Since its debut, in 1971, the great classic rock song stairway to heaven’s meaning has been debated by rock enthusiast around the world. What is the true meaning of the lyrics? Or if you have an educated guess on the meaning, i’d really like to hear it.
Understanding ‘Stairway to Heaven’
The Definitive Interpretation of Rock’s Definitive Bombast
By Michael Klassen
http://www.thinkcap.com/pop/zeppelin.shtml
“blah blah blah”… and of course “BLAH!”
thread closed…
administrator
(if there is a god, of course)
It’s a hodgepodge of references to various elements of Celtic mythology. The guy who wrote it (the lead singer- er, was it Robert Plant?) was obsessed with Celtic mythology. Hence the runes and weird imagery on their album covers.
Or it’s about Satan. But isn’t everything?
Why would you want the thread closed? Curious…
Guess you’re right, rastahomie, but I wonder if there’s not some Hobbit/LOTR stuff in there, too. Or maybe that’s just other LZ songs. It’s early here, and I’m not deep into my coffee.
You are kidding, right? Please tell me that that site’s just a joke, and no one really believes that.
waterj2 - the site itself says it’s a parody, don’t worry.
I remember listening to a fundie christian “analyze” the lyrics about 20 years ago. (Strangely enough he thought backward masking was bull feathers. He thought there was enough evil in the standard lyrics…)
As soon as he blathered about the fact that it was obviously satanic since he “looked to the West,” where we all know Hell is, since Heaven is to the North, I knew he was a crank. Anyone who tries to analyze STH but does not realize that Avalon (from Arthur’s legend) and Aman (from Tolkien) are in the West, have not done enough homework to pay attention to.
The song took on an entirely different meaning a few weeks ago when I heard a story on NPR. There is a choir made up of 70-80 year olds who redo rock songs. An old person singing STH makes it take on an almost literal intreptation.
Oh, for some reason when I first clicked on it, only the page with the interpretation came up, not the one with the explanation as well. And for some reason, it was in a normal window, not a pop-up one. Odd.
[hijack]I think the biggest hidden meaning is the correct pronunciation and true meaning of the title D’yer Maker. Bonus points to anyone who knows.[/hijack]
As for the pseudo celtic and Tolkienesque meanings a friend and I had a deep discussion about this. If you’re an adolescent male growing up in the united states (preferably with a mullet 'do) you’ll understand that it’s all completely self evident. If you aren’t you won’t get it and never will.
Sheesh, I don’t know why I left this thread here so long. Off you go!
D’yer Maker means Jamaica Padeye, right?
“D’yer Mak’er” is supposed to sound like “Jamaica,” spoken with a thick Cockney accent. It comes from an ancient British vaudeville (music hall) comedy routine.
Cockney vaudevillian #1: “Me wife took a cruise to one o’ them tropical islands.”
Cockney 2: “D’yer mak’er?” (He’s trying to say “Jamaica,” but with his accent, it sounds like “Did you make her?”)
Cockney 1: “Naw, she went of her own free will.”
(Rimshot.)
The song was recorded in 1973, and was one of the first rock songs to show the influence of Jamaican reggae- hence the name.
As for “Stairway,” well, look… I’m 40, so I was in high school in the 70s. And at the time, I took rock lyrics mighty seriously. I was convinced that the lyrics of Yes, Led Zeppelin, King Crimson and ELP held profound meanings, if I could only figure them out.
Well, that was before I ever got to hear the members of those bands talk. Indeed, it’s precisely because I’ve heard the likes of Robert Plant (and Jon Anderson, Robert Fripp, Greg Lake et al.) try to speak profoundly on important issue that I eventually found “This Is Spinal Tap” so hilarious! Robert Plant is a nice enough guy, but he’s no more a serious poet or intellectual than Nigel Tufnel!
My guess is, if Robert Plant told you what it meant (assuming he had any memory of writing it- they smoked a lot of weed in those days), you’d be disappointed. Trust me-as long as you don’t know what it means, you can at least PRETEND it’s deep (rather than a load of cannabis-inspired nonsense).