This is how I interpret the song. It goes verse by verse, and yes I do think it is based on LOTR. I would also like to say that I don't think LOTR is based on WWII or Christianity, I think it is just a great fantasy story which just so happened to be written by a Christian who served in WWII. I wold also like to address the statement of the members of Led Zeppelin being Satanist, They were not Satanist they were Roman-Catholics, Jimmy Page had this fascination with the occult but didn't practice any kind of magic, if you don't believe me look it up in any interview that has been done with him he says he has a strong faith in God and that he is just interested in the "dark side". Any way on with the song.

Queen of Light took her bow, And then she turned to go,
(Galadriel passes her test and retreats to the Gray Havens, or Eowyn bids farewell to Aragorn)

The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom, And walked the night alone.
(Aragorn knowing that he is the true king of Gondor takes the paths of the dead to enlist the help of the army of the dead knowing this to be the only way to win the battle)

Oh, dance in the dark of night, Sing to the morning light.
(The Elves are leaving Middle-Earth)

The dark Lord rides in force tonight, And time will tell us all.
(Sauron's power grows stronger as the ring passes into the land of Mordor and now everything depends on Frodo and Sam making it to Mount Doom to destroy the ring)

Oh, throw down your plow and hoe, Rest not to lock your homes.
(A warning to the common folk who really don't know what is going on)

Side by side we wait the might of the darkest of them all.
(The armies of men now wait for Sauron's army in Minas Tirith)

I hear the horses' thunder down in the valley blow,
I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon, waiting for the eastern glow.
(The army of Rohan comes to the aid of Gondor, Avalon is indeed a reference to King Arthur Myth but I think Plant was using it to refer to the Riders of Rohan as a saving grace to Gondor, "waiting for the eastern glow" This refers more to The battle of Helms Deep than Pelenor Fields, Gandalf tells Aragorn "Look to my coming at first light, on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the East." And Gandalf showed up with the Riders of Rohan to help turn the tide of the battle at Helms Deep. Or it could just mean that they are waiting for the darkness to break and the sun to shine in because the Orcs in Sauron's army can't stay in the light for very long)

The apples of the valley hold, The seeds of happiness,
(This is referring to the Hobbits, they live for simple things. It doesn't take much to make them content.)

The ground is rich from tender care, Repay, do not forget, no, no.
(This is speaking of the Valar and the Elves.)

Dance in the dark of night, sing to the morning light.
(Once again Elves)

The apples turn to brown and black, The tyrant's face is red.
(Refers back to the Hobbits. As Sauron's power grows all good things start to die and decay, even the Shire.)

The tyrant's face is red.
(Either Denethor or Sauron. Denethor: He is going mad because he has looked into the palantir and he thinks there is no way to defeat Sauron's army, he has also lost his favorite son Boromir and thinks that his son Faramir is dying, He goes into a fit of rage and kills himself. Sauron: Knowing that the Witch King has been defeated he know senses defeat.)

Oh the war is common cry, Pick up you swords and fly.
(Speaking of all creatures from around Middle-Earth good and bad have some part to play in this war.)

The sky is filled with good and bad that mortals never know.
(It says in the books that the Great Eagles and the Nazgul circled above the city of Minas Tirith as the war went on the only beings that knew of this were Sauron and Gandalf who are not mortals they are Isantari)

Oh, well, the night is long the beads of time pass slow,
(self explanatory)

Tired eyes on the sunrise, waiting for the eastern glow.
(Much like the verse I wrote about a while back)

The pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath,
(During the war King Theoden was killed and many men were lost from Gondor and Rohan)

The drums will shake the castle wall, the ring wraiths ride in black, Ride on.
(self explanatory, oooo Ringwraiths!)

Sing as you raise your bow, shoot straighter than before.
(Speaking of the Elves who came by sea to help in the fight.)

No comfort has the fire at night that lights the face so cold.
(self explanatory)

Oh dance in the dark of night, Sing to the morning light.
(ELVES)

The magic runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back. Bring it back.
(This is about the ring. In order for peace to be brought to Middle-Earth Frodo had to destroy the ring which was gold and had elvish runes on it which read "One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them." or in black speech "Ash nazg durbatuluk, Ash nazg gimbatul, Ash nazg thrakatuluk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul"

At last the sun is shining, The clouds of blue roll by,
(As Sauron's army is defeated the darkness of Mordor which has rolled over the free lands of Middle-Earth break.)

With flames from the dragon of darkness, the sunlight blinds his eyes.
(This could mean that the army of Mordor is the dragon of darkness and as the sun light hits them they flee for Mordor.)

Great lyrics, Just a dawning of a battle.
Great Band, Just a dawning of a way of life.


I guess.

ohhh man, ohh man o man o man.....
this song.....this song.....always leaves me speechless...
songs about LOTR
Ledzep.....freakin awesome....

Hi Im new here and im wondering 2 things , is the high voice in Battle of Evermore Jimmy page and wot is the angel of avalons and the eastern glow, because in the two towers gandalf says to aragorn " LOok to my Coming at the east " and he is glowing?? thanx im 12 and love zep

The high pitched voice is not jimmy page's, its Sandy
Denny's, she was from fairport convention.
Ny guess is that it is about LOTR......

I can tell you that the high Voice in the song is a female artist called Sandy Denny she new robert plant well and he knew her voice was amazing, so he asked her along

I totally agree with everything that kingpyro has said because you can always tell that Led was big fans of LOTR because of thier various songs about Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle Earth

I have to say that finding this site and reading about the meaning of Led Zeppelin's lyrics (especially that they are so filled with stale metaphors to Tolkien) has really diminished the mystical quality I always thought the music had. The whole Tolkien thing is so lame and worn out - and has been for years (way before those awful movies were manufactured.)

Sandy Denny is the only guest artist to have appeared on a Led Zeppelin track.

for everyone who has been saying that LOTR is an allegory or symbolic an any way your are wronggggg. There have been a hundered interviews of Tolkien and in each of them he says that the books had absolutly no symbolic meaning and was not intended as an allegory although he got the idea of hobbit holes and people living in the ground from trench warfare in ww ONE not 2 ONE.

this is a great song, and i agree about it being lord of the rings.

look, everyone saying that lotr is not an allegory, they are right, tolkien says that allegory is the author directing the will of the reader, he prefers applicibility, which allows the reader to decide for themselves what the book is about. Therefore if you think its about christianity or WW2 or whatever good for you. The point is, they are great books, as well as inspiring every lyric of this great song. I have read lord of the rings too many times, and i am sure of the meaning of all of the lines. I admit it is compelling to call galadriel the queen of light, however, this book is entirely about the battle of the fields of pelenor for minas tirith, of which galadriel plays no part. therefore, it must be eowyn, right before the prince of peace, aragorn, goes to the paths of the dead. dance in the dark of the night sing to the morning light, speaks of the battle in the darkness and the eventual blowing of the horns of the riders of rohan when they welcome the first coming of daylight and hope, and also just the general hope of all for the morning to come out of darkness. They know the Dark Lord, sauron, rides is force because errant riders from faramirs company tell them that osgiliath is being overrun. Because of this they order the evacuation of the fields of pelenor, a farming district, hence throw down your hoes and plows. the riders in the valley below are the riders of rohan, and the angels of avalon are the fallen angels, who ride with aragorn, and from the south east they shall come, and they shall kindle a new light when all hope seems lost, the hope of the seven stars and the white tree, the emblem of the true king of gondor. ok the apples stuff is pretty easy, valley fertile, apples good, valley burned, apples black and brown, and denethor sees this and despairs and goes to look in the palantir, which all the men see as a red glowing in the tower. I think the next lines could be spoke by gandalph himself, he was the rallying point when there was still darkness, for men would quail without him, but when he was near they would take up the battle. He would always say that also there are things even he cannot forsee, so even when the sky looks black, it could change for the light any minute. i think the next two lines are pretty easy, its a pretty long ass night when all the hords of mordor and the dark lord are knocking on your fucking door, and your just looking for a little help. Now, the next line says the pain of war cannot excede the woe of aftermath, this is perhaps just a blanket statement, that the heralds couldnt sing of the loss of the greats until after the battle, such as theoden. because after the war, although much work was to be done, minas tirith bloomed greater than prior to the war, so i think its talking about personal grief, not any permanent destruction. the next line, the drums roll before every stoke of the battering ram grond, which breaks the gate of minas tirith and then the lord of the ringwraiths, the witch king of angmar rides in. This is when the army of rohan arrives, blows its horns and rides on to the field, making the ringwraith retreat. The next line refers to the joy of battle the riders of rohan felt and the great skill with which they fought, and the fires that gave warmth to the dark lords legions at night, was now taken from them as they fall in the face of rohan. The magic runes of gold, could not refer to frodos ring at this point, it makes not sense, that wasnt destroyed during this battle, but the battle before the dark gate, which doesnt seem to fit, and it didnt bring balance, it destroyed evil forever, or so was said at the time. The balance was brought back and the fight made fair when merry struck down the lord of the ringwrath's with his firebrand forged by the men of the westernesse, who put golden runes upon it. The darkness is then lifted from the sky and the hearts of all his men. Sauron's vision is then clouded from everything else, he goes made looking towards the west, allowing frodo to finish his quest and the last hope of all the free peoples of middle-earth. That i know is similar to some accounts, but i think it is comprehensive, and while as with tolkien, the song can have many applicabilities, and can be interpreted different ways, this is how it fits into the book, and any nonsense about the this song being about helms deep or the ring being the golden runes, look for more evidence, the ring was golden, the runes on the ring were fire red and were in the language of the black toungue, it could not be used to bring balance, only destruction for one side or the other.

You're all missing the most obvious thing. The title comes directly from the text. READ THE BOOK. I believe it was the battle in front of the gates of Mordor, but I can't find it right now (It might be in the Silmarillion).
The numerous references to LOTR are obvious. You would notice if you actually read the book. Anyone arguing against The Battle of Evermore being based on LOTR obviously knows nothing about LOTR.

Personally, I think the song is just a collection of mythological "final battles." And the Battle of Pelennor Fields is one of those battles that Led Zep thought worthy of including. And warnerj is pretty much right from what I read of his post. Tolkien said his books weren't allegories, but they were supposed to be applicable to everybody's life for all time.

And a little nit-picky detail... I almost forgot the ram was named Grond after Morgoth's mace. Thanks for reminding me, warnerj.

And a quote that describes the mood of the whole song:
Aurë entuluva!
(Hurin's battlecry at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, meaning "Day shall come again!)

Hey. All of you have talked about what the song means. Don't get me wrong, I believe that it has references to LOTR. The thing I would like to mention is that apart from guitar there is also mandolin used in the song. Thats how they get that higher picthed more resonant notes that sound like guitar. I'm not shure whether JPJ or Jp plays the mandolin but I know it's in there having played the instrument myself.

Hey. All of you have talked about what the song means. Don't get me wrong, I believe that it has references to LOTR. The thing I would like to mention is that apart from guitar there is also mandolin used in the song. Thats how they get that higher picthed more resonant notes that sound like guitar. I'm not shure whether JPJ or Jp plays the mandolin but I know it's in there having played the instrument myself.

Oops sorry for the double entry

Idunno about you guys, but when I listen to the second-last bit

"Oh dance in the dark of night, Sing to the morning light.
The magic runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back. Bring it back. "

It sounds to me like he says "sing to the morning [something] light", the [something] seems to consist of "mm" or something - I was thinking "moon", "sing to the morning moonlight". It was common in mythological religions to worship the moon, especially when it was the full moon - producing the most light, sometimes enough to be able to see your own shadow.

Does anyone else have any takes on what's going on in there? It certainly seems to stick out, and I'm surprised that no lyrics sites - not even ones that take pride in being accurate - account for it.

Even though it is based on the final battle of LOTR, I still think its amoung the best poetry written in a song. The back up vocalist is the female singer they hired methinks

" I'd been reading a book on the Scottish wars just before going to Headley Grange. The number (' Battle Of Evermore') is really more of a playlet than a song. - Robert Plant
I mean i dont know who to agree with, robert plant literally said this himself, but there are so many signs/hints that it could be LOTR, im not saying it is, it could be a mixture we'll have to ask him.. you'll find him at his pub in redditch

OK, a bunch of you overlooked a HUGE and I mean HUGE part of the song. Before I talk about a more in depth version of it, first just think of the song with no analyzing. Just what it is on the surface. It's the battle for evermore. The last battle between good and evil. The forces are coming together to fight. Obviously the Dragon of darkness is evil. Now what most of you are taking the ending is that the dragon of darkness, or the evil side, is blinded by the light, thus losing. But take a second glance and notice that it say WITH flames from the dragon of darkness. WITH flames. That means that 'his' eyes, are not the dragon's, but the dragon conquered over good.
Again before I really get into this, Histamine, I guarantee you that Plant wrote this song about Scottish wars and the such. But I also guarantee that he also based it on LOTR and religion.

When is speaks of the Queen of Light taking her bow, then leaving and the Prince of Peace embracing the gloom, it could be talking about a number of people. I am not going to get all into who it could be but no matter who it is, what these lines are saying is that the good side is folding. They are bowing to the evil and embracing it. This is backed up by the line about apples turning brown to black. Things are getting consumed by evil. And just before that it explains what the apples are. The apples are their foundation, their happiness. The apples though are evil. They thrive on evil. It also says that he is waiting for the might of the darkest of them all. On the surface, it would seem like they are not waiting in anticipation, but dreading it. But evidence so far has shown that the evil is not to be feared. There is so much more to tell but many other people have said it and it would take me hours to explain my interpretation of it so I will only point out a few more things. The part about the eastern glow, if you've seen Lord of the Rings, you know what that is. That is the army of Mordor.
Now a lot of people have been saying that the section where it says to sing as you raise your bow, to shoot straighter than before is about a lot of pretty wierd stuff, but my first instinct was praying. Sing to the god(s) and they will make you shoot straighter than before. One last part I would like to address in this song is the ring wraiths part. When it says ride on, the question is who that is being said to. Is it telling the ring wraiths to ride on an provail or is it telling others to ride on and fight the evil. As evidence about (and some stuff that I am going to write) shows that they want the evil to provail.

First I would like to talk about kingpyro's post. I think that most of that stuff is very accurate if not completely. But I believe that most everthing here has a double meaning. (If you've ever seen a live of Zeppelin doing Stairway, Plant usually puts of two fingers and then rotates his hand when he says 'two meanings'. So he's saying this is what I'm saying, holds up two fingers, and this is what I mean, turns his hand around) But read kingpyro's post and another guy's (Sorry I don't remember who it was, but it talked about how Zeppelin was Satanic and the religous part of the song) for a pretty complete idea of what I think Plant ment.
And Zeppelin was VERY Satanic I hate to say it. I mean, Jimmy Page bought Aleister Crowley's house! They practiced in it until Plant said that it was even too evil for him. Crowley believed that Lucifer had a female consort in the form of light which is why they always talk about the 'Queen' and stuff. (Ramble On, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN) They also talk about the 'Piper' a lot. Like in Stairway, they Plant sings about the Piper calling you and humming in your head until you listen and 'call the tune at last'. Who is the Piper? The Bible states that ,in Ezekiel 28, Lucifer was the celestrial composer of music, with celestrial pipes. The Piper. Well, I could go on for days but I belive I made my point.

Isn't it great though how you could spend hours trying to interpret just ONE Zeppelin song, get so far and yet not achieve anything at all. And then you come here and hear so many different interpretations which can all be true. As much as I hate most of their messages, this is one reason that proves that Zeppelin is the greatest band that has come into our presence.

First of all I have read the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy so don't call me a dumbass for some of the things I may be about to say.

First of all:
Lord of the Rings is not based on Christianity. Tolkien himself said it wasn't. All theories on this are people just finding random stuff and twisting it toward Christianity.

Second:
I believe this song to be taken from both the Bible AND Lord of the Rings. It is obvious in the usage of the Ringwraiths and the Dark Lord that Zeppelin is making references to LOTR, but look at the second line:

"The Prince of Peace (Jesus) embraced the gloom, And walked the night alone."

It is very clear to me that this is refering to the night before the Crucifiction where Jesus embraced the fact that he was about to die a horribly painful death and he wondered in the garden at night by himself.

So... for those of you who think this song is ONLY reference to the Bible or LOTR, I just want to say "WAKE UP!" It is very clear that Zeppelin used references to both.

Thank you for your time.

huh, I said "First of all" twice, kind of redundant wouldn't you say?

I just noticed this, the first two lines are written in past tense unlike the rest of the song, further supporting my theory on the first part being about the crucifiction and the rest being about the Revelation

At Cleveland 27th April 1977 Plant said something like

"this song reflects a supposed morning at...more than anything else, an evening in England, som sevenhundred years ago, this is about the time that me and Bonzo got married"

at the beginning of the Batlle Of Evermore Performance. Recordings from the concert might be available as Destroyer 2 CD and Destroyer Final Edition 3 CD, think I heard it from Destroyer.