Led Zeppelins "Stairway to heaven", what's it all mean?

Question

nothing to do with stair lifts, is it!

Answer 1

Check it out at Wikipedia for the Full Story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_heaven

Answer 2

There are many mythological references to a stairway to Heaven. The idea of an "ascension" by a ladder, tree, bridge or rope is widespread throughout world mythology. The title itself comes from the Bible's description of Jacob's Ladder: Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the Earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12

The many cryptic references in the song have inspired various proposals on possible allusions within Stairway to Heaven. One line, "In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees", could be a reference to William Wordsworth's poem Tintern Abbey: "...and wreaths of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!" And the lines "There's a feeling I get when I look to the west / And my spirit is crying for leaving" may be a reference to the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, specifically to the departure of the Elves from Middle-earth for the immortal land in the West.[citation needed] All that glitters is gold is a reversal of the common saying All that glitters is not gold. In addition, the "All that glitters is gold" line could be another Tolkien reference - there is a poem about Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings with the line "All that is gold does not glitter." Also refering to this book, the lyrics mention "a lady we all know /Who shines white light and wants to show", which could possibly be related to Galadriel as she possesed the "light"(Earendil).

Answer 3

The lyrics speak for themselves. It's a song which claims it's possible to buy ones way into Heaven. The music,I think, is quite mesmerizing and hypnotic -even beautiful and perhaps addictive- yet it carries a very dangerous message.

Answer 4

"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock group Led Zeppelin released in December 1971 on their fourth studio album, Led Zeppelin IV .It is widely considered to be one of the greatest rock songs of all time and is often cited as the most played song on FM radio stations in the United States, despite never being released as a single.

There are many mythological references to a stairway to Heaven. The idea of an "ascension" by a ladder, tree, bridge or rope is widespread throughout world mythology. The title itself comes from the Bible's description of Jacob's Ladder: Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the Earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. Genesis 28:12

The first attempts at lyrics, written by Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant next to an evening log fire at Headley Grange, were partly spontaneously improvised and Page claimed, "a huge percentage of the lyrics were written there and then". Jimmy Page was strumming the chords and Robert Plant had a pencil and paper. Plant later said that suddenly, "my hand was writing out the words, 'There's a lady is sure ,all that glitters is gold, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven'. I just sat there and looked at them and almost leapt out of my seat." Plant's own explanation of the lyrics was that it concerned "a woman getting everything she wanted without giving anything back". The lyrical inspiration came to Plant by his search for spiritual perfection and a key influence was the book Magic Arts in Celtic Britain by Lewis Spence, which Plant had recently read; it contained references to May Queens, pipers, and "bustling hedgerows."

The many cryptic references in the song have inspired various proposals on possible allusions within Stairway to Heaven. One line, "In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees", could be a reference to William Wordsworth's poem Tintern Abbey: "...and wreaths of smoke / Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!" And the lines "There's a feeling I get when I look to the west / And my spirit is crying for leaving" may be a reference to the Elves in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, specifically to the departure of the Elves from Middle-earth for the immortal land in the West. All that glitters is gold is a reversal of the common saying All that glitters is not gold. In addition, the "All that glitters is gold" line could be another Tolkien reference - there is a poem about Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings with the line "All that is gold does not glitter." Also refering to this book, the lyrics mention "a lady we all know /Who shines white light and wants to show", which could possibly be related to Galadriel as she possesed the "light"(Earendil).

Answer 5

This is about a woman who accumulates money, but finds out the hard way her life had no meaning and will not get her into heaven.

Answer 6

Per song Facts: This is about a woman who accumulates money, but finds out the hard way her life had no meaning and will not get her into heaven.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Answer 7

I was going to go into my own ideas about the song, but why should I, just listen to it and go with it. It means whatever you want it to.

The Mighty Zeppelin

Answer 8

Gobs of cash for Zep

Answer 9

Drugs are Bad Mmmmm K

Answer 10

It means the writers (Jimmy Page, music - Robert Plant, lyrics) were geniuses.