it's "a bunch of words which sounded good over a complex piece of music."? That's a direct quote.

I think Led Zep, and specially Plant, are among those who..eh, (over)react to this whole "play it backwards and it tells you to worship Satan!!" -controwersy...In their own way.
There are lots and lots of interviews from members of Led zep that really..downplay the lyrics  and alleged meaning(s) of them.
Lots of statements  like "ehh, i wrote them in 2 mins in my bedroom, and can you place sublimal messages in something you write in few minutes? Nah!Fuck them!"

What do you people think about it, btw? The Stairway to heaven backwards-thing I mean?

I firmly believe 99% of the "sublimal messages in rock" -bs is paranoid  delusion created by fundamentalistic christian dorks OR stuff put there tongue in cheek just to fuck with fundamentalistic christian dorks.
.But good old stairway..IMO it certainly might have something in it.

Considering how huge fan of occultism Robert Plant is..and how much he adores Aleister Crowley (He paid shitloads of cash to move to Crowley's old house..And isn't it an actual FACT, NOT just a rumor that he owns 2nd largest collection of Crowley's writings in the world?)it is very easy to believe that he placed a semi-hidden  tribute to his er, idol within Stairway.

Internet is full of more or less biased info about the entire matter.

It's a shame that, whatever the truth may be, none of this is horribly exiting. These days every self respecting black metal band announces that they suck Satan's cock or something along those lines. Nothing terribly...dangerous or "new" in a 20 year old alleged hidden message:)
 

[Wheres Izzy]

I went to catholic school and had long hair so in the 6th grade we had dress down day and I worse a zeppelin shirt with the last part of the lyrics on it. According to the video they made me watch in the guidance couselors office it means you should worship satan.

[Oddy]

those backward things are stupid.........you make of it what you want to hear.

no completely clear words are formed. its just you hear something that sounds like certain words or wateva

[Dave_Rose]

If you play the song backwards it has satanic messages there was a website where you could listen to it but it was taken any one else heard it backwards

[Izzy]

Every popular 70's rock song was labelled as about Satan Who cares if it was/is?

[kj_jive]

According to Robert Plant, it's "a bunch of words which sounded good over a complex piece of music."? That's a direct quote.

Considering how huge fan of occultism Robert Plant is..and how much he adores Aleister Crowley (He paid shitloads of cash to move to Crowley's old house..And isn't it an actual FACT, NOT just a rumor that he owns 2nd largest collection of Crowley's writings in the world?)it is very easy to believe that he placed a semi-hidden? tribute to his er, idol within Stairway.

That was Jimmy Page my man

[LeftToDecay]

According to Robert Plant, it's "a bunch of words which sounded good over a complex piece of music."? That's a direct quote.

Considering how huge fan of occultism Robert Plant is..and how much he adores Aleister Crowley (He paid shitloads of cash to move to Crowley's old house..And isn't it an actual FACT, NOT just a rumor that he owns 2nd largest collection of Crowley's writings in the world?)it is very easy to believe that he placed a semi-hidden? tribute to his er, idol within Stairway.

That was Jimmy Page my man

Oops!Fuck up with a capital F. You can start throwing rocks at me now.

[slave2thegrind]

those backward things are stupid.........you make of it what you want to hear.

no completely clear words are formed. its just you hear something that sounds like certain words or wateva

I agree with you...it's just coincidences and stuff like that.  What artist is really gone sit there and write a secret message when the song is played backword?

[ppbebe]

According to Robert Plant, it's "a bunch of words which sounded good over a complex piece of music."? That's a direct quote.

Considering how huge fan of occultism Robert Plant is..and how much he adores Aleister Crowley (He paid shitloads of cash to move to Crowley's old house..And isn't it an actual FACT, NOT just a rumor that he owns 2nd largest collection of Crowley's writings in the world?)it is very easy to believe that he placed a semi-hidden? tribute to his er, idol within Stairway.

That was Jimmy Page my man

Jimmy Page! He's the heart of ZEP.

I?ve read?a few books bout "The Golden Dawn" that's not that evil. I think its like Yoda thing at that time. Supernatural things always attract people.
As you might recall, there was a time when witches were flying about and UFOs floating in the sky. Memories?

Man, these lyrics are so fuckin tremendously awe-inspiring.

I think this song is about us. This tune is the music we?re longing for. The stairway to heaven is good deeds to fulfil the heaven?s will, all the effort and blood sweat and tears to create something from nothing. To turn things Gold is alchemy to realise a dream that seems impossible to others. The lady is GNR.
Then, you see, every meaning is dead clear now!

Where there is a will, there is a way, the Stairway.
Believe it like the innocent: Faith will move mountains.

Satanic message? Naaa.. I don?t think so.

(Edit to make a smiley work.)

[Dave_Rose]

http://www3.telus.net/jefmil/stairwaybackwards.htm here u go the song backwards

[Butch Français]

meaning...?

from the Primus DVD, Brown Album section: There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is BROWN!

[Slashly]

I read once in an interview (dont ask me were, I dont remenber) that  they (the members from Led Zeppelin) dont know what is thgat song about.They were so fucked up with drugs, the song seems nonsense to me.But it seems, indeed, to have some link with The Lord Of The Rings.






Baby Slash//

[Mama Kin]

"Back in the 70's if you played you records backwards, you could hear messages from Satan. Now, they're subliminal. Nice to see Satan is keeping up with all our technological advances here on Earth....if you ever sat around and played your records backwards, you ARE Satan" Bill Hicks

"Arrreeegggggooooaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggoooo, did you hear that? Satan is Lord? Satan is Lord?" Bill Hicks

[Gunner80]

According to Robert Plant, it's "a bunch of words which sounded good over a complex piece of music."  That's a direct quote.

That sounds about right.







Live and Let Die, Motherfuckers!

[rampageous_cuss]

It?s partly true to say that anyone can project his own meanings into the song, and undoubtedly Robert Plant assembled the lyrics in order to meet the demands of the tune!? Nevertheless I think ?Stairway to Heaven? has a comprehensible message:? worldly values are misleading; we must commit ourselves to an awareness of reality; the world of nature offers us clues.

? The first stanza tells us that there are people who accept the values of the world, believing that life?s ideal is a commodity that can be purchased.
? In the second stanza we learn that such people are vaguely aware that marketing is misleading; the natural world reminds us that we often deceive ourselves.
? In the third stanza the narrator describes his unhappiness with the world as it is and imagines a community of those seeking alternatives.
? The fourth stanza refers to the possibility of achieving a utopian condition.? ?The piper? seems to me to be most likely the pied piper, and there is some contradiction between ?if we all call the tune? and ?the piper will lead us.?? This would imply that enlightenment through politics is an illusion.
? The fifth stanza states that we should not fear the mysteries of nature; while we may sometimes go wrong we always have the ability to redirect ourselves.
? The sixth stanza points out that we are bewildered, but that while we are subject to external demands, awareness of reality should tell us that commodified values are illusory.
? The seventh stanza suggests that we grow older without finding enlightenment and the blandishments of commercialization beset us; however enlightenment can be achieved by paying attention to reality and understanding the unity of being; you must be firm and not at the mercy of external influences.
? The song ends with a reminder that the belief that apotheosis can be achieved through worldly values is false.

Robert Plant is supposed to have been reading a book on British magic at the time the song was written: certainly he had a strong interest in the occult.? The broad themes of dissatisfaction with the world, rejection of commercialization, and a belief that the natural world offers us messages about true value are consistent with the concerns of the time.

It?s unrealistic to expect enlightenment from the jingles of balladeers.? Nevertheless I think that music is often a kind of river for the subconscious, and sometimes allows creative minds to achieve a truer awareness than verbal rationality can produce!