Led Zeppelin: Stairway To Heaven Meaning
Stairway To Heaven Lyrics
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...
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Or you could just let me explain.
it could be about drugs
in some parts
yeah
BUT>>>> what it is,
is the story of a girl
stuck between two paths.
and she's choosing the wrong one in the eyes of the writer.
i believe this song is about a girl that he couldn't have
because she loved someone else
she liked him, she even had "relations" with him
but she chose the other guy
the one she loved.
"There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven"
she's attracted to the other guy because he's flashy
he's rich, and attractive
but the writer believes this is just a front. That he's just the "piper" that he is leading her away.
Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
He belives that he is the best choice. That only he can love her. She's looking for love "heaven" and she thinks that "The road she's on" will lead her there.
but he'll wait for her, "there's always time to change the road your on"
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow?
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
he may be quieter and less flashy but he can be her heaven, the road he's on is her stairway.
she's trying to buy a "stairway to heaven" the path of love cannot be bought
he thinks its obvious that the guy she wants is no good for her its like a sign on the wall
There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have
Two meanings
it makes him wonder how she can want him more, why can't she see/; "Ooh, it makes me wonder "
he feels that in the end. She may never see him at all. He wants out before he gets hurt
There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west
And my spirit is crying
For leaving
he hopes that in the end his persistance will pay off and his life will be good.
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will
Echo with laughter
but he wouldn't love her if she was any different even though it hurts to love such a person
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 truth will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
i can interpret every other lyric in the song but my fingers are getting tired :/
basically, we write songs and sometimes we don't know what the meanings are because we needed to get it out, we just didn't know what it was we were bottling up.
much like dreams. . . . . . -
Great song and there should be room for multiple interpretations.
I would like to say Page, Plant, and the rest of Led Zep were great musicians for years, so any argument about the length of time to write the song, I consider void. After all, Einstein came up with E=mc^2 after a train ride.
I leave room for more interpretation.
Basically, the woman is going to church on Sunday, mostly because stores are (were) closed on Sunday. And she is buying her way to heaven on the cheap, by saying she “believes” as opposed to donating a little money (or doing a little good) “because she wants to be sure” that she is getting her monies worth.
The fact that you can always just say that you “believe” and then get into heaven without doing any good along the journey…”It makes me wonder”.
“Our shadows” (i.e. what we accomplish, contributed, influenced, efforts to do good…our legacy) “are taller” (more significant) “than our souls” (what is in our hearts at the moment or what we say “I believe”).
In other words, what we do is more important than what we say. It is what you do that is important.
“It makes my wonder” why so many say that just by declaring that you “believe”, you can buy your way into heaven. -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
-
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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It's about the struggle between the physical/greedy/real world vs. The spiritual world.
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The song begins by saying:
"There’s a lady whose 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."
This first stanza can mean that even though the world is ugly and dirty (sin, violence, crime) there are still some things that glitter like gold (religion, peace, tolerance). When she speaks a word to get what she came for (in this case the "gold") she is presumably praying, or the act of speaking out for her beliefs. When she "buys a stairway to heaven" she is not actually looking for a cheap way to God, but rather is finding a way to make the world a better place, to shine more like gold. She can do this through religion (God, or any other deity that the listener can interpret), through peace and tolerance, speaking out "with a word", through random acts of kindness, etc.
"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 is a songbird who sings:
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven."
This stanza sums up all of our interpretations by saying that there is no particular one interpretation. rather, there is a meaning behind the song (with "a sign on the wall") but we have to be sure what it says in our interpretations, because "sometimes words have two meanings." We are warned not to over-analyze the song though, because "sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven."
"Theres 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 standing looking"
Religiously speaking, Jesus Christ is said to come from the eastern sky when the world ends, so many people would think east is to west as Jesus is to Satan, and so here we see a classic example of a possible religious meaning. However, to many early Americans, Manifest Destiny was the belief that the U.S. was destined to spread to the Pacific Ocean, (which was located in the west). So, when "[we] get a feeling when [we] look to the west/ and [our] spirit[s] [are] crying for leaving" we believe that we must strive to be free. Free from the ugliness of the world, so we can reach the gold. And as the world burns, as seen with "rings of smoke through the trees" we stand and watch what we have done, listening to "the voices of those who stand looking."
"And it’s whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter"
"the piper" who "will lead us to reason" can be God, any other spiritual deity, or even any idea that would lead us to make the choice each day to lead a healthy, beneficial life for the good of the world, to make it "shine like gold". "...for those who stand long", the song says, "a new day will dawn" which means that those who perservere in the world and "stand long" will see a new day dawn. One that is bright and joyous, like gold. When "the forests... echo with laughter" we will finally be at peace with the world. Religiously speaking, we will be praising and worshiping in Heaven.
"If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow,
Don’t be alarmed now,
Its just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by but in the long run
Theres still time to change the road you’re on."
"the May Queen" can again be any spiritual force, being, or idea that acts upon us and the world. So "if there's a bustle in you hedgerow (your hedgerow being your life) don't be alarmed now" because that spiritual force is acting in your life to clean it up, making you a new person, so you can make the world a better place. But although the may queen has acted in your life, you still have a choice: "yes there are two paths you can go by". But if you're not on the right path, "There's still time to change the road you're on."
"Your head is humming and it won’t go,
In case you don’t know:
The pipers calling you to join him."
Even though you may be in total chaos right now, like "your head is humming", just listen to your heart (the Piper) because "the piper's calling you to join him". Follow your heart and you will find peace, love, and joy.
"Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know:
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind."
Once again, your heart is calling you, but can you hear it? "Can you hear the wind blow"? Listen to hear it, because "your stairway (answer) lies on the whispering wind (your heart)".
"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, yeah, to be a rock and not to roll."
As we go on with our lives, "wind[ing] on down the road" we realize that we have sinned, so "our shadows [are] taller than our souls." However, we must look to see the "lady we all know" because she is the example. She "shines white light and wants to show [us] how everything [can] still turn to gold." However, "if you listen very hard, the tune (answer to finding peace, love, and joy in this world) will come to you at last." It is only then that you will realize what it means "to be a rock and not to roll" or, someone who stands by and does nothing to make the world a better place.
"And she’s buying a stairway… to heaven."
The song is summed up in this last line at the end of the song when it is said "she's buying (or finding) a stairway (or a way, path, or answer) to heaven (or a better world filled with peace, love, and pure joy for everyone)". -
Ok, I just want to say before I submit my interpretation that I am in no way religious but I have studied many religions and religious practices in great detail. Also I believe that music, like any art, is open to personal interpretation. There are no right or wrong interpretations, because even the artists themselves do not know the True message sometimes.
Ill start of by saying that I do not believe the "piper" is Jesus as several others have said. I will instead post a passage from the bible and let you make your own judgement.
God to Lucifer...
"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." [Ezekiel 28:13]**A tabret is a small drum and a pipe is well a flute**
The bible teaches that God created Lucifer as the celestial composer of music, with celestial pipes; the piper. The Piper could also be a reference to Pan, the greek god of the forest. He was half man, half goat. The image of Pan was used as by the church in the medieval period as the image of Lucifer.
Ok now to the lyrics....
------
^Theres a lady whos sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.^
There is a person(presumably a woman)who believes all that appears to be is so (The gold is not literal). She is buying a Stairway to Heaven, not with money, but with her actions and the way she lives her life.
^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 closed stores are basically the doors of life, or the things she has given up in order to remain in good standing with god. But with a word, or prayer, she can get what she came for, which is her gods blessing.
^Theres a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.^
The sign on the wall is the Bible or the "word of god". Apparently she has read something that disapproves of what she is doing in life. Even though the bible clearly says it is wrong, she is having doubt and she is thinking that maybe "the words have two meanings."
^In a tree by the brook
Theres a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder.^
She realizes that she has missed out on so much and begins to have second thoughts about her beliefs. And maybe that her time and thoughts were "misgiven"
^Theres a feeling I get
When I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.^
Here the song shifts from the "Lady" to the Narrator, or the singer. At its roots Christianity was a religion of the East, the Western Religions were the Pagan Religions. His spirit is crying for leaving the ways of old.
^In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.^
The rings of smoke are from the chimney as he walks back to his home, returning back "to the west". And he hears the voices of those who stand looking (the gods or god and lucifer)
^And its whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.^
If we all call the tune(find the meaning to the song) Then the piper (Pan) will lead us to reason(Absolute Truth)
^And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.^
A new day will dawn for those who stand long (the gods)
^If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Dont be alarmed now,
Its just a spring clean for the may queen.^
The Narrator, or singer, is now talking to the Lady from the beginning of the song. A "bustle in your hedgerow" is a way of saying she is menstruating, coming of age(not literally, but it shows that she is coming of age in a spiritual sense, so now she can make her own decisions about religion.)
^Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
Theres still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder.^
The Path of Christianity or the path of the Occult. Even though she had chose Christianity it isn't too late to change her path.
^Your head is humming and it won't go
In case you don't know,
The pipers calling you to join him^
Her head is humming because she has a decision to make, and the piper (pan) is calling her to join him.
^Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.^
Her past life of Christianity is gone, blown away with the wind so to say.
^And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.^
As our lives go on our image is more valued by society than what we think.
^There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How evrything still turns to gold.^
The lady walks on and shows how no matter what decision you make, life still goes on.
^And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.^
Like I said earlier all you have to do is listen and you will find your meaning of the song.
^When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.^
When everyone stands strong in their devotion regardless of what others think of them. -
Stairway to Heaven is about what the title says it is - a stairway to heaven. This song was referred to by Robert Plant as a "wedding song" which, in the mystical terminology of the kabbalah, refers to the union of man and his Creator in Heaven. The song goes on to describe "a Lady" making her spiritual journey. Interestingly, mystical literature refers to mankind as a lady in respect to the Creator. For a complete explanation see: http://www.divreinavon.com/stairway.htm
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I would say that it's not so much about organized religion as it is about blind faith in religion and/or anything else in life. It has more to do with the society of that time, in that some people were "outstanding citizens" with a "good protestant work ethic." On the other side, there was the counterculture. I see "Stairway" as a call to the other side, much like "Break on Through," for Morrison. This counter cultural experience is filled with the philosophy of FREEDOM, and that's the very essence of the song at it's core. John Lennon's quote from Working Class Hero comes to mind initially. "Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV, and you think you're so clever and classless and free, but you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see." That statement oozes similarity to Plant's line, "your stairway lies on the whispering wind!" Overall, Plant was like "hey, you can do what they tell you or you can (conincidentally) 'do as thou wilst.'" This doesn't necessarily stand against religion in general at all. In fact, centuries before Aleister Crowley was born, St. Augustine of Hippy, er Hippo (Freudian slip) said "Love God and Do As Thou Wilst!" This song just reinforces the fact that "the truth will set you free," which is true no matter what belief system you subscribe to. It's also a subtle "you're right on" to the kids of that day who were trying to figure out what the world was like, and whether or not they were really gonna "go to hell" for something like smokin' Mary Jane or thinking a certain way politically, or having different opinions than those of your parents' generation. It was a song of hope for them, and the song remains the same for the youth of our day, and that's why it's timeless. No backmasking, no drug references, no satanic influence, just a deep song about freedom.
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Plant wrote this lyrics in a moment of trance. He felt something just wrote the lyrics for him. I guess he had smoked somthing not so good stuff. He had now idea that if you played this song backwards it would contained hidden messages. he said he was shocked when he hard it. But I guess Plant do not understand 100 percent of its meaning either.
Compare with White shade of pale that absolutely noone nows what it is about
this song might have hiden mesages but Plant was not aware of. -
Im a religious person and i have no illusions that this song is about satan or whatever. i infact that the "lady" in the song is tithing and she thinks that will get into heaven. In the part of the song where it says "sometimes words have two meanings", i think that is a parable which the bible has plenty of those.
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Ill just take it line by line and skip out the portions that really don't mean anything such as"ooh ooh she's buying a stairway...", I may occasionally stop for expanded explanation
"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold"
Theres a lady who thinks all that's good is money
"and she's buying a stairway to heaven"
and she's trying to reach heaven
"When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for. "
when she's there she won't need money
"There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings."
the message is staring her in the face but is sometimes hard to decipher
"In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven."
sometimes we sin
the songbird could be many things, but is likely some sort of messenger, most likely the bible. However it could also be people who spread the word of god or a particular agent of god, this much is unclear. In any case, the tree and the brook are of no signifigance
"There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving. "
I long for heaven
"In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking."
I have seen the signs of heaven. I see those who see the signs with me.
"And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason"
If we all join with god then he will lead us where we need to go.
"And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter."
And the people who stand by god will be happy
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen. "
if you are persecuted, do not be afraid, all will be well in the end.
"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on. "
there are two paths (one to heaven and one not) but there still hope for you to change your ways.
"Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him,"
you don't know which way to go, but god calls you his way
"Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind. "
can you hear god telling you the way to heaven? the way is through god
"And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul. "
as we go through life, our sins more than we can account for
"There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold."
the lady still thinks all that is good is money
"And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last."
Every tongue will praise god
"When all are one and one is all "
They shall praise him with one voice
"To be a rock and not to roll."
he is our foundation and will not fail
"And she's buying a stairway to heaven"
And the lady is reaching heaven -
This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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As someone who has been both religious and agnostic, my interpretation of the song is an anti-religious theme.
"Buying a stairway to heaven" refers to tithing, but also the Catholic church, who would accept payment to have sins forgiven. "There's still time to change the road you're on"
refers to taking a path away from religion, and the "Piper will lead us to reason", may very well be Satan or possibly someone else of influence. May Day was once banned by the Christians in early England. The May Queen refers to May Day. (Not sure how this figures into the song though!)
Wikipedia is a good source of information for May Queen and the song's interpretation!
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