Zep's Stairway and Tolkien

[Morgul Queen]

*grins* Why do you think I love the Nightfall in Middle-earth album so much?

Time Stands Still (At The Iron Hill) is very good. But while we're on the subject, Pink Floyd has at least one Tolkien referance, but I can't remember the song.

Ah well, there's nothing for it. *grabs Echoes and starts listening while her mother yell for her to 'Turn That Racket Down!'*

[Lalwendë]

I've had to go and get my copy of Led Zep 'bible' Hammer of the Gods (title drawn from the masterpiece Immigrant Song)by Stephen Davis, to copy a quote; Tolkien is not mentioned as an inspiration for the song, although Plant appears to have been reading much mythology at the time. The book says:

Robert had been pouring through the works of the British antiquarian Lewis Spence. He later cited Spence's "Magic Arts in Celtic Britain" as one of the sources for the lyrics to "Stairway".

The interesting thing is that so many people associate the song with Tolkien, I always did until I read that passage, and still do - that kind of idea doesn't go away easily. Jimmy Page apparently said that Plant wrote most of the lyrics "on the spot" - so they must have a stream of consciousness quality about them.

Anyway, here is a quote from the author of the book that 'Downers might like:

Stairway to Heaven seemed like an invitation to abandon the new traditions and follow the old gods. It expressed an ineffable yearning for spiritual transformation deep in the hearts of the generation for which it was intended.

Strangely, this expresses my feelings about reading Tolkien!

[Bêthberry]

*comes walking out of the land of ice and snow and takes her tongue out of her cheek*

What would be the reason for Zep to use the Tolkien allusions? I mean, what are the similarities between his world and vision and that of the pounding sound of Led Zep? Or are they just tapping into some kind of northern heroic ideal, guy-type stuff?

Edit: I mean, other than a use of very vague allegorical references which ignore some of the more contemporary allusions which Tolkien would likely not condone. What I am getting at, in a very inellegant way, is, is there anything specific to Tolkien about the allusions or are they just similar images out of a celtic past? I am trying to distinguish between, say, fantasy and Tolkien fantasy.

[InklingElf]

I apologize for being so abrupt but I would think Led Zepp would be one of the numerous bands in the 60s-70s that was influenced by Tolkien so it is natural for their lyrics to have references to his books no matter how vague the explanation for such a reference to exist within the song.

Someone mentioned "Battle of Evermore" -- I think this song is more into this "fantasy motif" than "Stairway to Heaven" and in my opinion my opinion is probably a little ode to Mr.Tolkien and his own genre of fantasy.

[Lalwendë]

What would be the reason for Zep to use the Tolkien allusions? I mean, what are the similarities between his world and vision and that of the pounding sound of Led Zep? Or are they just tapping into some kind of northern heroic ideal, guy-type stuff?

I think, in the case of Led Zep, the latter of your statements does seem to fit the bill the best. Although I have read that Plant had a dual personality: on the one hand he was the archetypal testosterone fuelled rock star, but on the other, he had a deep interest in the 'mystic' and spiritual. He was quite possibly tempered by the influence of Page.

It's not surprising that they picked up on Tolkien as a source of imagery and inspiration, as his popularity was taking off at that time. Couple this with the hippy movement and a greater interest in spiritual matters, and hence old and celtic literature, and it's clear where so many artists took their influences from. Led Zep were not alone, Marc Bolan was also a Tolkien fan, as was John Lennon. No doubt more can be added.

I don't think many of the allusions are specific to Tolkien - it seemed to be a time when artists were taking influences from all over the place as far as fantasy and mythology are concerned. A good example of an image in popular culture which drew on multiple ideas was the hermit depicted inside the sleeve of Led Zeppelin IV - on one level, it is Gandalf, or is it an elf? It is also the Hermit of the tarot, and I have heard others say it is Merlin.

[Nimrodel_9]

Yes, much of it does sound like something an Elf or Frodo might say.