YouTube Transcript:
What "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin is Really About

Skip watching entire videos - get the full transcript, search for keywords, and copy with one click.

Video Transcript

View:

[Music]

upon buying the legendary 1971 lead

Zeppelin 4 record fans excitedly opened

up the sleeve only to be confronted with

an image of an old man on a Hilltop

holding up a lantern that man is in fact

an archetype from the ancient ult

practice of tarot known as The Hermit

numbered as the ninth card in the major

Arcana that is the first 22 cards of the

tarot which outline the Soul's Journey

from ignorance to Enlightenment The

Hermit is representative not only of

solitude and wisdom but even more

specifically he represents spiritual

Evolution introspection and inner

guidance that is spiritual intuition no

stranger to the esoteric Mysteries

himself Jimmy pagee Led Zeppelin's

guitar player and Main songwriter echoed

this very sentiment in many interviews

while explaining why this character was

chosen to Grace the inside of Zeppelin's

album once stating for example The

Hermit is a symbol of the search for

truth and knowledge it's about the inner

journey in spiritual enlightenment we

wanted the album to reflect a deeper

more mystical side of our music and the

hermit perfectly captured that Essence

so let's keep that in mind as it truly

is the key to unlocking the meaning

behind the most famous song on that

record in fact quite possibly the most

famous song of the 20th century the

monumentally successful Masterpiece

known as Stairway to Heaven now it would

be hard to argue with the assertion that

no other Rock lyrics have been debated

as to their true meaning more than

stairways have they're the ultimate in

ambiguity even Robert Plant himself the

man who wrote the lyrics has never

really specified line for line what

exact messages he was sending through

his famous words in fact while he has

said that there about such things as

being one with nature spiritual

transformation Enlightenment and

Universal balance he also readily admits

that the words came to him as if

channeled from the great

beyond I was holding a pencil and paper

he'd once relate then all of a sudden my

hand was writing I just sat there and

looked at the words and then I almost

leapt out of my

seat now despite not having been given a

clear line by line explanation as to

Stairway to Heaven's meaning from its

lyric writer with a little understanding

of the occult spirituality philosophy

and literature most notably JRR tolken

the very things the band is documented

to Vin into at the time the codee is

easy enough to crack as a clear message

through a definite narrative does

present itself when the lyrics are

analyzed closely and it's a deep one to

be precise Stairway to Heaven is an

allegorical poem illustrating the

dichotomy between spiritualism and

materialism or the Inward and the

outward the esoteric and the

exoteric and it does this by comparing

two proposed paths to Enlightenment

which if you'll notice is exactly what

is meant by the phrase Stairway to

Heaven it is another way of saying path

to Enlightenment or bridge to

Transcendence or lad to Ascension

however you want to phrase it one of the

paths being the true path and the other

being the false path therefore the poem

focuses on two main characters one

referred to Simply as the Lady

represents the false external

materialistic path the other main

character is called the piper who like

the hermit in Tarot represents the

internal spiritual path to Enlightenment

the true path now the piper or more

accurately the tune he plays represents

our spiritual intuition

That Tune is the inner vibration that we

are to follow in order to reach heaven

or Enlightenment just as the hermit's

lantern represents the inner light that

intuitively guides us towards becoming

our higher self or in other words it

guides us towards heaven these two

characters The Hermit and the piper

represent the same concept that Jimmy

pagee was talking about in the earlier

quote just through different allegories

the piper in his tune are the

personification of such ancient

teachings is that of the Buddha who said

look within you are the Buddha or the

Dharma is found within oneself or as the

Hindu vas say the Serene being is not to

be sought in the outer world but within

the heart or as the New Testament

depicts Jesus as saying neither shall

they say loow here or loow there for

behold the kingdom of God is within you

now I could go on for days because these

lessons the common message that they

share a message which spans centuries in

cultures around the globe is the same

message being put forth in Stairway to

Heaven it is in a nutshell telling the

reader or listener that heaven is only

found through the spiritual

transformation that occurs when

following Your Inner Path a good way to

look at the concept that Robert is

putting forward in following the Piper's

tune is to think about how a radio

signal works right now in the Very Room

that you're sitting in or wherever you

are there are radio signals all around

you that you can't see hear or touch but

they're there now if you get a radio and

start turning the dial you'll start to

tune into different frequency bands and

the music being broadcast on those

frequencies will play through the

speaker letting you hear them in the

physical world well think of the Piper's

tune as the ultimate band of frequency

the Divine frequency which permeates

throughout the entire universe one which

if you inwardly work hard hard enough

you can tune your Consciousness into

that's what Robert means as we shall see

in a second when he talks about

following the Piper's tune now

additionally apart from the

individualistic standpoint yet

completely attached to it there is a

message being put forward in Stairway to

Heaven that the modern world the modern

world of the time the song was written

and even more so now actually modern

culture is on a very dangerous path the

lyrics warn that we mankind are

forgetting our place within nature and

are instead separating ourselves from it

and thus becoming a threat to ourselves

and all that exists around us again the

remedy being put forth to fix this

dilemma is for all to tune into the

inner vibration of the spirit

represented as we just went over by the

tune of the piper and stairways lyrics

through doing so mankind will once again

connect to the flow of nature we will be

brought back into Oneness and this again

according to the message of the lyrics

can only be done by each individual that

makes up the hole following their Inner

Path however the song starts by

detailing the opposition to that path

that is it begins by detailing the

materialistic path in the form of the

lady as Robert writes 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 and she's

buying a Stairway to

Heaven so then right off the bat we see

this lady is a woman of means a woman of

wealth a woman who gets what she wants

through that wealth as even if the

stores are closed she can get what she

seeks we're told that she believes that

All That Glitters Is Gold that is to say

in her opinion value comes through

materialistic appearances basically an

object's intrinsic worth is measured by

how shiny it is as stated before and as

should be apparent through these opening

lines the Lady represents the erroneous

materialistic path to Enlightenment

proven through the statement that she is

of the belief that she can buy a

Stairway to

Heaven there's a sign on the wall the

lyrics continue but she wants to be sure

cuz you know sometimes words have two

meanings in a tree by the Brook there's

a song bird who sings sometimes all of

our thoughts are

misgiven like the rest of the lyrics

There are a few things to be taken away

from these lines first of all the sign

on the wall is likely a reference to the

common phrase about reading the writing

on the wall which comes in several

variations but generally refers to being

able to see the truth of a situation

ation and in many cases the

repercussions that situation is likely

to bring with it this saying finds its

roots in the old testament's Book of

Daniel 5 where a mysterious message

appears on the wall in front of the

Babylonian King Bazar and so he calls in

all of his seers and Prophets and

enchanters to decode it but none of them

can that is until the Hebrew Prophet

Daniel arrives and becomes the only one

who can read the writing on the wall and

interprets a warning of danger hence the

famous phrase in this verse in Stairway

to Heaven the lady believes the writing

on the wall says that she can buy her

way into Paradise she thinks she can buy

her Stairway to Heaven but as Robert

Plant tells us she is mistaken the words

she believes she has interpreted

actually have a different meaning

altogether in other words she can't read

the writing on the wall she can't see

the truth of the situation and she is

headed for danger we are then brought to

the first scene representing nature

where we meet a song bird in a tree who

solidifies this notion when he sings

that sometimes our thoughts are misgiven

meaning the lady is wrong no one can buy

their way to Heaven the song bird in a

tree by the Brook by the way is a direct

reference to another tarot card in the

major Arcana that of the star a card

which represents the guidance that comes

from our highest form of intuition an

exact parallel to the message being put

put forward in stairway featuring a

songbird by a brook on the card the lady

clearly isn't heeding its message

additionally on an even deeper level of

esotericism the phrase you know

sometimes words have two meanings is

also a personal hint for the reader or

The Listener Robert is using this double

on Tandra about a double on Tandra to

say to the listener this isn't a song

about a real woman in a physical

staircase that leads to a geographical

place called Heaven read deeper listen

closer the words below their surface may

just mean more than what you first

assumed them to mean he then Ponders the

proposition he's putting forth in the

lyrics and forces us to do the same as

he repeats it makes me wonder before

moving on into yet more metaphors to

paint his picture in Greater detail

writing 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 here we find ourselves still in

the setting of Nature and no surprise we

are once again confronted with

multifaceted lines veiling several

different meanings at once the key to

understanding these lines though is the

knowledge of Robert Plant's love for the

writings of JRR tolken specifically his

most famous work the lord of the the

Rings trilogy as many know Robert has a

propensity to write tolken references

into his song lyrics for example on the

album Stairway to Heaven is on Leed

Zeppelin 4 there's a song called Misty

Mountain Hop the Misty Mountains are

arrang in Middle Earth tolken fantasy

world in the setting for several of his

stories not least of which the Lord of

the Rings then there's Ramble On from

lead Zeppelin 2 where Robert sings about

being in Mordor and having his love

stolen by Gollum a place and character

from The Lord of the Rings other songs

such as the Battle of Evermore also on

Le Zeppelin 4 and over the hills and far

away from houses of the Holy include

tolken references themselves Zeppelin

songs are Rife with them Stairway to

Heaven is no exception and here in these

lines we come across a couple more of

them first of which there's a feeling I

get when I look to the west and my

spirit is crying for leaving this is a

reference to a place in token's Universe

known as the undying lands or even more

specifically a place within the undying

lands called valinor generally referred

to in these stories simply as the West

this is the place where the race of

elves retire to after their lives on

Middle Earth come to a close in order to

live in peace throughout eternity it is

a paradise where they never again have

to encounter Earthly troubles including

death in other words the West is

tolkien's version of Heaven so then in

these lines Robert is expressing his

Soul's imperative to find Heaven

moreover through referencing tolken

world and using the term my spirit is

crying for leaving he's illustrating his

spirit's sadness with the state of our

world by expressing its ambition to

escape it the lines that follow which go

in my thoughts I have seen rings of

smoke through the trees and the voices

of those who stand looking both expand

on and solidify this notion while also

presenting a dual meaning to the

previous lines that we just went over as

in The Lord of the Rings a corrupted

wizard character named Saruman clears

the forests and burns the Fallen trees

in a fortress called Eisen guard to

industrially fuel his war effort

meanwhile to the east of Eisen guard is

a place called fangorn Forest where a

race of trees known as ants who have the

ability to walk and talk notice smoke

coming from the West that being Eisen

guard and are thus alerted to the

destruction of Their Own Kind at the

hands of the wizard

sarumon so we see the double on Tandra

being used here the West both signifies

the undying lands that is heaven and

Eisen guard in directional relation to

fangorn Forest but most importantly all

of these tolken references are being

used as an allegorical commentary on our

our own world where our own culture has

separated itself from being a connected

member of the very system of nature

we're destroying in our Pursuits of

material ends ultimately destroying

ourselves in the process however it's

not all doom and gloom there are

alternative paths to take which may lead

us to Salvation And this is the

narrative Robert addresses next as he

writes 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 now aside from these lines

being the solution to the dilemmas

posited in the ones that we just went

over for which we'll return to in a

moment it is here that we finally meet

our second main character the piper as

we've gone over before he represents the

inner spiritually intuitive path to

Enlightenment or stairway to heaven the

true path and we are told here that if

we follow his tune it will lead us to a

place of Reason in other words he will

take us out of the destructive unnatural

state that was described in the previous

lines and lead us to the promised land

now this Piper Motif is playing on two

separate lines of tradition the first

the exoteric concept of following the

Piper's tune hearkens back to such myths

as the pi Piper Mozart 's Magic Flute

the Irish Celtic traditions of the fairy

Piper most of whom LED their listeners

to magical Realms of paradise just like

the piper and Stairway to Heaven who is

supposed to lead us to The Stairway to

Heaven this is made obvious by the

second line of tradition being used here

the esoteric tradition which is the

mystical idea of following your inner

tune towards Enlightenment or Heaven

however you want to say it this concept

of our intuition being allegorized as

music can be found in several ancient

systems of belief most notably the

beautifully titled Music of the Spheres

in Pythagorean mysticism the inner song

or resonance spoken of in Christian

mysticism the many Sufi poems which

speak of an inner music that leads one

closer to God or the inner vibration in

Buddhist or Hindu traditions for

instance in the Eastern text known as

the surangama Sutra the Buddha says that

all beings have their seeing and hearing

confused they listen and see outside

themselves and don't know how to turn

the light and hear

inwardly on that same token the ancient

Indian texts known as the upanishads

speak of the anahat NAT the unstruck

sound that is heard during deep

meditation which is considered to be the

inner resonance that guides the Seeker towards

towards

self-realization this idea spans

cultures throughout the centuries and it

is the exact concept being put forward

in these lines in Stairway to Heaven

presented in the form of the Piper's

tune and as Robert asserts if we follow

that tune a new day will Dawn governed

by reason and nature will be brought

back into a harmonious equilibrium

indicated by the forests echoing with

laughter moreover these lines like the

previous ones also parallel the Lord of

the Rings as those who stand long and

the idea of laughing trees both apply to

the end of Middle Earth that we

previously discussed

we'll also note here that underneath the

those who stand long metaphor is the

suggestion that those who stand by their

principles and adhere to the tune that

is their moral compass or Intuition or

Guardian Angel whichever you prefer

they'll make it to the dawn of a new day

or the rise of a new illumination or

Enlightenment and this line of thought

only continues into the next stanza in

which Robert writes if there's a bustle

in your hedro don't be alarmed now it's

just a spring clean for the May Queen

meaning well you may at first perceive

it as some sort of disturbance a bustle

in your hedro Don't Fear the inner

resonance calling out to you that's the

Piper's tune beckoning you to change

your ways embrace it like the May Queen

a traditional figure in European

folklore who symbolizes the essence of

spring that is the renewal of life and

birth of nature a new light the new dawn

that resonance or tune as the song deems

it is the path to genuine spiritual

growth true Enlightenment and Robert

completely solidifies this proposition

in the next line which is truly the key

to decoding the entire piece when he

says yes there are two paths you can go

by those two opposing paths being as we

know that of the lady the outward

materialistic path and that of the piper

the inner spiritual path this idea being

a mirror of the two paths Parable in Matthew

Matthew

7:13 but in the long run Robert then

says before putting forth the

thought-provoking and inspirational

statement of there's still time to

change the road you're

on then after another brief pause of

Wonder Robert goes deeper into this

narrative writing your head is humming

and it won't go in case you don't know

the Piper's calling you to join him

these lines of course are speaking

directly to you the listener reiterating

the meaning of the previous bustle in

your HED lines which we know denote the

tune of the piper calling from within

which at this point is impossible to

ignore your head is humming with it and

you can't turn it off Robert then talks

to our original character the

representative of the false path asking

dear lady can you hear the wind

blow this question is playing on two

different fronts

the first being a play on the common

phrase of knowing or seeing which way

the wind blows which is to

metaphorically ask if someone

understands what's really going on in a

particular situation another variation

of the writing on the wall saying from

earlier secondly the flute the Piper

plays is a woodwind instrument its music

is literally the product of blowing wind

so Robert is asking the lady the

materialist can you not hear the Piper's

tune he then furthers this metaphor by

asking and did you know your stairway

lies on the Whispering Wind meaning

don't you see the path of heaven lies in

following the Piper's tune not in

chasing and hoarding riches possessions

and shiny

things then following this

all-encompassing question the revelation

of the entire philosophical ride he's

taken us on Robert sums up all of his

previous verses in a series of final

statements the first of which being and

as we wind on down the road meaning as

we travel through the ups and downs of

life our shadows taller than our

soul now this statement contains much

more depth as the idea of our shadows

being taller than our souls aside from

being another key to understanding the

entire poem as a whole is actually the

reflection of a yian concept stemming

all the way back to the very infancy of

analytical Psych ology Carl Young father

of modern psychological theory and Tarot

utilizer coined defined and wrote

extensively about the concept of the

Shadow as he described it the shadow is

the unconscious part of one's

personality more specifically the part

which contains all of our repressed

weaknesses desires and instincts it is

to put it in the absolute simplest of

terms our Dark Side young felt that only

through dredging our shadow up into our

conscious mind can we properly deal with

it otherwise these negative attributes

stay under the surface wreaking havoc on

us by steering our actions and emotions

into destructive

territories here in these lines Robert

is pointing out that in our culture in

our delusion the shadow rules and our

soul is blackened out by it or in other

words as we go through our lives ruled

by our dark side we are as a consequence

ignorant to our spirit in terms of the

song as we now know the lady is the

representative of our shadow which is

why after declaring that we have been

traveling through our lives led by it

Robert points out that on that path

there walks a lady we all know who

shines white light and wants to show how

everything still turns to Gold so then

to our vision the lady appears to be

pure emanating an angelic white light

however looks can be deceiving as in

reality she wants to convince us of her

alchemy that figuratively speaking base

materials can be made into gold a return

to the first stanza which pointed out

how she believes that All That Glitters

Is Gold the basis of hers and all

materialists Folly so knowing that we

know that we'd be wise to not believe

her and would instead be much wiser to

search for deeper truths such as those

offered through the alternative path

that of the piper which Robert points

out next as he writes and if you listen

very hard the tune will come to you at

last that is if we put in the work it

takes to tune out the static of ego and

illusory material fulfillment we will be

able to tune into the Piper's song our

divine intuition and walk the righteous

path reassimilate ourselves within the

delicate balance of the natural system

we belong to to and thus if each of us

can attain this calling we can

collectively achieve and stand firm in

Oneness where Harmony will rain and this

is exactly what Robert is referring to

in his last lines where he writes when

all are one and one is all to be a rock

and not to

roll now aside from this being a clever

nod to the term rock and roll Robert is

saying that as the rock that rolls

destroys is everything in its path after

transformation after Enlightenment we

must stand firm in our convictions but

until we reach that day we are subjects

to the destructive path of the

materialist the path where it is

erroneously believed that one can

vicariously and externally simply

purchase their way to Salvation rather

than doing the great work themsel the

path governed by the lady we all know

and Robert ends his poem by revisiting

visting her position solemnly writing

and she's buying a Stairway to

Heaven and that is what it's all about

beneath all the ingenious allegorical

veils the proposition is this there are

two paths we can go by in our quest for

heaven the misgiven external path or if

we listen very hard the spiritual Inner

Path one brings Folly the other Harmony

so then Stairway to Heaven really boils

down to one simple question which path

[Music] [Laughter]

Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video

Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds

One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps

Paste YouTube URL

Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript

Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds

Get Our Chrome Extension

Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.

Add to Chrome — Free

Works with YouTube, Coursera, Udemy and more educational platforms

Get Instant Transcripts: Just Edit the Domain in Your Address Bar!

YouTube

←

→

↻

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

YoutubeToText

←

→

↻

https://youtubetotext.net/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

YouTube Transcript:What "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin is Really About

Video Transcript

Paste YouTube URL

Transcript Extraction Form

Get Our Chrome Extension

Get Instant Transcripts: Just Edit the Domain in Your Address Bar!

YouTube Transcript:
What "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin is Really About