“I looked up one day and I found myself all alone, staring at the walls of my room. I had no family. I had no band.... Everybody left me. Nobody wanted to be around me anymore.”Robert Plant in Joy Williams interview for Creem Magazine.
This evokes a natural spirit and invites the audience to commune with nature. Robert Plant was very influenced by mysticism and the medieval traditions of his homeland England. He was well versed in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and according to Pearce at Songfacts.com, the line “rings of smoke through the tress” alludes to the wizard Gandalf’s ability to smoke ring shapes from his pipe.
The “cultural potency” of this song transcends generations making this song into a new hit year after year. It is magical and takes the listener on a spiritual quest to whatever his or her own personal may be. Its ambiguity allows for ownership by any and all who listen to it and its musical genius will continue to make it the “greatest rock song of all time.”
Rock
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