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Sisters of the way-side bide their time in quiet peace,
Await their place within the ring of calm;
Still stand to turn in seconds of release,
Await the call they know may never come.
In times of lightness, no intruder dared upon
To jeopardize the course, upset the run;
And all was joy and hands were raised toward the sun
As love in the halls of plenty overrun.
Still in their bliss unchallenged mighty feast,
Unending dances shadowed on the day.
Within their walls, their daunting formless keep,
Preserved their joy and kept their doubts at bay.
Faceless legions stood in readiness to weep,
Just turn a coin, bring order to the fray;
And everything is soon no sooner thought than deed,
But no one seemed to question in anyway.
How keen the storied hunter's eye prevails upon the land
To seek the unsuspecting and the weak;
And powerless the fabled sat, too smug to lift a hand
Toward the foe that threatened from the deep.
Who cares to dry the cheeks of those who saddened stand
Adrift upon a sea of futile speech?
And to fall to fate and make the 'status plan'
Where was your word, where did you go?
Where was your helping, where was your bow? Bow.
Dull is the armor, cold is the day.
Hard was the journey, dark was the way. Way.
I heard the word; I couldn't stay. Oh.
I couldn't stand it another day, another day,
Another day, another day.
Touched by the timely coming,
Roused from the keeper's sleep,
Release the grip, throw down the key.
Held now within the knowing,
Rest now within the peace.
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed.
They had to stay!
Held now within the knowing,
Rest now within the beat.
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed...
Await their place within the ring of calm;
Still stand to turn in seconds of release,
Await the call they know may never come.
In times of lightness, no intruder dared upon
To jeopardize the course, upset the run;
And all was joy and hands were raised toward the sun
As love in the halls of plenty overrun.
Still in their bliss unchallenged mighty feast,
Unending dances shadowed on the day.
Within their walls, their daunting formless keep,
Preserved their joy and kept their doubts at bay.
Faceless legions stood in readiness to weep,
Just turn a coin, bring order to the fray;
And everything is soon no sooner thought than deed,
But no one seemed to question in anyway.
How keen the storied hunter's eye prevails upon the land
To seek the unsuspecting and the weak;
And powerless the fabled sat, too smug to lift a hand
Toward the foe that threatened from the deep.
Who cares to dry the cheeks of those who saddened stand
Adrift upon a sea of futile speech?
And to fall to fate and make the 'status plan'
Where was your word, where did you go?
Where was your helping, where was your bow? Bow.
Dull is the armor, cold is the day.
Hard was the journey, dark was the way. Way.
I heard the word; I couldn't stay. Oh.
I couldn't stand it another day, another day,
Another day, another day.
Touched by the timely coming,
Roused from the keeper's sleep,
Release the grip, throw down the key.
Held now within the knowing,
Rest now within the peace.
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed.
They had to stay!
Held now within the knowing,
Rest now within the beat.
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed...
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I suspect LZ realized the mysterious lyrics would hold people's interests much longer than the usual "fluff" that passed for rock lyrics at the time.
I read these lyrics and they are so rich and deep, I feel like I am looking at a painting by one of the great masters and my mind is being overwhelmed with imagery after imagery.
Zeppelin wasn't concerned with writing "pop" songs for the radio.
These lyrics are testimony that they were on to something bigger and better than FM airplay. Zeppelin was creating master pieces of sonic / audio art works.
"YES" and even "RUSH" dabble with imaginative lyrics but nothing with the sophistication of Led Zeppelin's lyrics.
Genius.
Just reading the lyrics they don't really look like a song, more like some
ancient poetry written by Leonardo DaVinci while tripping on acid.
And how Plant looked at them, gave them melody, and sang them,,, is absolutely stunning.
These lyrics should be required reading in high schools and colleges.
Then young kids "might" appreciate true creative genius, and hopefully turn their backs on the garbage that corporate record labels are now promoting as music.
So that I agree with. Glad they got past that! I saw Page/Plant twice and they were great as was the 02 concert.
Some of the lyrics as printed here make me think of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf:
----------
...
Still in their bliss unchallenged mighty feast,
Unending dances shadowed on the day.
Within their walls, their daunting formless keep,
Preserved their joy and kept their doubts at bay.
...
How keen the storied hunter's eye prevails upon the land
To seek the unsuspecting and the weak;
And powerless the fabled sat, too smug to lift a hand
Toward the foe that threatened from the deep.
----------
I wonder if the songwriter might have read this poem shortly before writing these lyrics.
Your comment "I always loved this song" struck me because I waited for this album for years to come out, and I was disappointed because I could never make out the lyrics and the music was louder than the vocals. There was no web to look it up. So today it just popped into my head. I liked the album. Like all previous, it was different. I just was so disappointed in that song. I think Page did that. Putting the music over the lyrics. That's what I heard anyway. Ah well. Time flies!
It's a shame that this song wasn't played live because the day they rehearsed it Bonham died later RIP.
How long IS this?? 15 minutes? I haven't timed it
I agree with "Fool". There are definitely political overtones in this one, but maybe more than Vietnam. Seems to me to be about the overall hippie vision for transforming society dying. And there's some blame placed toward someone, probably people who had become too fat and comfortable to put their necks on the line ("too smug to lift a hand").
Sorry, I don't see anything about groupies or hotels. Plant used some pretty salty innuendo for songs about sex and I just don't see it at all.
There is a hopeful message to the lyrics-- Plant is singing about waking from some sleep and he's also suggesting there is a seed being protected, as if the vision might some day be revived.
I could see this also being allegorical about their own rise and fall, indirectly. The 60's movements languished, Zep was cast aside for punk, disco, new wave, etc. You could see how they might have seen themselves as victim to larger forces.