"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album (often referred to as Led Zeppelin IV). It is often referred to as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.The song has three sections, each one progressively increasing in tempo and volume. The song begins with a slow acoustic-based folk melody accompanied by recorders before introducing electric instrumentation. The final section is an uptempo hard rock arrangement highlighted by Page's intricate guitar solo accompanying Plant's vocals that end with the plaintive a cappella line: "And she's buying a stairway to heaven". "Stairway to Heaven" was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs, and was placed at number 31 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States in the 1970s, despite never having been officially released as a single there. In November 2007, through download sales promoting Led Zeppelin's Mothership release, "Stairway to Heaven" hit No. 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.
There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it makes me wonder.
There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who stand looking.
Ooh, it makes me wonder,
Ooh, it really makes me wonder.
And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,
Then the piper will lead us to reason.
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,
And the forests will echo with laughter.
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
And it makes me wonder.
Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
The piper's calling you to join him,
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll.
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
The lyrics came to Robert Plant in a flash of inspiration when he and Jimmy Page were sitting by the fireplace at Headley Grange with Page strumming the intro chords. Robert Plant spent much of the '70s answering questions about the lyrics he wrote for "Stairway." When asked why the song was so popular, he said it could be its "abstraction," adding, "Depending on what day it is, I still interpret the song a different way - and I wrote the lyrics." The lyrics take some pretty wild turns, but the beginning of the song is about a woman who accumulates money, only to find out the hard way her life had no meaning and will not get her into heaven. This is the only part Plant would really explain, as he said it was "a woman getting everything she wanted without giving anything back." In the Bible reading today in Mark 10:17-27 we find Jesus speaking to a man who accumulated money and whose life was shallow, it could be said that his life had no meaning.
He was curious. He had already fulfilled all the elementary requirements. He was a decent person who hadn’t killed anybody, had honoured his parents, and would never think of stealing another man’s goods or another man’s spouse. But what would it take to advance beyond that to assurance of heaven, to perfection, to true intimacy with God?
Curiosity is not the same as desire. True desire will pay any price to get what it wants. Curiosity has the itch to know, but not necessarily the will to act. Jesus decided to help him get honest with himself, for he saw the man’s heart. After all, he is the Word of God made flesh, and Scripture says that God’s word penetrates the surface and drives deep into a person, like a double-edged sword. The gaze of the living Word penetrates. And now he speaks words that also penetrate and even sting a bit. “Go give what you have to the poor and you’ll have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.”
Immediately the man’s countenance fell. He had not bet on this sort of response. More prayers and fasting he could handle perhaps. But giving up all that he’d worked for? And traipsing after this itinerant rabbi all over who-knows-where, not knowing where his next meal would be coming from? This was all too much for him. He wanted God as a part of his life. But he wasn’t ready to give God control of his life, to abandon himself completely, to find his whole identity and security in the Lord. His affluence provided him with a level of comfort and prominence that he’d learn to depend upon. It was just too scary to let go of that. This was a crisis moment in his life, where a choice was set before him that would manifest where his heart truly lie. He tragically failed the heart monitor test.
But there was another young man, a thousand years earlier, who faced the same sort of test and responded differently. His father had built him a very nice kingdom. At the very point at which he was to take over the reins, the Word of God came to him and offered him anything he truly desired. What was his heart’s desire? To be given riches surpassing the wealth of all other kings on the planet? To be granted stunning military victory over all his enemies?
Solomon chose neither of these. He understood that God knew him better than he knew himself and that God loved him more than he loved himself. If he alone was in control of vast armies and riches, he could lose them in a heartbeat, or use them to do more harm than good. If he alone were calling the shots, trying to make himself and his people happy, he’d probably end up miserable and make his people miserable. Humility caused him to recognise his littleness and God’s greatness. This respect for God’s grandeur, otherwise known as fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom. The first thing wisdom does is seek more wisdom. So that is what he asked for, God’s wisdom, God’s counsel, God’s help and even God’s control. Ironically, putting the reigns in God’s hands enabled this loving God to bring military success and prosperity greater than Israel had ever enjoyed before or since.
Jesus points out how this works after the rich young man went away sad. Yes, those who give up precious relationships and possessions to follow Jesus will encounter hardship and persecution. But they will also receive, even in this life, infinitely more than they gave up and in the age to come, everlasting life. As we see in the passage ion Mark 10 and in the Zeppelin song riches cannot buy heaven. God can’t lead us on the adventure of a lifetime if we’re still clinging desperately to what we think will make us happy, with the reigns of our lives grasped tightly in our own hands.
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