Led Zeppelin: Stairway To Heaven Meaning

Stairway To Heaven Lyrics

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...

1. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   May 31st 2011 !⃝

   I know because I was there and it was discussed with those who know.....and it's all a bit ridiculous to speculate on this - it's a song - and a beautiful one - hey, if you don't get it - why bother?
   
   Giana Liaci -
2. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   May 23rd 2011 !⃝

   The tool shed mentioned in the backwards recording is a reference to the Aleister Crowley house Jimmy Page lived in at one point. The house was called the Tool House. For those that dont know Aleister Crowley was a big time Satanist in U.K.
3. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   May 4th 2011 !⃝

   It's about a lady who is saving up money to get to heaven... And no matter much money she saved she never got to heaven.
4. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Apr 13th 2011 !⃝

   We have no idea who people are or who they say they are. I happen to have a Doctorate of Theology after three years of seminary which included a BA in Bible (four year undergrad) from a very conservative university.
   
   This song means aboslutely nothing. Lady of Babylon? Satan backward/backmasking?
   
   All you are doing is making it more than what it is.....a song, thought up by a person who has some artistic value back in that day.
   
   What he wears says more about who he is than what he sings. His personal lifestyle comes with the era of that time. The music didn't cause the 60's God is dead theology. Heck to say God is dead is to acknowledge a God that /was/ alive.
   
   So give it a break. I have heard this song for years. I love the sounds that they make and the words that follow do not cause me to fall into the pit of hell.
   
   The only thing as far as I am concerned that would put me in hell and that is refusing to bow to Jesus Christ during your days in this world. Christ died for all and that means you.
   
   That is just a side note because it has NOTHING to do with the song. You who call yourselves Christians are the ones that I write too.
   
   The world needs the love of Christ and people are searching. When I see, hear, or feel the pain of a person who speaks about heaven, I call them 'searchers'.
   
   Don't run the 'searchers/seekers' off with this petty crap about backmasking, ideology of who the 'woman' is who is climbing the stairway to heaven.
   
   Well get your act together you 'conservative Christians' who are more afraid of their own faith being rattled than to reach down to a person who simply sings a song about a stairway to heaven.
   
   Get the picture? It's the love of Christ brings people to Himself.
   
   Nuf' said
5. mnavon

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jan 11th 2011 !⃝

   What turns a piece of art into a classic? What makes a song endure the vicissitudes of time and personal taste such that even after decades it still retains the title of “most-played track in radio history”? Something about the song resonates within all who hear it; nevertheless its deep message has remained sealed to the uninitiated. Indeed, the Zeppelin fan magazine “In the Light” refers to “the epic ‘Stairway to Heaven’, [as a song] the meaning of which is an enduring Zeppelin mystery.”
   
   To unlock the meaning hidden within any esoteric text a key is essential. Looking at the inside drawing of the album cover (see the illustration on wikipedia), the key is revealed. It is a drawing of a lone individual at the bottom of an ominous mountain looking upward questioningly for help, for guidance on her quest. At the top of the mountain stands a looming cloaked figure with a staff in one hand and a lamp in the other - a shepherd, a guide through the darkness of the surrounding night. At the center of the lamp, the source of the light, is a golden star. Yet this is no ordinary star, it is the Star of David - the symbol of the philosophy of ancient Israel.
   
   The song’s lyricist Robert Plant explains the creation of “Stairway to Heaven” as being an almost metaphysical experience: “It was done very quickly. It was a very fluid, unnaturally easy track. There was something pushing it, saying ‘you guys are okay, but if you want to do something timeless, here’s a wedding song for you.’”
   
   The description of “Stairway to Heaven” as a “wedding song” is most enigmatic given that the song has nothing to do with wedding songs - traditional or otherwise. However, by applying the Kabbalistic metaphor of “wedding”, used to depict the union of man and God, the description is demystified. Spiritually striving man is represented in feminine form in that she receives from God. God, as the absolute source of all, is represented in masculine form in that He gives to humanity. As will be developed, “Stairway to Heaven” tells the story of “a lady” - mankind fulfilling its spirituality - climbing heavenward to unite with her Creator. As such, it is most appropriate that the visionary of this song referred to it as “a wedding song”.
   
   For a full, verse by verse, interpretation based on mystical thought see:
   http://www.divreinavon.com/stairway.htm.
6. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Jan 2nd 2011 !⃝

   actually it is a prediction about 2012...
   jk... actually it's really easy to put backwords meanings in to songs... ::: record a message - play it backwords - find a sentance that kinda sounds like what your hearing. -
   
   the seconed line is played loud forward on the track, the original is played backwords at a lower volume... and there you go you have a backwards message
   
   there are other tricks too that can make it sound clearer but thats basically it...
   the cure for writers block
   
   i think backwords messages are stupid though
7. anonymous

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Nov 23rd 2010 !⃝

   And as we wind on down the road
   -(As we go through life)
   
   Our shadows taller than our soul
   -(Our evils besting the good within)
   
   There walk a lady we all know
   -(A familiar outlook or feeling)
   
   Who shines white light and wants to show
   -(False happiness)
   
   How everything still turns to gold
   -(You need money to be "happy")
   
   And if you listen very hard
   -(If you ignore the illusions)
   
   The tune will come to you at last
   -(You'll soon come to know true happiness)
   
   When all are one and one is all
   -(When everything finally makes sense to you)
   
   To be a rock and not to roll
   -(You'll have found your place in the universe)
8. Godspeed

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 16th 2010 !⃝

   Fact these guys are satanists and into Allister Crowley / Page bought his castle in England now, don't get on my case I did an extensive study and you can see it on youtube - their lads worshiped or still worship satan, and it's about death and committing suicide - if you play this backwards you can clearly hear what plant is singing about, his lord "SATAN" and if you think I am nuts check out Illuminati, Bilderbergs, NWO and how they produce this crap so that kids get hooked...I tell you the truth and know there will be many who won't believe but do your homework on these people and abnds and you will be shocked - cheeers
9. sydferret

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5

   click a star to vote

   Aug 16th 2010 !⃝

   I heard this too many times on FM radio to be objective about how I loathe it.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
10. chocoholic_chic92

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Aug 8th 2010 !⃝

    How can anybody say this song has no meaning? Obviously since Led Zeppelin wrote it there is no hidden meaning for them. But to us there kind of is. Every song has a meaning, that is why songs are written. To portray a message. If they don't do that, what is the point of the song? Is it even a song if it doesn't evoke some sort of mood or feeling in a person? This song does, however.
    
    There are obvious double meanings, allegories, metaphors, what you will. It's down to personal interpretation at this stage. The lyrics are genius and there are so many references to other things in there that nobody can say that the song has no point. It was a very carefully thought out song, although there are rumours of it being devil-inspired and also God-inspired. As a lyric writer myself, I know that a song like that cannot be written for no reason. No one will know the true meaning behind each word and phrase but the authors.
11. Tyler77

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Jul 20th 2010 !⃝

    The most interesting thing about this discussion is that it shows very clearly how people see what they want to see.
    
    Religious types think there is some message about Jesus and Christianity or Satan ( trust me guys, Led Zeppelin were a British rock band - they would not give a flying f&%k about Christianity, which we in Britain regard as being ... well, for really gullible people). It is a well known fact that American Christians see Satan everywhere... This merely shows how their lives are ruled by fear of an imaginary being. It was Christianity that created Satan.
    
    When Christianity became the dominant religion, the imagery of the preceding religion (paganism) was used to represent Satan. This is why Satan appears as a half-man, half goat. This image is actually Pan the Piper, a pagan god of the forest and music. Hence the confusion amongst the under-educated. Satan in the Bible is much more connected with the image of the serpent; the connection with Pan was invented much later to destroy the older religion.
    
    The song is full of pagan imagery, and NOT Christian/Satanic imagery. Page was a follower of occultist Aleister Crowley, but Crowley was in reality a joker who was making fun of people for believing in such nonsense as Satanism; he was a student of the occult who had realised there was money to be made from exploiting the gullible, nothing more. His extensive studies of religion and symbolism simply made him rather convincing; but his alleged Satanism was just a money-making scam.
    
    As an aside, logically if you believe in God, you also believe in Satan; therefore belief in Satan implies a belief in God. An interesting paradox, particularly to those of us whose minds have developed beyond childish fairy tales.
    
    Further, and this is more relevant to the song, the idea that getting into Heaven is a reward for being good, implies that people should be good out of self-interest (i.e. To get into Heaven you must be good, so being good becomes a matter of selfishness rather than being done out of selfless love).
    
    This theme relates to the idea of buying a stairway to heaven.
    
    The backmasking discussion is a complete red herring. As a recording engineer, I can tell you that if you play any song backwards, you will often hear what appear to be words. This is an illusion of the perceptual system.
    
    Secondly on this point, your unconscious has no way of reversing any message in this way and so it would be undetectable - and thus pointless.
    
    The lady who is sure all that glitters is gold, is the image of a superficial person who is swayed by surface appearances. 'Buying a stairway to heaven' is a metaphor for gullible people being sold false ideas. Clearly you cannot buy a stairway to heaven; anyone selling a stairway to heaven is by definition a charlatan and a fraud. There may well be here a reference to the empty promises of leaders of all stripes, political and religious.
    
    'When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for'
    Assuming of course that heaven has stores, and that these stores have closing times, and that the power of money she enjoys on earth operates the same way in heaven. This is making fun of the narrow mindset of the rich and religious, who believe the whole universe operates the same way as their little town.
    
    'In the tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings, sometimes all of our thoughts are misgivings.'
    Misgivings are distrustful or doubtful thoughts; the tree, brook and songbird are introducing the imagery of nature.
    
    'There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure, because you know sometimes words have two meanings'. This is the lady carefully reading a contract, anxious to ensure that her stairway to heaven is legally enforceable once she has paid for it. Again making fun of the idea of 'buying' a 'stairway to heaven'.
    
    The rest of the song deals with the consequences and pitfalls of believing in the stairway to heaven, and basically worrying about the details of the contract for this completely fictitious entity. It is therefore a comment on religion, which essentially does the same thing; makes a totally false promise, and then distracts the believers with nit-picking over the exact terms of this contract for an invented reward that is plainly a scam and a lie.
12. LeesburgFLAtheist

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 29th 2010 !⃝

    I dont have an interpretation for this song. I think it's all just beautiful poetry. I wish all these stupid bible thumper christians trying to shove their religious dogmatic beliefs down everyones throats about what they are reading into the song, would leave.
    
    Christians will always read into something what they want it to mean to them and with them they always got to put their religion into everything, especially with their threats of eternal hell damnation and their obsession with satan. This is another way they make up lies, they dont care if what they are saying is right or not they have one goal in mind and thats trying to convert people into their way of thinking anyway they can.
13. leen101

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    May 19th 2010 !⃝

    I don't know what's wrong with all you people. Has anyone ever just listened and loved the music ....just for the hell of it? IT'S MUSIC!! That's all. No one really cares why it was written. Yes there were drugs,but you know what? Those were the very best songs ever penned,sang,resang,borrowed,etc. So stop complaining and just enjoy. That's what they were created for.
14. anonymous

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Apr 25th 2010 !⃝

    Hmm, it seems to slip the minds of many that this song was written by twenty year olds (around), who did drugs. Ironic, right? Also, all the great music from big bands (Rolling Stones, The Beatles [members too], Pink Floyd etc) came earlier in their lives. Maybe children are smarter than adults. Or I'm just delusional.
15. miclinin

    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5

    click a star to vote

    Mar 29th 2010 !⃝

    This song was 30 years ago! is Robert Plant even religious?
    
    It is about what he says it is about! It is a great song to listen to; high on acid, stoned, drunk, tipsy, or even sober?!
    
    It is whatever those guys did when they sang it! You guys need to chill and love the art of music...

Latest Articles

• 
  A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park
• 
  Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable
• 
  Dolly, we need you
• 
  The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media
• 
  The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s
• 
  Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)