# Meaning of Stairway to Heaven **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 28, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784 "2007-06-28T16:33:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DebbiefromNY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@DebbiefromNY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DebbiefromNY)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/1 "2007-06-28T16:33:44Z")
The American Pie article mentioned Stairway to Heaven and how no one knows the song’s meaning…it’s simple. Stairway to Heaven is about shopping: There’s a lady who knows all that glitters is gold and she’s buying the stairway to heaven ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/2 "2007-06-28T17:30:59Z")
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, **DebbiefromNY**! In case you did not know, Uncle Cecil did address this issue in a later article. You can read it here:[What’s the story behind Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven?”.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030425.html) The article you were referencing was, of course, [What is Don McLean’s song “American Pie” all about?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_398b.html). As a rule, we ask that posters starting threads about a column include a link to the column in their initial post, which can be done easily by cutting and pasting the url link from your browser’s address field into the message. This helps everyone stay on the same page with you. Unfortunately, the comment on this column link doesn’t do it automatically. ☹ Once again, welcome, look around, and enjoy your visit; we hope you like it enough to stay. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/3 "2007-06-28T18:36:09Z")
[QUOTE=DebbiefromNY] The American Pie article mentioned Stairway to Heaven and how no one knows the song’s meaning…it’s simple. Stairway to Heaven is about shopping: There’s a lady who knows all that glitters is gold and she’s buying the stairway to heaven [/QUOTE] Welcome to the boards. Here are the full lyrics (chorus left out to save space): > [@](#): > > 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 There are a couple of references to shopping (sign on the wall?), but at more to fantasy, especially Tolkien. Combined with the direct Tolkien references in other songs (Misty Mountain Hop etc), I think this is much more likely. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/4 "2007-06-28T20:23:51Z")
Glee, I have edited your post to remove most of the copyrighted lyrics. In the future please do not reproduce the complete lyrics of any copyrighted song, or more than a short snippet. It’s acceptable to provide a link to the lyrics, which are easy enough to find online. bibliophage moderator CCC ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/5 "2007-06-28T20:35:30Z")
Sorry! :o I was concentrating on the fantasy references, and messed up. It won’t happen again. [here are the lyrics](http://www.brave.com/bo/lyrics/stairhea.htm) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/6 "2007-06-28T21:35:46Z")
[QUOTE=glee] Combined with the direct Tolkien references in other songs (Misty Mountain Hop etc), I think this is much more likely. [/QUOTE] From “Ramble On”: In the darkest depths of Mordor I knew a girl so fair But Gollum and the evil one Crept up and slipped away with her That’s about as direct as they come, if a bit oblique. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2007, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-stairway-to-heaven/409784/7 "2007-06-30T13:58:31Z")
Here are three threads in which we discussed this song: > **[Stairway to Heaven IS Tolkien related!! (LONG)](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=126556)** > > Since its release in 1971, the meaning of Stairway to Heaven has been to subject to one of the greatest debates in the history of mankind. Now it is solved… 😃 Many people have alleged that Stairway to Heaven is not about the Tolkien book The Lord... > **[Stairway to Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=179677)** > > Geez, Cecil, how could you write a whole column about “Stairway to Heaven” and not mention this thread, which contains everything you need to know about the song?: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=126556 As soon as the... > **[Meaning of Stairway to Heaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=329088)** > > http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030425.html The song would seem to be about Mother Mary, the Mother of Christ, let me walk you through it, see if you might see my proclivity to believe such. Stairway to Heaven. There’s a lady who’s sure All... “Stairway to Heaven” is about a lot of things. It’s about _The Lord of the Rings_, Celtic mythology, ritual magic, the Virgin Mary, and superficial women who spend too much time shopping. Maybe it’s also about all the drugs that Robert Plant was doing at the time he made up the words. It’s poetry. Maybe it’s not very good poetry, but like poetry it doesn’t have any single interpretation.