The classic Led Zeppelin song Robert Plant can no longer relate to: “It was so long ago”

There aren’t many rock singers who ca hang their hat on as many game-changing sngs as Robert Plant can. The powerhouse singer for Led Zeppelin has had his wailing vocals ringing out across the airwaves for decades, and on a multitude of impeccable tunes.

Led Zeppelin’s presence as a rock behemoth has rarely been brought into question since their inception. Though they are perhaps most famed for their album releases, Plant and his band, Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, and John Bonham, were also responsible for more than a few classic singles. ‘Whole Lotta Love’ possesses a riff that is unmistakable, while ‘Immigration Song’ still thunders through the speakers regularly. But one track is perhaps their most widely known.

‘Stairway to Heaven’ endures a love/hate relationship with Led Zeppelin fans. Undoubtedly their most famous song, diehard fans can be easily swayed into dismissing the track as populist rubbish. However, others recognise it, and its solo as perhaps the defining moment of the band’s career, even though it was not released as a single, the track became a smash hit on FM radio.

The simple facts are, released in late 1971, was created by Plant and his bandmate Jimmy Page for Led Zeppelin’s untitled fourth studio album, the tune is now considered by many as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

Despite being the track the somewhat define’s the band’s legacy, Plant is having difficulty relating to the track in 2019. While sitting down with UCR as part of their Nights radio show, Plant said: “The construction of the song, the actual musical construction, is very good. It’s one of those moments that really can stand without a vocal and, in fact, it will stand again without a vocal, I’m sure, because it’s a fine piece of music.”

The famous disdain for the track has been an ongoing joke for many years, with Plant now routinely asked about his ill feelings for the song. Having once paid a radio station $10,000 never to pay the track again, Plant is resolute in why he dislikes the tune so much: “Lyrically, now, I can’t relate to it, because it was so long ago. I would have no intention ever to write along those abstract lines any more.”

He added: “I look at it and I tip my hat to it and I think there are parts of it that are incredible. The way Jimmy Page took the music through, and the way that the drums almost climaxed and then continued – it’s a very beautiful piece.”

“But lyrically, now, and even vocally, I go, ‘I’m not sure about that,’” he concludes. It’s a fair assessment. Most lyricists will wince at the words they wrote two days ago, let alone five decades ago, so Plant’s unease with the track and what it meant are to be expected.