Lyrics for Ramble On as interpreted by kevin

Ramble On Lyrics
Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...

*Ramble On, And now's the time, the time is now, to sing my song.
I'm goin' 'round the world, I got to find my girl, on my way.
I've been this way ten years to the day, Ramble On,
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams.

Got no time to for spreadin' roots, The time has come to be gone.
And to' our health we drank a thousand times, it's time to Ramble On.

* Chorus

Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear.
How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air.
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair.
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, her, her....yeah.

* Chorus

Gonna ramble on, sing my song. Gotta keep-a-searchin' for my baby...
Gonna work my way, round the world. I can't stop this feelin' in my heart
Gotta keep searchin' for my baby. I can't find my bluebird!

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Dark_Squall
04-12-2005

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i think the whole thing is about The lord of the Rings....the whole first verse is about the shire....and it almost seems like bilbo singing it due to the fact that hes leaving on pleasant terms. however, "For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way. " i can see referring to the Nazgul chasing Frodo throught the fringes of the shire, so its hard to tell.
chorus simply states the mission of the whole adventure. second verse is about there stay at teh prancing pony obviously. the third verse is the most obvious, and the last little bit is probably after the ring is destroyed, and Frodo still has the want for it.

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classicrockgirl
04-16-2005

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i think that zeppelin took some obvious refs to lotr and then just changed a few things.

"Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way." Frodo left the Shire in Autumn.

'Mine's a tale that can't be told," reminds me of how Frodo had to keep the ring secret for a while.

"T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair." i think this is about when the Ring was made, but i suppose plant or page changed the ring to a girl.

"But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her" maybe about how gollum ended up with the ring for awhile. or maybe they were feeling really strange and they thought that gollum would run away with their girlfriend.

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Cortez, The Killer
06-07-2005

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No, this song is definitely about the Lord of the Rings. When he meets the girl in the "darkest depths of Mordor", Frodo finally becomes overpowered by the temptations of the Ring of Power, and puts it on. When "Gollum, the evil one, creeps up and slips away with her", thats when Gollum bites off Frodo's ring finger.

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Cortez, The Killer
06-07-2005

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And no, classic rock girl, when the "leaves are falling all around, and it was time he was on his way" actually describes Frodo's departure with the Fellowship of the Ring from Rivendell.

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burns32958
06-23-2005

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Disclaimer: not hating on LOTR.....great literature, and great cinema.

The song is about the girl who got away. Every man has one.

He spends the rest of his life floating from one woman to the next, in search of her, or her replacement.

The Tolkien reference is simply a metaphor.

His 'bluebird' can be compared to the Ring.

No offense, but anyone who thinks the song is ABOUT Lord of the Rings needs to stop posting on chatrooms and go find a woman. Then you'll understand.

Led Zep's reference to Tolkien is a poetic way of describing something in life by alluding to a literary work that is already well-known.

ITS CALLED FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. It stirs the imagination. It is used widely in music lyrics.

ok enough rambling on.....

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Cortez, The Killer
06-26-2005

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I happen to have a woman. The Tolkien reference is not a metaphor. Zeppelin based many of their songs directly off Tolkien writings, otherwise there would be no need to use direct references to the texts. There are actually three or so more songs based directly off LOTR or the Hobbit- Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, The Battle of Evermore, and mabye others. This song and the others contain more than figurative language. I guess you're just a poet and you didn't know it. But your feet do; they're Longfellows.

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subterranean_summer
09-09-2005

Rated 0 
LOVE IT. the end! BEST SONG EVER. everevereverever

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yardbird99
09-21-2005

Rated 0 
I have a different theory, stay with me on this one.

Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.

-Time has passed, he has to go. He can't stay. Something is making him go.


Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.

-He wants to stay.

But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.

-His time is up, he has to go, even though he said he wants to stay.

For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.

-He will be unbearably unhappy if he doesn't go.

Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...

-The burden that is requiring him to leave is not a new one. It has tired him out, but he is not free of it.

Ramble On,

-Continue On.

And now's the time, the time is now, to sing my song.

-He starts his journey, his sings the song of his plight.

I'm goin' 'round the world, I got to find my girl, on my way.

-He is trying to find what is the most precious thing to him. This is communicated to man with the analogy of finding "my girl"

I've been this way ten years to the day,

-It's been a long time

Ramble On,

-Continue on, can't stay where he is happy, he must go.

Gotta find the queen of all my dreams.

-Gotta find what matters most to him, the only thing that occupies his thoughts. Presumably, the thing that makes him unhappy that he doesn't have.

Got no time to for spreadin' roots, The time has come to be gone.

-Can't make a home, friends, or family. Can't stay in one place, have to go, seek, and find this "queen of his dreams"

And to' our health we drank a thousand times, it's time to Ramble On.

-He is with a group, and presumably they are old. They also share the same goal, presumably.

* Chorus

Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear.

-It's a sad tale, he misses his freedom, which he clearly doesn't have.

How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air.

-Things have changed, its been a long time

T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair.

-He met the "queen of his dreams" in mordor. It is unlikely that there are any beautiful women in Mordor, and equally unlikely that he fell in love with an orc. The Queen of his dreams is the Ring of power given to him by Sauron.
"He" is a ring wraith.

But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, her, her....yeah.

-Gollum stole the ring. And the ring wanted to be stolen.

* Chorus

Gonna ramble on, sing my song. Gotta keep-a-searchin' for my baby...

-Ring Wraith's can do nothing but seek their ring. And sing this song of course.

Gonna work my way, round the world. I can't stop this feelin' in my heart

-Doesn't matter how long or how far, gotta find that ring. The need for the ring will never die.

Gotta keep searchin' for my baby. I can't find my bluebird!


I have a slightly different angle. It is a LOTR theory, and thats not dumb because Zepp was very mythological in their writings, and were huge fans of Tolkien. If you don't think its LOTR, I don't really care. This is the only song I think is about LOTR, I'm not some LOTR nut that goes around matching up references wherever I can.

The song is the anthem of the Ring Wraiths, sung by a Ring Wraith.

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Lyrica
10-27-2005

Rated 0 
I agree this is a search for his Soulmate; his Twin Soul/Flame/queen. The references to LOTR is just for fun! He is dedicated to (his) freedom, and to the freedom of All. His "Bluebird" of Happiness is elusive, and he must give up something he desires to find her...'spreading roots'. Another reference to Soulmate is in the song 'Tangerine'...she is not incarnated on Earth at this time with him. She resides as a shining Light in the dimensions/consciousness between lives where we came from and will be. 'Going To California' is an out-of-body experience...an Astral trip he takes to the higher realms/dimensions to find his TwinSoulmate/queen on an Affinity Line. In "The Song RTSame", his crazy dream is about higher consciousness and his access to it, just as we all potentially have. Also, 'Kashmir' is not about the physical place, it's about an (Astral-like) flight/access to Higher consciousness...for example "pilot of the storm how leaves no trace" and "wasted land" are Zen Terms. STH, another example of the Spiritual Side of Led Zep, is about changing ourself's dross of mundane gold alchemically to the spiritual gold/riches we are/will be. Robert/Jimmy could say what they mean directly, but the thing is that, some things are not understood by our rational/reason mind, they are better understood/relatable by our intuitive/heart/higher soul self and best expressed by beautifully crafted metaphor, allegory, myth, and music...like this song.

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bkat004
11-06-2005

Rated 0 
IT'S MINE, PRECIOUS!

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kyeo
12-14-2005

Rated 0 
Oh, lord, you guys. Y'all are giving these people way too much credit. Robert Plant got stoned one night after reading Tolkien and made up a bunch of shit to try and get in some girl's pants, and he threw a couple of LOTR references in there because he thought it would make him sound groovy. Next!

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rakemedry
12-21-2005

Rated 0 
I think the tolkien reference is just to add to the song, and the song is not actually about LOTR. i think its about them dreaming about the perfect woman....the queen of all my dreams....and if sit happens and they dont find her then they just ramble on (keep searching) i love this song cuz i kinda feel the same

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Emporer_Ezekeil
12-28-2005

Rated 0 
Holy crud Kyeo, you are a moron. Moving on, Yardbird, I like your theory a lot. I very well think that it could be just that. I just want to point out some motifs in Zeppelin's writing.
Queen of all my dreams (Always talks about queen of dreams and light)
10 years
Lord of the Rings and fantasy etc

I think this is one interpretation of the many that Plant intended for it to mean. (A there a bunch that are there that he was not aware of)

Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Everything is dying

Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
The autumn moon lights his way. Religious speaking, that is NOT Jesus Christ. He is the Summer sun.

For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
Pain is headed his way. The devil inflicts pain
Sometimes I grow so tired, but I know I've got one thing I got to do...
He's got to tell everyone about the 'autumn moon'


Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear.
How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air.
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair.
He messin' around in the darkest depths of the most most evil place on earth.... hmmmm
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, her, her....yeah.

Now I very strongly believe that the main focus of this writing was Lord of the Rings but there are just some things that don't fit in there. (Such as the Autumn Moon, autumn is death and moon is dark and scary, lighting his way. Frodo did not get lit by the autumn moon) Also, Frodo did not find the ring in Mordor. He find it far from there.

And as said earlier, whenever Zeppelin uses LOTR, it's a metaphor. I have a lot more to say but my contact rolled behind my eye a few minutes ago and it really hurts

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Philosopher
01-04-2006

Rated 0 
I think your all looking at this song the wrong way.
It isn't written from Bilbo's, Gollum's, Frodo's, or even Sauron's veiwpoint.
I think it is written from the view of the Ring itself.

The first verse is about it's departure from Rivendell, and the part about the rain is about how it doesn't want to go becuase they are going to destroy it. However, it knows it must go if it wants to go back to Sauron.

I think the Chorus is about it's voyage around the world. The 10 years is, as someone stated before, its journey with Frodo. And the Queen, as strange as it sounds, I believe is The Dark Lord Sauron, since he is a person of royalty.

The third is difficult and I have no clue how it relates to LOTR. If someone could explain it using my theory, I would be much obliged.

The next verse (Mine is a story that can't be told.... that one)is about ring's forging Mordor. The evil one is the king of Gondor, who killed Sauron (slipped away her...) The ring was then 'exchanged' to Gollum who took him even further from Sauron.

The last verse is simply restating the voyage which the Ring is undergoing.

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Hoosierdude188
01-17-2006

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I'm so sorry to say that i have not read the LOTR series; but even i know the references.......even w/o the references, this is a god damn good song.......my favorite of all time.....

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byrock
02-12-2006

Rated 0 
I think that it's a little of both of the major theories being that its

1) about lord of the rings, and
2) its just a reference

Led Zeppelin was incredibly influenced by the Lord of the Rings and many of their songs allude to the trilogy, but you have to give them credit that while they use certain aspects of Lord of the Rings they have their own minds. Some parts of the song don't fit with the books, and thats probably (I'm saying probably because, I'm most certainly NOT Plant and therefore, I don't know for sure) where their own life experiences entertwine with Tolkien's work.

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clintocc
02-17-2006

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all you LOTR fans that watched the 2000+ movies.... obviously there is the influence of the books, but ITS JUST A REFERENCE. can you explain the line: I've been this way ten years to the day, Ramble On... " Seem like another Zeppelin song? Perhaps it is about a girl that slipped away from him ten years ago, with another man? Maybe its taken ten years of pain for him to deal with it? Ramble on....

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mlk1708
02-25-2006

Rated 0 
this is at the top of my list of favorite led zeppelin songs. brilliant. enough said.

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EmporerEzekeil
03-18-2006

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Yes, that's why i mentioned motifs. People always think that lyrics only can mean one thing, involve one reference. Come on. It's not all LOTR, but i scoff at people who think that Zeppelin has nothing to do with them. Its completely undeniable. But back to the motifs, I'm not exactly sure what they mean or anything, but ten years is definetly one and i imagine it's something that largely impacted Plant's likfe LIKE a girl slipping away from him.
I heard that's what Ten years Gone is supposed to be about. Very likely.

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WYWH
03-21-2006

Rated 0 
Yes, they reference Tolien. No, the song isn't literaly anout LOTR. No, there are no references to LOTR in Stairway.

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EmporerEzekeil
03-27-2006

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Ehhh, I think there MAY be some stuff, Eastern glow or whatever, no one will ever be certain though because it is completely possible either way.

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yardbird99
04-09-2006

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"
by Emporer_Ezekeil on 12-28-2005 @ 08:15:06 AM

Now I very strongly believe that the main focus of this writing was Lord of the Rings but there are just some things that don't fit in there. (Such as the Autumn Moon, autumn is death and moon is dark and scary, lighting his way. Frodo did not get lit by the autumn moon) Also, Frodo did not find the ring in Mordor. He find it far from there.
"

You forgot what I posted, or I don't understand your argument. I don't mean to be disagreeable, but I feel I just need to clarify a couple things about my post.

The song is the story of the Ring Wraiths told by a Wraith.

"Frodo did not get lit by the autumn moon." That doesn't matter. Frodo isn't even in the story. The Wraiths have been Ring since their curse began, for many years; "(song)...drank a thousand times, time to ramble on." Following the Autumn (which precludes winter) Moon (night, darkness) is consistent with evil.

"Frodo did not find the ring in Mordor."
Again, Frodo isn't in the song. "(song) But Gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her, her, her....yeah."
Bilbo stole the ring from Gollem. But who did Gollum steal the ring from? Whoever it was, they would have turned into a wraith eventually. That wraith is the author.

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heyjude55
05-01-2006

Rated 0 
Lord of the Rings or not this song kicks ass

love the beginning fast fast bass drum!

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RayMan
06-27-2006

Rated 0 
I really don't think there's any need to get too worked up about the Lord of the Rings references here. We could spend hours on surmises and get almost nowhere. The song rocks all by itself. The vocal and the bass line set the mood perfectly for an old tale told by the fireside... it really speaks to something deep inside your soul, doesn't it? I mean it's so much more than a song... it's my soul crying out as I wander through the journey of life... it's actually a PART of me! It was there before the song was ever recorded, and it's still with me now...

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Ereinion
07-26-2006

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i think this song refers to plant's own experience and discovery of LOTR. the 'girl so fair' is probably the ring. oh, and dr_feelgood, frodo came back to the shire after about 3 yrs. it took him a year to journey to mordor and the rest of the time he was lounging around in rivendell and minas tirith.

anyway, it's an awesome song. i love this mystical side of led zeppelin. the music is also really cool. it suits the lyrics. this is definitely one of my favourites!

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