Lyrics for Going To California as interpreted by kevin

Going To California Lyrics
Spent my days with a woman unkind, Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start, Going To California with an aching in my heart.
Someone told me there's a girl out there with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.
Took my chances on a big jet plane, never let them tell you that they're all the same.
The sea was red and the sky was grey, wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
as the children of the sun began to awake.

Seems that the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow;
I think I might be sinking.
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high.

To find a queen without a king,
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

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Hryuckinnen
10-10-2009

Rated 0 
I think fannon 04-23-2009 got a point and teds-mate-bill 07-25-2006 is also right. Here is an ancient mythological motive about going to the other side. California represents afterlife and the storyline is singer's last journey.

Maybe there's actually no jet plain, hero just smoked himself to death. Also, jet plain may represent his conductor into the new world. Shaking mountains and canyons are surely inspired by californian earthquake; but they are here just to give you right mystical emotion. Culmination of the song ("and it started to flow; I think I might be sinking") symbolizes passing a border between two worlds (in many ancient religions they are divided by water).

"Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn" etc is pure metaphor for soul's wandering in the world of spirits. Mare is not only female horse, it is also spirit in folklore. Woman who's never been born also slightly intimates.

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bigmike7
09-28-2009

Rated 0 
I agree with most that this about trying to find the perfect woman. The singer is a dreamer who is overwhelmed by a "mountain of dreams". "Trying to find a woman whose never been born" is pretty cynical. I think it's because not a lot of women are born with dicks. This theme comes up over and over through Plant's lyrics. See "All of my Love". He wants a woman, but needs a man.

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LawsEUN
07-05-2009

Rated 0 
I'm pretty certain this songs about having problems to the point where you can't deal with them, so you run away from them. You go to california, because it sounds so amazing, but in the end you still end up with the same giant group of problems.
The first verse is the narrator simply explaining why California seems so nice.
The second verse shows you that he's very sorrowful. The God's hit a soft spot on him, and he's not doing well. This explains why he's running away.
The third verse explains:
He has run away to California, and he's trying to find this dream lady, but she doesn't exist, aka California seems like a dream, but it's still just another place.

The final lines, which are the most powerful of all, explains the idea that even though he's in California, it's still just "a hill in his mountain of dreams" or it's nowhere near as great as he expected. In the end, he finds his same old problems, and that things are still very difficult.

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quasistar
06-09-2009

Rated 0 
This song seems very dreamy to me. When you dream, you aren't "in control". When you fall in love with someone, this is beyond your control as well. When you take your "chances on a big jet plane" what happens is out of your control, too.

Women aren't all the same. He has just been through a sad break up and is trying to mend his heart. He is "Going to California", and many people think of California as the golden land. (The land of hopes, dreams and possibilities.) He is going to try to find the woman of his dreams. He wants to find her, but he is afraid to take chances. He wants to love her, telling himself "it's not as hard as it seems". But, it will remain a dream because his heart has been broken and he is afraid of taking chances again.

To me, this song is about trying to mend a broken heart and coming to terms with loss and fears, rather than finding the "perfect woman".

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eplate2
05-27-2009

Rated 0 
It's fairly simple...


The song is about someone who has just suffered a trajic break up and so to get over the girl, the musician leaves home in hopes of escaping the heart break and also to find another, better girl. But in the end, he realizes that the perfect woman does not exist when Plant sings:

"o find a queen without a king,
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born."

It's one of Zeppelin's few folk rock songs and it consists of heartbreak and pain - it has nothing to do with Lord Of The Rings like some people stated and it's not about finding dreams but rather, finding a girl who does not exist

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fannon
04-23-2009

Rated +1 
I don't think I read any interperatation that touched on a plane crash.

I took my chances on a big jet plane, never let 'em tell ya' that they're all the same.
Not all planes are as safe as they should be.

The mountains and the canyons start to tremble and shake.
An explosion.

It seems that the heart of the gods got a punch on the nose and it started to flow I think I
might be sinking.
Because the band is British traveleing to California would require traveling across an ocean. There was so much blood in the water that truely a god must be bleeding. And then he sinks. The lyrics that follow the plane crash are symbolic because the singer has died and is in heaven searching for a queen without a king and he's trying to find a woman who's never been born suggests he's looking for an angel.
Hmm. La la la la.

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tinash
03-25-2009

Rated +1 
actually this song was inspired from joni mitchell's song california who they were huge fans of. when in concert, after the lines "To find the queen without a king they say she plays guitar and cries and sings," Plant would often say her name

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spankythedog56
02-17-2009

Rated 0 
To me, this song is about the promise of a new life and Plant's journey for it.

The first verse is about how he was in a bad relationship and decided to end it and start a new life somewhere else. The girl with "love in her eyes and flowers in her hair" could be taken literally as a beautiful girl he wants to meet or just as the promise of a new life.

The second verse is about how he took the chance of going to a new place and starting over and almost started to regret it (the sea was red and the sky was grey. wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today). Then, he thought more and realized it was gonna be alright (children of the sun began to awake).

The bridge is kinda summarizing the last 2 verses. Hes saying it seems like somehow he pissed off "God" or "Fate" and so that's why his life started to sink. Then he talks like the new life hes going for is like a person that can save him (Throw me a line. If I reach it in time I'll meet you out there where the path runs straight and high)(this could be taken religiously, but im not religious).

In the third verse, he's making the thing hes aiming for seem more literally like a girl (which i prefer to think it as. im a romantic :P). The "Ride a white mare on the footsteps of dawn" is saying hes close to the better life hes been wanting. "Trying to find a woman who's never never never been born" is saying that it seems too good to be true. The last two lines are saying he made it and hes happier. He's "standing on a hill on a mountain of dreams". He ends it by saying "well, that wasn't so hard", possibly as a lesson to go for what you feel in your heart is what you should be doing or where you should be.

Its an inspirational and motivating song! And beautiful too!

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benecjt
02-09-2009

Rated -1 
I am not sure if anyone wrote this yet (I do not have time to read 136 posts), but I read that Robert Plant wrote the lyrics about his crush on Joni Mitchell. Not sure if that is true, but I remeember reading that many, many years ago.

Number one band and one of their best songs. They were so versatile.

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thekidsfromny
01-27-2009

Rated -1 
It reminds me of her. She would be drinking wine and dancing gently. Where did she go now? Where could she be?

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jessica2013
01-17-2009

Rated 0 
This is an amzing song,I find it incredibly romantic even if it is about a dream. I mean a dream about a beautiful girl who can sing? That's just plain awsome. It's like about a dreamgirl, but to bad she's never been born. It's also just about the feeling of everything. My favorite line in the song is " I think I might be sinking" Just the way Plant says it, I love it.

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Brunicas
12-02-2008

Rated -1 
Not sure if this is true, but I've heard that the "flowers in her hair" was referring to Joan Baez. I so love this song. I have a very close family member in CA, who happens to LOVE Led Zeppelin, and this song always reminds me of him. I love the "made up my mind to make a new start, goin to CA with an aching in my heart". I almost did that once.

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mateo
10-02-2008

Rated 0 
I was listening to this song tonight and realized how much it reminded me of middle earth and Tolkien's writings in general. Though it would be a stretch to say that the entire song is about LOTR, and a bit redundant to explain some of the middle earth trivia that has been explained thus far, I'll give my own interpretations of some of the lyrics.

I think the song is reminiscent of the early days of Arda, before Men had 'awoken'. Given the lyric 'Children of Sun,' could stand for the second kindred-Men. They could be referred to this because they were not bound to Arda like the first kindred was(Children of Earth-Elves). I thought this was interesting, and worth noting since I've listened to zeppelin all my life and just made the connection. :)

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hockyjocky
09-24-2008

Rated 0 
I'm not quite sure what it means, but I LOVE this verse:

Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

Is he building confidence in something seemingly bigger than him?

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amberrad
09-04-2008

Rated -1 
ok. "unkind" doesn't really rhyme with "life."

I think when he says took my chances on a big jet plane is a reference to this..... Led Zeppelin began travelling in a private jet airliner (nicknamed The Starship[43]), rented out entire sections of hotels (most notably the Continental Hyatt House in Los Angeles, known colloquially as the "Riot House"), and became the subject of many of rock's most famous stories of debauchery. (& thank you wikipedia)

I think this song is nothing more than there journey to California... to becoming rock ledgends.

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RMXjoint
08-22-2008

Rated 0 
the first line it's "smoked my stuff and drank all my LIFE"

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skichick_28
07-24-2008

Rated 0 
a live version of going to california was playing during a personal experience i had during my freshman year of college. i smile everytime i hear it :) what a beautiful song.

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NWNmoon
04-17-2008

Rated 0 
It's a great song. Jimmy Page was an admirer of Joni's music, guitar tunings, harmonies. Also she sort of epitomised the spirit of those times.

A song might not be about one particular thing it can mean many things and reflect the cultural influences of those times in general.

Buit yes, it is very possible that the Queen who plays guitar and sings is possibly Joni...who else fits the bill?

Also she wrote a song called California and on the same album This Flight Tonight....about a journey on a jet plane. The album was Blue and it's said Bob Dylan wrote Tangled Up in Blue after listening to the same set of songs.

Joni Mitchell is something else.

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dhawk
03-10-2008

Rated 0 
You Lord of the Rings people are nerds. Although LOTR was very poplular in the the 70's and many rock bands did write songs mentioning things in LOTR and Medievel Stories, they are just metaphors. And Led was also steeped in Mysticism, and LOTR is based off of Norwegien and Irish mythology. See the link? And the "flowers in her hair" reffers to a hippy girl, also in the 60's and 70's California was the land where everyone "wore flowers in their hair." Supposed to be a land of peace. And this song is about a man trying to find an impossible love in California.

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JHJKAS
02-22-2008

Rated +1 
Just to let you know, you may think it's a cynical message, but it's coming from a man who has had hundreds of women and knows em pretty well. Makes ya think don't it?

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marmar417
02-09-2008

Rated -1 
standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams, telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems... one of the most meaningful quotes in a song i have ever heard. one i can certainly relate to. what a beautiful song.

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xmegxmisfortunex
01-29-2008

Rated 0 
the more i listen to it, the more i think its about not being scared to die. because things might be as perfect if not more perfect on the other side, as if something from a dream... finding things he wouldent find in life, only in dreams can all your fantasies come true.

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troutangler
01-26-2008

Rated 0 
this song changed my life. everytime i hear it it makes my heart feel alive. although plant wrote it as a love song to joni mitchell (or so I've heard, and in a live version on the west was won, plant even cries out her name...plays her guitar and she cries, and she sings.. .JONI). this song has a different meaning to me. My california isn't california at all, but a place i can go when i need to feel comfort. jimmy page's guitar floods me with warmth, be it the studio version, or the live, or even the bbc sessions, where john paul jones contributed his mandolin to the effort. and every time i feel like my life is without purpose, i remember that im merely standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams, telling myself its not as hard as it seems...

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T_D_Phoenix
01-24-2008

Rated 0 
Only one person's even come close so far. The song is about the Oklahoman/Californian dust bowl. Read the Steinbeck novel.

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moto71
01-20-2008

Rated 0 
this song is defenitaly not about lord of the rings, and neither are any of there other songs, this rumor has been made up by lord of the rings fanatics and is kept alive by them too

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