“Stairway to Heaven” is one of Led Zeppelin’s most famous recordings, with many considering it the greatest rock song of all time. It tells the story of a greedy woman who is overly optimistic about her unpromising future.
The song resonated with young listeners, opening up a door to a different re...
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
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, ooh-ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven
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
[Chorus]
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, makes me wonder
[Verse 2]
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
[Chorus]
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, really makes me wonder
[Verse 3]
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
[Chorus]
Oh-oh-oh-oh-woah
[Verse 4]
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
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
[Chorus]
And it makes me wonder
Oh, woah
[Verse 5]
Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow? And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind? Oh
[Guitar Solo]
[Bridge]
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
[Outro]
And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven was written by Robert Plant & Jimmy Page.
Stairway to Heaven was produced by Jimmy Page.
Led Zeppelin released Stairway to Heaven on Mon Nov 08 1971.
Jimmy Page started writing the music in May 1970. Robert Plant wrote 80% of the lyrics a few weeks later. Recording for the song began in December, and finished in the New Year.
Jimmy Page stated that:
[The song] crystallized the essence of the band. It had everything there and showed us at our best. It was a milestone. Every musician wants to do something of lasting quality, something which will hold up for a long time. We did it with ‘Stairway.’
He later told Rolling St...
Page found the typeface in an old arts and crafts magazine called The Studio, dated late 19th Century.
He just found it interesting and arranged for someone to create a whole alphabet.
In a March 2018 interview with the Australian talk show The Project, Robert Plant said the conjecture around “Stairway To Heaven” is “hysterical” due to the abstract nature of the song, adding “I didn’t think anything was going to be that big.”
Plant also revealed that back in the ‘70s he could nev...
Rolling Stone ranked it as Led Zeppelin’s #2 song, saying:
The signature power ballad on Led Zeppelin IV towers over Seventies rock like a monolith. From the Elizabethan ambience of its acoustic introduction to Plant’s lyrical mysticism to Page’s spiraling solo, the eight-minute song is a masterpie...