Understanding the Lyricism and Symbolism of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin is one of the most well-known British rock groups in the history of music. They were the forefathers of heavy metal and hard rock style music. The band members included Robert Plant as the lead singer, Jimmy Page as the lead guitarist, John Paul Jones as the keyboardist, and John Bonham as the drummer. The formation of Led Zeppelin was a notorious moment in history, as it took much persuasion and recruiting to assemble the renowned heavy metal group. The evolution of the band began when Jimmy Page was seeking new members to join his former band, the Yardbirds. Page’s original bandmate, Eric Clapton, left the group in the middle of their tour, leaving Page to enlist new members to finish the concert schedule. Page first recruited Robert Plant to be the new lead singer for the rest of their tour and renamed the group the New Yardbirds. Robert Plant went on to recruit drummer John Bonham, while Jimmy Page recruited bass and keyboard player John Paul Jones. These four men finished the New Yardbirds scheduled concert events and renamed the group Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin gained popularity due to the way their music spanned many different musical genres. They incorporated many different styles of music, such as American Blues and Indian Folk, to form a “new intense psychedelic rock sound” (Funk). Some may even describe Led Zeppelin’s sound as innovative since they “incorporated a wonderful transition of acoustic, and gentle beginnings to an angry, electric finish” (Funk). The band became official when they signed with Atlantic Records in 1968 with a six-album contract. The group went on their first tour after releasing their first album, however, did not gain significant recognition until the release of their hit song Stairway to Heaven in 1971. The band went on the perform together for the next 9 years until disbanding in 1980 after the death of John Bonham. In the following years, the remaining bandmates continued to collaborate and perform, even putting on a tribute concert for a music executive with John Bonham’s son playing the drums.
The song “Stairway to Heaven” is one of Led Zeppelin’s most popular and impactful melodies. The song in its entirety relays a sort of spiritual journey with a lot of emphasis on nature. The lyrics themselves seem to allude to a somewhat mysterious woman, “There’s a lady who’s sure, all that glitters is gold, and she’s buying a stairway to Heaven”. The symbolism pertaining to this verse is portraying this woman as greedy, materialistic, and self-preserving; she seems to think that she can buy herself a pathway to Heaven. The song continues and seems to be trying to convince or prove that spirituality exists and the way to achieve entrance into Heaven is not about materialism, but equality. The song ends with the lyrics, “When all are one and one is all, to be a rock and not to roll”, showing us that we must stand united. In the live performance of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”, Robert Plant starts off in a slow and melancholy sound with blue stage lights casting ominous shadows over the entire band’s faces. The audience stays almost silent with minimum cheering and applause as everyone listens to Plant’s solo. As the song progresses the rhythm begins to feel uplifting and finally reaches maximum growth when Jimmy Page executes his guitar solo. The lights then turn to red and the band starts to interact with the crowd in almost a symbiotic way, as if the unity of the crowd maintains the ideals of the song: unity is the only way to Heaven.
Another fan favorite by Led Zeppelin is their macabre-like humor in, “Immigrant Song”. This piece is very recognizable as the band opens with savage like screams to kick off the concert. Led Zeppelin’s live performance in 1972 was very intense with high energy. The cinematography of the video is very sporadic and the video changes quickly, with rapid scene jumps. In the song, Led Zeppelin almost immediately makes a reference to Iceland. The lyrics then reveal that the band is comparing themselves to the Vikings while making a reference to Nordic mythology. Robert Plant sings, “The hammer of the gods, we’ll drive our ships to new lands, to fight the horde, and sing and cry. Valhalla, I am coming!” This refers to a Nordic hall where “spirits of war carry up heroes who have been slain. Only heroes are taken to Valhalla, where they will wait for their certain doom” (Captcha). This song exhibits dark humor as Led Zeppelin equates themselves, to Vikings who were killed in battle; this was a controversial lyric for many of their fans.
The song “Kashmir” holds a special place in the hearts of many Led Zeppelin fans. This song is musically and aesthetically pleasing, due to the poetic lyrics and the steady rhythmic beat. Something interesting about this song is that it does not have a traditional vocal chorus as most of Led Zeppelin’s other pieces. The only resemblance of a chorus is an orchestral riff that is repeated at the end of each verse to corroborate the rhythmic beat of the song. In Led Zeppelin’s live performance of “Kashmir”, the band radiates confidence as they sing in perfect pitch and a steady tone. They sing, “Sun beats down upon my face, stars to fill my dream. I’m a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been”, which is describing the worldly endeavors everyone must face, however, they hint we must work to transcend this mortal life. The song is a poetic homage to finding one’s self, as everyone is on their own spiritual journey.
Each performance by Led Zeppelin had similarities, including rapidly changing lights and fan participation. However, each song brought something different to the table. Their performance of “Stairway to Heaven” was thought-provoking and symbolic, while “Immigrant Song” was a play on grim humor as they compared their own band to fallen war soldiers. All three songs put an emphasis on nature and positive messages while maintaining a similar visual experience. These chosen Led Zeppelin songs reverberate spiritual enlightenment and unity. Each song made religious references, whether that be Nordic mythology, Christianity, or spirituality, Led Zeppelin seems to be encouraging their fans to rise above this material world and strive for something better.
Bibliography Turabian Style
“Led Zeppelin: A Brief History: NME.” NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM, 10 Dec. 2007, www.nme.com/news/music/led-zeppelin-194-1349199.
Funk, Clayton. “Art, Culture, Music, Film, Television.” Led Zeppelin.
aaep1600.osu.edu/book/15_Zeppelin.php.
Tapes, Old. “Led Zeppelin-Stairway to Heaven Live.” Jan 26, 2018. Youtube Video. 10:39. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbhCPt6PZIU
Zeppelin, Led. “Led Zeppelin-Immigrant Song (Live 1972). Oct 26, 2009. Youtube Video. 4:07. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlNhD0oS5pk
Zeppelin, Led. “Kashmir (Live from Celebration Day). Nov 2, 2012. Youtube Video. 9:06. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD-MdiUm1_Y
