Zep's Stairway and Tolkien

[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!