johnbonham

Whenitcomestoclassicrock,therearefewsongsthatcanmatchthesheerepicnessofLedZeppelin's"StairwaytoHeaven".Releasedin1971,thistimelesstrackhasbeenastapleofrockradiofordecades,anditsinfluencecanbefeltincountlessothersongsthathavefollowedinitswake.

TheLyrics

Oneofthethingsthatmakes"StairwaytoHeaven"soenduringisitshauntinglypoeticlyrics.WrittenbyRobertPlant,thesongtellsthestoryofawomanwhoisbuyingastairwaytoheaven.Alongtheway,sheencountersanumberofstrangecharactersandexperiences,includingabustleinherhedgerowandaladywho'ssureallthatglittersisgold.

Butwhatdoesitallmean?That'saquestionthathasbeendebatedbyfansandscholarsforyears.Somebelievethatthesongisametaphorforthepursuitofspiritualenlightenment,whileothersseeitasacommentaryontheexcessesofthemusicindustry.Whateverthecasemaybe,there'snodenyingthepowerofPlant'slyrics,whicharebroughttolifebyJimmyPage'siconicguitarriffs.

TheMusic

Speakingofthoseguitarriffs,they'reabigreasonwhy"StairwaytoHeaven"hasbecomeoneofthemostbelovedsongsinrockhistory.Fromtheopeningnotesoftheacousticintrotothesoaringsolosthatcloseoutthetrack,Page'splayingisnothingshortoflegendary.

Butthere'smoretothemusicof"StairwaytoHeaven"thanjusttheguitar.JohnPaulJones'bassandkeyboardworkadddepthandtexturetothesong,whileJohnBonham'sdrummingprovidesasteady,drivingbeatthatpropelsthetrackforward.Andofcourse,Plant'svocalsarenothingshortofmesmerizing,asheeffortlesslyshiftsbetweendelicatewhispersandpowerfulwails.

TheLegacy

It'shardtooverstatetheimpactthat"StairwaytoHeaven"hashadonrockmusic.CountlessbandshavecitedLedZeppelinasaninfluence,andmanyhavetriedtoemulatetheepicsoundandfeelof"Stairway"intheirownmusic.

Butperhapsthemostenduringlegacyofthesongisthewayitcontinuestoresonatewithlistenersofallagesandbackgrounds.Whetheryou'readie-hardrockfanorjustsomeonewhoappreciatesgreatmusic,there'ssomethingabout"StairwaytoHeaven"thatspeakstothesoul.

HowtoListento"StairwaytoHeaven"

Ifyou'veneverheard"StairwaytoHeaven"before(whichseemsunlikely),here'showtogiveitalisten:

Findaquietplacewhereyoucanreallyfocusonthemusic.

Putonagoodpairofheadphonesorturnupyourspeakers.

Startwiththeacousticintroandletthemusicwashoveryou.

PaycloseattentiontoPlant'slyricsandthewaytheyinteractwithPage'sguitar.

Letthesongbuildtoitspowerfulclimax,andthensitbackandreflectonwhatyou'vejustheard.

TheBottomLine

There'sareasonwhy"StairwaytoHeaven"hasstoodthetestoftime.It'samasterpieceofrockmusicthatcombinespowerfullyrics,soaringmelodies,andunforgettableguitarriffsintoasingle,unforgettablepackage.Whetheryou'realong-timefanoranewcomertotheworldofclassicrock,thisisonesongthatyousimplycan'taffordtomiss.

StairwaytoHeaven.