Actually, I like Parton’s version FAR better than Led Zeppelin’s. Parton clarifies the lyrics and turns it into a potent neo-gospel cautionary tale that would be comfortable at some roadside revival in the 1930s.
Well, I do know my 70’s rock and it’s not much of a song IMHO. Of course I think Led Zep was and still is one of the most overrated bands of all time.
While I do think Led Zeppelin was one of the greatest bands of all time, especially with John Bonham–perhaps the most soulful rock drummer ever–behind the kit, Page on the fretboard, and John Paul Jones securing the bottom end (the bass line of “Ramble On” is on my all-time rock favorites list)… And Plant’s take-it-or-leave-it voice, which I actually think works well in the context of Zep.
Anyhow, that caveat aside, I do not understand the adulation for Stairway to Heaven. I much prefered “Black Dog,” “When The Levee Breaks,” “Going to California,” and even “Misty Mountain Hop” to Stairway on that album.
Like “Freebird,” “Stairway to Heaven” is just one of those rock classics that I don’t understand the iconic appeal of.
Well, I know a lot about '70s rock, and I agree with GuanoLad. It’s dreck, and always has been. Plant’s hippy pseudo-philosophical lyrics set to a guitar riff Page couldn’t find a home for combined to make up one last song for a recording session - in a word, filler. Everything else on that album is better, and “Kashmir” (Physical Graffitti) to me is the best LedZep song.
And has anyone looked to see how many threads on this board have discussed this subject? There’s got to be at least half a dozen by now.
Clearly, the song means that the dance is about to end and if you don’t have the guts to ask that guy for a dance by now, your chance is officially OVER.
OR - if you did actually gather the guts and are now dancing with the said guy, you have another 10 minutes or so to hope he’ll try to kiss you.
Or so I’ve heard.
Are there better Zep songs? sure. Is Stairway over-rated? definately
Are the lyrics stupid? kinda.
Was I a Zep fan? no
Is it easy to make fun of and cool to dis? yes.
When did Rumsfeld start posting here?
I was a HUGE Zep fan in the late 70’s & early 80’s. I always thought Stairway was overrated and preferred Whole Lotta Love, Kashmir, Levee, even Dyer Maker.
[hijack] I saw Ann McCue in concert a coupel weeks ago and I gotta say, this gal studied her Jimmy Page. She’s hot on the slide guitar.
If “Stairway to Heaven” is a great song, it’s great precisely because it doesn’t have any single clear meaning. It can be taken as being about a superficial woman that Plant once dated, or about something in The Lord of the Rings, or about Celtic mythology, or about occult magic, or about the Virgin Mary (that was a great, hopelessly strained attempt to explain the song, KingJehu), or about various other things. If it had a single clear meaning, it wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. There are lots of better places to learn about superficial women, or Tolkien, or Celtic mythology, or occult magic, or the Virgin Mary. In so far as “Stairway to Heaven” is great or even just good, it’s because it has no single meaning.
Terri Gross asked Robert Plant what the song was about on “Fresh Aire.” His reply - “I was just thinking about organic stuff really - it isn’t really about anything.” So, there you have it, straight from the horse’s ass - the song isn’t about anything.
She also asked him what his favorite version was, and I seem to recall that he liked Tiny Tim’s version the best.