Song Interpretation of "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zepplin

Song: Stairway to Heaven
Artist: Led Zeppelin
Trivia: Jimmy Page has often likened the song to a sonic orgasm
Source: Parents

Interpretation
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
Oh oh oh oh and she's buying a stairway to heavenThe character's story here is to get to heaven, but she has been misguided
about the path to get there. She believes in illogical ways to get there.
This may be a reference to the way the Evangelists preach the ministry of
prosperity. The part where they say, donate gold\money\anything possible to
them and God will return you N times. There are also evangelists who sell
things in the name of god. Ex: A cut-out key of the size of a clock, which
is blessed by the lord and you can hang it in your home to keep your home safe.
This is nothing new, these things can be found in almost all religions.
Back in the middle ages the Church used to sell bonds for the redemption of sins.

So the lady here has fallen to the pattern where she leads a wrongful life
and is aware of it and to comfort her guilt she is buying her
forgiveness by spending money on things that she thinks will wash her sins.
(Like the ones mentioned above.) She is pretty confident that her ways will
open the doors to heaven.

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

But amidst all this she feels a sense of doubt, like how much truth exists in
her thinking. On deeper introspection the doubt on her method to get to heaven
seems misguided and appalling.

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 standing looking
She is thinking about the time she has left in this world, if it is too late?
She wants to leave this place, but unsure where she will end up as for sure
she knows that her ways has no place in heaven. She is clouded by confusion
through all the thoughts that were put in her mind by the people who sold her
the wrong paths. Her mind is becoming denser like the ever growing wild grown
forest the thoughts growing uncontrollably and crowding her judgement ,
she sees the author of each thought and false statement told to her but they
just watch in silence as they know that she has awakened from all the their
deceit.

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


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

If we make an attempt to listen to the voice of reason, we can drive ourselves
out of misery and all the false beliefs that we collect through life. Only on
clear thought and good actions, good will - will we be able to fill our minds
with positive feelings and laughter.

While doing the above, you may feel that your comfort zone is being violated -
meaning there will be changes to the way you live your life, you may have
to compromise on certain things but it is all of no harm - it is aimed
to build your character. It is a long process and time consuming , at every
cornor or turn there is a chance that you can miss the way and end up in
the very path you set out to leave or end up in the same path where the lady was.

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
Here the actual path to heaven is being described to the lady. The way to
heaven is by prayer i.e the whispering wind. Prayer is a reflection of
your thoughts, through prayer and efforts in this case good acts the
gates to heaven will open.

The ancient Egyptians believed that when they died, they went to the Hall of Death, where Anubis weighed their heart against the feather. You can see a similar scene in the TV series American Gods




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 tune 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 the stairway to heaven



As time passes by each day, the lady's life almost coming to an end;
she has two parts now - the dark side which she left , and the life
after finding her new path. She is aware of the true higher power now \
logic of reason - which truly has the power to turn anything
to gold- meaning do the impossible. If she keeps traversing in this path
and builds her thoughts on foundation of logic and reason she would
truly be able to buy the stairway to heaven.

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