It's been 52 years since "Stairway to Heaven" was released by legendary English rock band, Led Zeppelin. Written by the band's vocalist, Robert Plant - the song that runs over 8 minutes in length features Plant's signature poetic style.
The song begins with the first verse, sung over gentle guitar work by the great Jimmy Page:
There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh, ooh, and she’s buying a stairway to heaven
The verse deciphers that in heaven, pursuits of materialism and wealth mean nothing in the afterlife. In heaven, we're all equal no matter where and what we are.
As the verse goes on to the second part:
There’s a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
‘Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
This verse translates to the fact that most of the things we hear or believe aren't exactly what they seem to be, and that our thoughts can be misconstrued to sync with the misleading words of others.
As the song continues, it goes on to be more spiritual
There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
The yearning to look towards another world, a change in environment, to be accepted by those who appreciate and respect you is a need to run away from your problems and worries.
After every verse, the song goes on to say:
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, really makes me wonder
Finally, we reach the climax of the song — a full minute of instrumental breakdown that releases the tension that had been building during the previous six minutes of song
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
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
When he sings of the tune coming to you at last, he sings of unity of yourself with the people around you. This suggests that we are all one and all connected, and to live in harmony is to find the stairway to heaven.
Legacy That Stays
"Stairway to Heaven" is often rated among the greatest rock songs of all time. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine put it at number 31 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and was re-ranked at number 61 in 2021. An article from 29 January 2009 Guitar World magazine rated Jimmy Page's guitar solo at number one in the publication's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos in Rock and Roll History.
Till today, the guitar riff remains a classic and is often played at bars and music sets - with local artists around the world trying to project the best version of this song, both musically and vocally.
With the lyrics and the song being ahead of its time, it really does make us wonder why the world chases only materialism today instead of the simple joy of happiness and contentment.
We live in a paradoxical world and ‘Stairway to Heaven’ brings us back to reality every once in a while.
Definitely my comfort song every time the world decides to be something it's not…
Pooja Patel is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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