Rock and Not to Roll

“Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin has not only inspired and influenced many artists over the years, but has aided me by coping with personal dire circumstances. Having looked over the lyrics of the song I came to the conclusion that the song is mainly about the Apocalypse, the end of the world. The song tells how people would react if they knew that the world was about to end. Personally, sometimes I may feel like my world is over when I lose a job or a loved one; but the song shows me that if I hold fast in my convictions everything will be okay. “Stairway to Heaven” shows me also that if I do not like how I am traveling on my path in life that I can change, and that change is necessary to be content in life. I have analyzed the lyrics in every verse, which I will show. The mood of the song is slow and depressing during the time in which they are waiting for the Apocalypse. By the end of the song the tempo gets quicker and optimistic to show happiness and hope.

The most essential poetic devise in the song was the metaphors. The message and tone in the song was based on the following metaphors. “There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold.” People that think all that glitters is gold are idiots, so this lady is a idiot to think that she could buy her way to heaven. “There’s a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure, And you know sometimes words have two meanings, In a tree by the brook, there’s a songbird who sings, Sometimes all our thoughts are misgiven.” The “two meanings” are telling you about the metaphors used in the song, which are the Apocalypse and redemption. With the “bird singing by the brook”, the first thing people think is that the bird is at peace, but it is well known that animals sense trouble when it comes to natural disasters. When the bird panics it sounds like singing, and this shows how all thoughts are sometimes “misgiven”. “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 standing looking.” The “feeling” is death of hope because he’s watching the sun set in the west, and the Apocalypse will come at sun set. His soul is weeping because he has given up all hope in the world. The “smoke through the trees” is the world coming to the end and the “voices of those who stand looking” tells that no one can do anything but watch the Apocalypse happen.

The day I found out I was fired from my full-time job; the first thing I listened to was “Stairway to Heaven”. The one part of the song that I can really relate my job to was. “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.” I like to think that the Piper was my old manager and my co-workers as the children. The Piper is Sin, and the Pied Piper, led the children to their demise in the forest. The piper or Sin will lead them to their deaths, and the “tune” which the Piper is playing is the meaning of life. I like to interpret the “tune” as money or a paycheck in my case, and our manager leading us all to unemployment “A new day will dawn for those who stand long”, tells me that those who don’t follow temptation will see a new day come, and their joy is the “laughter echoing” through the forest. I take this to mean in relation to my job that I will find a superior job in the future, and that there is hope. “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.” The “bustle