Home
Jottler

News

Led Zeppelin and Lord of The Rings - Rockers and Tolkien Fans

December 19, 2003
Submitted By Halbarad_Dunadan

Comment on This  Email to a Friend  Digg This

I'm sure many of you have noticed that some of Led Zeppelins songs have LOTR references. With such lines as "Gollum, the evil one" and "The Ringwraiths ride in black" its hard to deny that at least some of their songs were LOTR inspried.

But which ones? Many people point at Stairway To Heaven. With its references to "looking to the west" and such it seems a likely choice. However the band has denied any connection between Stairway to Heaven and LOTR.

Obviously the song "Ramble On" is very much LOTR inspired. With a little imagination its not hard to interpret it as Frodo's journey to Mordor. "Leaves are falling all around, its time I was on my way. But still I'm much obliged, such a pleasent stay" this seems to refer to Lothlorien. It doesn't take much to see that this is very much a LOTR song.

The Battle of Evermore is clearly a LOTR song. It includes references to the Nazgul among other things. Many believe this song to be about the battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Next on our list of possible Zeppelin LOTR songs is an obvious choice: Misty Mountain Hop. The very name seems to scream out Middle Earth. However upon closer examination, it seems that this song is most definately not about LOTR. Its rather about hippies, the 60's ect.

What else is there? Over the Hills and Far Away. The meaning of this song is rather unclear as to its meaning. However it can be interpreted as Sam speaking of travel and adventure. However, it's up to the reader to decide what they think of this one.

An interesting note is which of the band members were Tolkien fans. We know for a fact that Robert Plant was, he not only wrote the lyrics but named his dog Strider. Many people assume that Jimmy Page was as well. And with his interest in magic and mythology its not too hard to believe that. There is, however, no evidence that the other two members of the band were Tolkien fans.

So there you have it. I hope that I have been informative and not too long winded. For more information about Led Zeppelin I recommend www.led-zeppelin.com there you can read the lyrics and judge for yourself whether they were inspired by Middle Earth or not.

Comment on This  Email to a Friend  Digg This


Reader Comments

   (Add a Comment)

... 29 Comments

  1. The only one I'd ever heard concerning LotR was Stairway to Heaven, and that's the one they say isn't? Hmm... but, not only do they mention 'look to the west,' they make a small reference to smoke rings, and... well, I guess the band knows best, but it goes to show you how little you really know.

    Comment by Ms_Gamgee_89 - December 20, 2003 @ 7:32 AM

  2. That's kinda cool! There's a song by The All-American Rejects that I think is a song about LOTR. It's called "Too Far Gone". The lyrics seem to talk about alot of the characters. It's a very beautiful song. Take a listen sometime!

    Comment by *Evenstar - December 20, 2003 @ 1:33 PM

  3. Interesting, but somewhat obvious, and certainly open for personal interpretation.

    I wish you'd explored more of this idea instead of simply giving us a "here's what we might know" overview, since all it proves is that we don't know very much at all (I'd have to ask the band members themselves for the whole truth, as you suggest).

    Comment by North - December 20, 2003 @ 8:15 PM

  4. Whats that stuff the elves produce - Lemlas or something? Give me some of that.

    Comment by shaldir - December 22, 2003 @ 7:00 PM

  5. went to dublin and found many lotr fans. i got 2 teenage kids, (13 and 16) both big maiden fans. got them to point depot, didnt want to go in with them, got many leather clad dudes who were able and willing to take them in, and look after them.We got talking about Tolkien. The 13 year old got stopped at the first gate, but we found a Gimli charachter who took him in on his shoulders.
    Me and hub went and had a good night in dublin. Kids had a somewhat ok night listening to IM!

    Comment by shaldir - December 22, 2003 @ 7:18 PM

  6. i know you've heard it all before, but i dont know how to do this! how do i reply to previous postings?

    Comment by shaldir - December 22, 2003 @ 7:39 PM


  7. hi

    Comment by bombadil12 - January 17, 2004 @ 7:52 PM

  8. I always thought the "Rain Song" on Houses of the Holy was inspired by the Eowyn/Faramir romance.

    The song compares different seasons to love and dispair and it always reminded me of Eowyn's winter passing and the sun shining on her.

    Comment by tangerine - January 22, 2004 @ 9:57 PM

  9. really? I was sure stairway to heaven was lotr related, especially the part where it says she thinks all that glitters is gold. Very much like the poem about Aragorn.:

    All that is gold does not glitter,
    not all those who wander are lost,
    the old that is strong does not wither,
    deep roots are not reached by the frost.

    On this topic, one of my dad's friends read lotr because he wanted to know what one of his favourite bands were talking about I commend Led Zeppelin for turning him to LOTR.

    Comment by tar_ancalime - March 19, 2004 @ 12:29 PM

  10. I've always thought the song "Friends" was LOTR inspired. just me though

    "I can't stop, keep on climbing, looking for what I knew."

    And the title of it just fits as that is how they were successful, through friendship and trust.

    Comment by oro - May 7, 2004 @ 9:56 AM

  11. Yes, I heard about Gollum and the Ringwraiths in their songs. My Dad said.

    Comment by IrishElf* - July 2, 2004 @ 12:31 PM

  12. read the lyrics of kashmir and try to move beyond the subtle meanings. u'll understand what im talking about

    Comment by gorgoroth - December 9, 2004 @ 9:09 AM

  13. I have to say i believe this song was in part written about the hobbitt. It seems to me the lyrics are about the dwarves visitng Bilbo before they set of on their journey. And yes it certainly is a hippy song as Plant was a very much a hippy character.

    Comment by Riggers - December 18, 2004 @ 2:54 AM

  14. i really think you're looking to hard. if you look at a lot of songs, you can relate them to the themes in LOTR, they're basic humanity themes.

    the songs that DO have LOTR references don't make the entire song about LOTR. The Battle of Evermore is not about pellenor feilds. In fact, they never wrote an entire song about LOTR.

    I can speak for myself in saying i reference LOTR in all kinds of things in my life, some are silly, and some are serious. but they're just references. Zep were fans of the books, so when they would dig in their 'big bag of inspriation' to write a song, LOTR showed up sometimes.

    They are also not the only musicians to ever reference the books, there's actually quite a few.

    i suggest everybody heading to the All Things Led Zep thread in music, lots of interesting stuff there, and it goes into deeper explaination of the songs in question.

    Comment by RohanCricket - February 3, 2005 @ 3:09 PM

  15. What about "No Quarter"?

    Comment by Tashia - November 10, 2009 @ 7:08 AM

  16. What about "No Quarter"?

    Comment by Tashia - November 10, 2009 @ 7:19 AM

  17. What about "No Quarter"?

    Comment by Tashia - November 10, 2009 @ 7:27 AM

  18. What about "No Quarter"?

    Comment by Tashia - November 10, 2009 @ 7:27 AM

  19. What about "No Quarter"?

    Comment by Tashia - November 10, 2009 @ 7:27 AM

  20. Immigrant Song is about invasion of orcs. Why don't you mention this?

    Comment by helmik - February 22, 2010 @ 9:27 AM

  21. Let's see...there seem to be so many...I always thought that about Stairway To Heaven also hmmmm...then there's Ramble On, Misty Mountain Hop, No Quarter, Over The Hills And Far Away, Houses Of The Holy, Immigrant Song, Rain Song, Too Far Gone, The Battle Of Evermore...did I forget any? I'm sure there's more, I'll have to go back through my discs and listen to them all. Anyway which ever ones are or are not LOTR inspired they are all fantastic songs and need I say both Led Zeppelin and LOTR rock!!!

    Comment by Dan - June 20, 2010 @ 5:27 AM

  22. "Ramble On" mentions Mordor directly.

    Comment by Mya - July 28, 2010 @ 12:45 PM

  23. No quarter was not about lotr. It was about midevil times when the vikings would gove no quarter other armys. they would kill an entire army and not take them in.

    Comment by LOTR Fan - September 16, 2010 @ 3:41 PM

  24. Immogrant song is not about LOTR either. It is about the invasion of the Vikings from Scandanavia (Midnight suns, hot springs, land of ice & snow). Britain would have been the Western shore

    Comment by Matthew - December 17, 2010 @ 7:55 AM

  25. As an avid LotR and Zeppelin fan this post calls to me. Yes, the band was probably Tolkien fans. But like any other musical band, they needed inspiration for their lyrics. With the depiction of the band members "symbols" on their album, also leads us to believe that they had an interest in astrology and mythology. So when looking for inspiration, the band went to mythology references, and LotR references. Yes, some of their songs make an absolute reference to Middle Earth, but isn't is the same as making the conclusion that Britney Spears was a huge Titanic fan because she made a "I thought the old lady threw it in the ocean at the end" statement at the end of her music video, "Oops I Did It Again". Same difference.

    But, as mentioned before, I am a HUGE Zeppelin fan, and even more of LotR, so connecting these two together would just be awesome, but it's really all just lyrics. References to something else in lyrics. What musician doesnt do that?

    Comment by JustAFan - December 18, 2010 @ 7:14 PM

  26. Misty mountain top is said in one of the LOTR movies.
    listen for it."We must pass the m isty mountain top" or something like that.

    Comment by a zep fan - February 26, 2011 @ 2:40 PM

  27. "Immigrant Song" seems to describe the fall of Numenor. The Numenorians sail to Valhalla (Valinor)."Our only goal will be the western shore/Valhalla I am coming."Listen to the rest of the song and you will see. "In the Light" seems like Sam talking to Frodo. One line reads "I will share your load."

    Comment by dinadantj - May 20, 2011 @ 9:52 AM

  28. I'm so glad that other people have noticed the references too!! I don't really care if they deny it or not, Lord of the Rings (and other Tolkien work) is sprinkled all over their songs. And I really enjoyed reading the comment above me, I just read the Silmarillion and I never even noticed that! Thank you! But after reading all your comments, I'm about to go listen to the songs. Nothing makes me happier than when my 2 favorite things clash together like this. It's amazing.

    Has anyone noticed the line in Return of the King (dealing with the romance of Fowyn and Faramir) when Faramir says, "Lady...walk at whiles with me." ..Over the Hills and Far Away right there!! :)

    Comment by Ledandlotrfan - June 10, 2011 @ 1:32 PM

  29. Many moons ago, I saw a television interview with the members of Led Zepplin. The interviewer asked about the title of their fourth album. Some people call it Led Zepplin Four because of the four glyphs on the cover. Some people call it Zoso because one of the glyphs looks like the word Zoso. But the members of Led Zepplin said that the correct title is "Elven Rhunes"

    Comment by Hippie Fountain Hop - October 28, 2011 @ 11:35 PM

Leave a Comment

COPYRIGHT 1999-2012 - The One Ring ... The One Ring is administered by everyday fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and Lord of the Rings. The One Ring is not affiliated with the Tolkien Estate or Tolkien Enterprises. Certain materials such as books, films, articles and other promotional materials are held by their respective owners and is allowed under the fair use clause of the Copyright Law.
Certain design elements of this webpage are copyright John Howe, and can be found here.