In this connection it makes sense to mention a weird novel by George R. R. Martin, The Armageddon Rag. It’s an occult rock-‘n’-roll apocalyptic countercultural murder mystery. It’s about a legendary 60s band called the Nazgûl, and their lead singer is nicknamed “Hobbit” 'cause he’s a short little guy and the band’s name has a Tolkien theme. The plot revolves around their revival in the 1980s and some very suspicious skullduggery going on underneath it. The story has black magic, the protest movement, satire, sex, and lots and lots of rock-‘n’-roll. This book rocks. Get it.
What about the dwarf?
Just to throw another remarkably brilliant opinion into the cauldron, I think only the following lines of the song are a convincing reference to Tolkein:
“There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.”
This seems quite clearly to be about the elves, perhaps a particular elf, feeling the pull of Valinor in the west. However, the idea of a faerie isle in the west was taken from Celtic mythology (I assume, I think safely). The home of the Tuatha Dannan (gods) is the isle of Tyr Na Og, IIRC.
With the knowledge that westerly migration is an archetypical image, it is quite possible to hear the song as a story in any number of fantastical or realistic settings. The Tolkein references are just that: they use Tolkein’s imagery to make a point beyond Tolkein’s own work.
If I may quote again from the song: “sometimes words have two meanings.”
Oops. Sorry for dredging up a dead thread. Somebody linked to it.
On the other hand, this thread could now be moved to “Comments on Cecil’s Columns”!
Since this has been resurrected, I’ll repeat what I said in CCC.
The whole thing makes more sense if it’s interpreted in terms of Arwen rather that Galadriel.
She’s “buying the stairway to heaven” because her involvement with Aragorn is eventually going to run her into the choice of the children of Elrond.
She’ll be forced to choose mortality, rather than passing into the west.
But at least now we know what the line “If the stores are all closed” referrs to. It’s obviously a reference to the Gap of Rohan!
You guys are thinking too much. 
From the Zep FAQ:
- Robert Plant, on the meaning of “Stairway To Heaven”.
Regarding rolling stones, there is an old saying, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.” Both Tolkien’s and Dylan’s remarks are from it.
Desmostylus, no it doesn’t make any more sense. What stores all closed that Arwen would want to get what she came for from? What signs are on the wall with words that have two meanings? What piper is there calling Arwen to reason?
“All that glitters is gold” is definitely a different sentiment than “All that is gold does not glitter”. The poem in Tolkien with that line is about Aragorn, written and recited by Bilbo, and used by Gandalf to alert Frodo of Strider. It is not used by Arwen.
As far as the lady of light, Wouldn’t that be Glenda the Good Witch of the North? Or how about the unnamed Fairy Godmother of Cinderella? No no no, it’s Princess Leia - who wears white and is the leader of the good guys, and the light side of the force.
Maybe not to you.
If I ever get the opportunity to participate in a “Being Robert Plant” experience a la “Being John Malkovitch”, I’ll let you know.
If the song is about Arwen, then the piper has to be Aragorn. Aragorn is the spearhead of the new age, in which man ascends and the elves diminish. She’s drawn to Aragorn, but the piper’s price has to be paid, i.e., she has to die.
Regardless of who wrote it, it’s about Aragorn. Arwen is the one that fell in love with and married Aragorn.
What you’re doing, Desmostylus, is picking one line in the song that happens to fit Arwen better than any other character in The Lord of the Rings. From this you conclude that the song must therefore be about Arwen, so you arbitrarily force the rest of the song to fit into your interpretation. The problem is that the song as a whole doesn’t seem to have any single consistent interpretation. Sure, pieces of it seem to be about Arwen or Galadriel or Celtic mythology or the Virgin Mary or ritual magic or some superficial woman that Robert Plant once dated or Glenda the Good Witch or whatever. That’s not the real issue. The question we have is whether you can find a consistent interpretation of the whole song. Go back to my post that’s a little more than halfway through the first page of this thread and tell me how your interpretation of the song as being about Arwen can be made to consistently and plausibly be made to answer the questions I have there about the interpretation of the song.
I’ll repeat my first post in this thread:
Not the comparative word more. And it’s not just one arbitrary line that I picked, it’s also the title of the freakin’ song.
Let’s create a measure of sense. An explanation of “Stairway to Heaven” that is completely consistent and explains the entire song is one Cecil. NewUser1’s explanation of the song as referring to Galadriel was worth 1 micro-Cecil. Your explanation of it as referring to Arwen was worth 2 micro-Cecils. Are we supposed to be impressed because your explanation wasn’t quite as incoherent as NewUser1’s was?
I allways thought the song was about some of Page or Plant’s lady friend… (and i still like to think of it that way)
Let’s create an arbitrary and nonsensical measure of interpretive ability. On a scale from Time Cube guy to Lunar Landing Conspiracy, I’d rate you at Grassy Knoll.
If you’re looking for complete consistency, it isn’t there. But that in itself doesn’t form a comprehensive rebuttal.
Complete consistency (or at least halfway consistency) is the entire point. NewUser1’s claim in starting this thread was that he had produced a comprehensive explanation of the song. He didn’t, and in fact he had only explained a tiny part of the song. You have only explained a slightly larger part of the song. I consider the best explanation so far to be the one given by Johnny L. A., where he explains it as being about a shallow woman. It still is only about 20 micro-Cecils, but it’s the best one so far. Until such point as someone gives an explanation of the song that covers most of the lines of the song and does so consistently, I’m going to assume that this song is indeed hippie gibberish.
Not to mention the fact that these lines:
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.
It’s very reminiscent of the The Ainulindalë. The tune that binds all the universe together etc. etc. I think it’s inspired sure, but not entirely all related.
Given that “Stairway to Heaven” was released in 1971 and the Ainulindalë (and the rest of The Silmarillion) was published in 1977, it’s hard to see how the song could have been influenced by the book:
Zombie thread alert. An entertaining zombie thread I hadn’t seen before, but still, a zombie.
And it make me wonder …
There’s a zombie rustling in my hedgerow.