Thread: Overplayed but meh

Originally Posted by Led Zeppelin

Theres a lady whos sure
All that glitters is gold
And shes 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, and shes buying a stairway to heaven.

Theres 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
Theres a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.

Theres 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.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And its 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 theres a bustle in your hedgerow
Dont be alarmed now,
Its just a spring clean for the may queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
Theres still time to change the road youre on.
And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it wont go
In case you dont know,
The pipers 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 evrything 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 shes buying a stairway to heaven

Fascinating lyric, don't you think? how much metaphysical imagery is invoked? Why? What's it all about?

drugs

Originally Posted by dannyboy

drugs

Think you got it, dannyboy.

No, that was Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

Well, the fact that she's buying the stairway, would seem to point to drugs.

Most of these lyrics are pretty empty, but they do rock. Odd combination.

not neccessarily about drugs per se but take them, put the record on and watch what happens....



ps - not that i am advocating drug taking of course - I leave that to Neal.....

Haha.

That's what I figured you meant. I know some poetry writers who do that. I wouldn't recommend it. A lot of the things will make sense as you're writing it, but later you won't get it. What's the point of writing if no one will get it?

But hey, what do I know? I've never done drugs.

If you play it backwards you can hear satanic messages.


That said, the lyrics do have meaning. They are no different than your favorite poem, except that they may not be your favorite lyrics. I analyzed Pink Floyd's "The Wall" in one of my college comp classes, and there was a lot in there.

Pink Floyd has coined some great lyrics;
'I have become
comfortably numb

shine on you crazy diamond'

Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Gershwin, Cole Porter etc. have all written marvelous lyrics. I studied Neil Young's After the Goldrush in grade 10 which was hmmm. 1969. those lyrics are still awesome.

I agree JR. this stanza gives me chills:

'When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse
out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look but it was gone.
I cannot put my finger on it now;
the child is grown; the dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.

"Wish You Were Here" (the album and song) has some amazing lyrics in it. I can recite the song from memory, as well as much of The Wall. In fact, the only lyrics the Floyd coined that weren't extraordinary or better were ones that were not written by Roger Waters...

regarding Hodge's post above: Did Roger Waters write 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'? As you probably know, it's about Syd Barrett, who I've always been intensely curious about and troubled by the mystery surrounding his life. I've been reading a lot about him since his death. That whole 'Wish You Were Here' album was incredible, I agree.The issue of Paste right after Syd died was a good one. That song's lyrics are so impressive.

Are you familiar with Waters' album 'The Final Cut'? It was intense. I liked it a lot; pretty upsetting though, but one of the albums I remember well. In fact, I may go find it on CD as I played the album so many times back in the day that I scratched it all up.

I saw Australian Pink Floyd last year and it was an amazing concert. They even played at David Gilmore's birthday party.

The whole band wrote "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," although Roger did the lyrics.

And yes, I have "The Final Cut." The only Floyd albums I'm missing are "Delicate Sound of Thunder" and that live album of "The Wall." I also have a few bootlegs and rarities... I've been in love with Pink Floyd for a good 7 years now -- they were the first band I seriously listened to.

I was just thinking of the album 'Animals'. Wow.

Pings on the Wing and Pigs (Three Different Ones). Great songs

I just read an interesting essay some guy wrote about Waters being partly inspired by George Orwell's Animal Farm to pen the lyrics for Animals.
www.ingsoc.com/waters/personal/justinh.html

AND AS WE WIND ON DOWN THE ROAD!
DA NA DA NA DA NA DA NA NA NA!

OUR SHADOW'S LONGER THAN OUR SOUL!
SHABBA DADA NA NA!