What is the meaning of Stairway to Heaven: Led Zeppelin's incredible 1971 musical epic? | rocksoffmag (2023)

FAQs

What is the hidden message in Stairway to Heaven? ›

The alleged message, which occurs during the middle section of the song ("If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now...") when played backward, was purported to contain the Satanic references: "Here's to my sweet Satan / The one whose little path would make me sad whose power is Satan, / He'll give you, ...

Led Zeppelin – “Stairway to Heaven”

When played backwards, the words sound like this: “Oh here's to my sweet Satan. The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power is Satan. He will give those with him 666.

In October 1968 they took the name Led Zeppelin, which stemmed from a humorous conversation among several musicians about their chances of going down like a lead balloon.

The iconic rock band were accused of stealing the song's opening riff from a song called Taurus by US psych-rockers Spirit, recorded three years before the release of the album Led Zeppelin IV, which contained the rock behemoth.

2~A hedgerow can also refer to one's pubic hair, therefore a bustle in your hedgerow can mean to become sexually aroused. John had a bustle in his hedgerow for Jane as soon as he saw her.

Backmasking is a recording technique in which a message is recorded backward onto a track that is meant to be played forward. It is a deliberate process, whereas a message found through phonetic reversal may be unintentional.

In their hit Another One Bites The Dust, their hidden message - in reverse - is 'Some of us smoke marijuana'.”

The Forbidden Riff refers to the list of songs that are strictly prohibited to play in guitar stores. It is an inside joke that began in 1973 in the street of Denmark, London. This list is comprised of songs often referred to as – overplayed riffs. A lot of beginner guitarists mostly play overplayed riffs to show off.

We've all the joke, right? What happens when you play a country song backwards? Answer- you get your wife back, your trailer back, your dog back, your job back!

What is this? Penned by Robert Plant, the lyrics to “Stairway to Heaven” that begins as a critique on an overly materialistic society, suggesting that spending your entire life collecting material possessions is a fruitless endeavor, as it won't get you to heaven, and you can't use any of it when you get there, anyway.

Why was zeppelin so important? ›

They had more space than in many modern aeroplanes and could stroll about admiring the view. The German Army and Navy both saw the potential that airships had for reconnaissance. They were used almost from the opening of the war for getting information by flying over enemy lines far above gunnery range.

Led Zeppelin would continue this disturbing sexual behavior at the Continental Hyatt House on LA's Sunset Strip in the '70s. It was there that a 29-year-old Jimmy Page seduced a young groupie named Lori Mattix, when she was just 14, in 1973.

'Stairway To Heaven' featured on the rock band's studio LP 'Led Zeppelin IV'. Jimmy Page and Robert Plant's ballad is considered to be one of the greatest songs of all-time and the title and lyrics describe a person's journey to the afterlife.

So, why is Stairway to Heaven Banned in Guitar Stores? In short, this is an ongoing joke that was originally seen in the movie Wayne's World in 1992. It is meant to poke fun at Stairway to Heaven because it is one of the most overplayed songs in guitar stores when people are testing out new guitars.

Led Zeppelin have won the appeal in the copyright case over their signature song, “Stairway to Heaven.” On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2016 decision that “Stairway” did not infringe on Spirit's 1968 instrumental track, “Taurus,” and in doing so upended a long-standing copyright precedent.

Climbing and twisting through hedgerows, woodlands, ditches and riverbanks, the white flowers of Hedge bindweed are a familiar sight for many of us.

Battle of Normandy

The hedge warfare, also known as the “bocage”, began as early as the day after D-Day and ended at the end of August 1944, when the Allied troops ended up liberating most part of the present-day Basse-Normandie. Virtually two months of deadly and fierce fighting that put men to the test.

Right now the elderflower reigns supreme as Queen of the hedgerow as she decorates the land in clouds of white blooms. Elder truly lives up to its name 'the people's medicine chest' as each part has some use or other for humans or animals alike.

Influenced by the techniques of musique concrète, they featured a backmasked line in Rain, a single released in 1966. Featuring in the fade-out, the reversed vocal is the first line of the song. “On the end of Rain you hear me singing it backwards,” John Lennon told Rolling Stone magazine in 1968.

What Beatles songs have hidden messages? ›

'Bohemian Rhapsody' WAS Freddie's confessional. It was about how different his life could have been, and how much happier he might have been, had he just been able to be himself, the whole of his life. The world heard this song as a masterpiece of imagination, a great command of musical styles.

“Bite the dust” is usually used to describe a fall to the ground or someone's death and is more commonly associated with the death of a soldier in battle, but it also has the more modern association with general failure. There was more uncertainty as to the phrase's origin: “From the song?” Caplan said.

Literally, to fall face down in the dirt; to suffer a defeat: “Once again, the champion wins, and another contender bites the dust.”

In fact, the opening notes of Stairway to Heaven are known in some other circles as the “forbidden riff” or the “forbidden song.”

Thus the term forbidden riffs came to be. It refers to songs that employees in a guitar store are fed up of hearing.

Earworms can occur due to the brain's attempt to fill a gap in the auditory cortex, which is located in the temporal lobe. When you hear a song over and over, the brain transmits that sound information to the “phonological loop,” a short-term memory system in the auditory cortex.

Our brain uses the wave shape and variations in volume and other aspects of a sound to extract musical information. When it's listened in reverse the lack of familiarity with the sound structure makes it sound "odd", "scary", "demonic".

When you listen to a song over and over again, it can help you do some reflective listening. Because music is so tied to our emotions, Dr. Honig says, the song you're listening to might be getting you through a rough time, or even helping you get more in touch with what you're feeling.

What is the number 1 rock song of all time? ›

THE first three lines of Led Zeppelin's 1971 rock classic "Stairway to Heaven" speak of a lady who's sure "all that glitters is gold" and who is "buying a stairway to heaven." This, according to social scientists, is a clear reference to drug use.

It's the name of the remote cottage in Wales where the band, sitting fireside, wrote the song. At least, it's where guitarist Jimmy Page has always said he wrote the song — a perfect image for a band obsessed with Celtic iconography.

The use of Zeppelins, and subsequently Gotha IV bombers, during the First World War hailed a new era of warfare. For the first time air attacks were used to target the civilian population at home, bringing the war into towns and cities far away from the front lines.

The first commercial Zeppelin flight was in 1910. Gasbags of many rigid airships were made of sheets of so-called “goldbeater's skin” which is made from the intestines of cows. A typical World War I Zeppelin needed about 200,000 sheets.

Zeppelins still fly today; in fact the new Goodyear airship is a not a blimp but a zeppelin, built by a descendant of the same company that built Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg. What is a Semi-Rigid Airship?

Since the dissolution of Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page has engaged in a variety of musical projects, including composing music for the films Death Wish II and Scream for Help. He recorded a new album with Robert Plant in 1984 as The Honeydrippers, and toured and recorded two albums with vocalist Paul Rodgers as The Firm.

Guitarist Jimmy Page was the musical genius behind Led Zeppelin, one of the most legendary bands in rock music history.

Yoo-ri is arrested, and her mother goes insane and is admitted to a mental hospital. Song-joo marries Jung-suh, who is now blind, with the blessing of his mother and her father. Jung-suh tells Tae-hwa that her one wish is to see Song-joo's face one last time.

Jesus very clearly said in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” As much as possible I try to avoid stairs. But if we ever expect to ascend above the life of this earthly realm, we must take the stairs. Jesus is God's stairway to heaven.

What are the forbidden riffs on guitar at store? ›

“Stairway To Heaven” may be banned in guitar stores, but it's not against the law to play it. That said, it is seen as a forbidden riff by many, and not often well received. Perhaps, out of courtesy and respect for the staff and other customers, you'll refrain from excessive self-indulgence.

The iconic rock band were accused of stealing the song's opening riff from a song called Taurus by US psych-rockers Spirit, recorded three years before the release of the album Led Zeppelin IV, which contained the rock behemoth.

The final possible legal challenge to Led Zeppelin's ownership of Stairway To Heaven has been defeated. The band were sued for copyright in 2014 over claims they had stolen the song's opening riff from Taurus, by a US band called Spirit. Led Zeppelin won the case in 2016, but it was revived on appeal in 2018.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced it would not hear the case, leaving in place an appeals court ruling that the band did not copy part of a 1968 song by Spirit.

When Axl Rose bumped into Horovitz at a Los Angeles house party in 1988, he told the Beastie to stop ripping off Led Zeppelin. The surviving members of the group were notified about the Beastie Boys' use of their music, although they didn't sue the group.

Robert Plant's Symbol

The Robert Plant symbol is a feather encased within a circle, representing the feather of Ma'at, the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, harmony, and balance. The feather can also be perceived as a pen, which would check out for lyricist Robert Plant.

The site states that “there is no apparent link” to any of Tolkien's work in “Stairway to Heaven.” A 2003 essay from TheOneRing.com (not to be confused with TheOneRing.net) makes it clear that “the band has denied any connection between Stairway to Heaven and LOTR.” It's also a point made in the book Led Zeppelin FAQ, ...

“Stairway to Heaven” isn't actually banned in most guitar stores. The trope originates from the movie, Wayne's World, and is a tongue-in-cheek remark at how the song is overplayed by people trying out guitars in music stores.

So, why is Stairway to Heaven Banned in Guitar Stores? In short, this is an ongoing joke that was originally seen in the movie Wayne's World in 1992. It is meant to poke fun at Stairway to Heaven because it is one of the most overplayed songs in guitar stores when people are testing out new guitars.

What is the sozo symbol? ›

The SOZO Logo is a representation of two graphic figures with arms interlocking. Combined they form the letter 'S', the first letter of the word 'Sozo', but on a deeper level, the image symbolizes SOZO's individual mentoring, one-to-one approach, and their deeply relational and loving personality.

Robert Plant recalls how he referred to himself as 'a golden god' during a flamboyant party for Led Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham. He described the phrase as "even more nonsense" than what going on around him at the party.

According to researchers as McGill University, the act of listening to your favorite track can make you high in and of itself. Like taking drugs, hearing music can modulate serotonin and dopamine levels in your brain.

A new study from the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University found that listening to highly pleasurable music releases the same reward neurotransmitter — dopamine — in the brain that is associated with food, drugs and sex.

Music and drugs both create pleasure by acting on the brain's opioid system. Singing can release endorphins, which many drugs do as well. Many drugs, like prescriptions, can dull pain. Music has also been shown to provide a sense of relief in stressful or painful situations like surgeries.

It seems only fitting that the most epic and dramatic of rock songs has resulted in one of the music industry's most epic copyright fights. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin's 1971 megahit, defined rock radio for decades and helped make its credited writers, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, extremely rich.

J. R. R. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic from boyhood, and he described The Lord of the Rings in particular as a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision". While he insisted it was not an allegory, it contains numerous themes from Christian theology.