Oh, You Mean THAT Famous Song

Well, maybe most of you haven’t heard of it, but among rock classics, the one is at the top of the tree, right there with Hotel California and Temple of the King. Back when i was a kid, if you were learning to play the guitar and wanted to sound cool or impress your friends, this is the riff you’d play (there’s actually a scene in Wayne’s World about this).

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, ooh and she’s buying a stairway to heaven

Of course, there are those who tell me if you play the song backwards, there are all sorts of sublimial messages about ‘my sweet Satan‘ (I’ve actually heard the backmasked version before) but compared to some of the hardcore rap and death metal these days, it kind of puts our society’s changing morality in perspective.

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

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder

Listening to this song a few nights ago reminded me of the times in college when we used to stay up late in the wee hours of the morning listening to Led Zep and playing PC games. One particular I remember us discussing what would have happened had John Bonham not passed on…

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

Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder

The last time I saw either Page or Plant on TV was during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when he appeared atop the red bus playing “A Whole Lotta Love“, during the promo for the 2012 London Olympics. A few days later i overheard a conversation at the mamak, “hey who was that old man playing guitar for Leona Lewis…?”

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

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

And it makes me wonder

I guess for some folks the song has become bigger than the band, something unthinkable during their prime. I mean, the band was literally the biggest phenomenon on earth, and influencing musicians as diverse as Metallica to The White Stripes to Madonna to Shakira.

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?

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 truth will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she’s buying a stairway to heaven…