Tolkien Gateway

Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven is a song by Led Zeppelin. Some fans consider the lyrics to hold (at least) two references to Tolkien's work. Unlike other interpretations, these are clearly audible when you play the song forward.

[edit] Alleged connections

Led Zeppelin wrote several songs that contained clear references to Tolkien's work - "The Misty Mountain Hop", "Ramble On" (which mentions Gollum and Mordor) and "The Battle of Evermore" (which mentions the Ringwraiths). Since "Stairway to Heaven" appeared on the same album (the unnamed fourth), and is the most popular Led Zeppelin song, references have been read in this as well.

The song opens with the following line:

There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold

Many listeners have taken this to be a reference to the first line of The Riddle of Strider, and the lady is identified as either Arwen (Aragorn's true love), Éowyn (who thinks Aragorn is her true love) or Galadriel ("the Lady we all know").

Later in the song, the lyrics go:

There's a feeling I get when I look to the West
And my spirit is crying for leaving

The "West", in connection to the leaving spirit, here is seen as a reference to the Undying Lands.

[edit] Refutation

The interpretation suffers from weak evidence, and ad hoc interprations. A lot of information has in fact been left out; namely, the rest of the song. If one looks at the entire song, none of the three perceived subjects stands up to scrutiny. In Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga, a biography of the band, the lady is described as a Celtic heroine instead.

The reference to the Riddle of Strider is also thin. It could be just as likely be ascribed to Shakespeare. In Act II, scene vii of The Merchant of Venice, "All that glisters is not gold" appears. This is often misread for "All that glitters", and has been a figure of speech since. Connecting it to Tolkien's line is no more than wishful thinking.

[edit] External links

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