DaveJonGilmour

So Tessio 82, this post of yours feels quite superficial and simplistic, not to mention inconsistent, as I’ve mentioned before: did hard rock embody your personality? It did for me too, I can tell you that. The thing is, generalizing has never done any good: which hard rock have you listened to? Who said that all hard rock doesn't care about lyrics? A book you took for gospel? Perhaps history has taught us that, but the fact is that AC/DC and thousands of imitators disregarded the lyrics, while Led Zeppelin, who many don’t even consider hard rock, treated them as equal to the music, at least in the beginning, when the term hard rock hadn’t yet been coined. And then you say, “for this mediocrity and immediacy (as well as predictability), it will also have banal and obvious themes”: well, that “also” underscores how you’re grasping at straws; you could have thought twice before typing that because you're saying something silly, do you realize that? Then you talk about ballads, while we're discussing the meaning of hard music, and anyway the comparison with a singer-songwriter discussing social themes doesn't hold, because one of the many merits of Led Zeppelin is blending immediate music with much deeper lyrics... You might want to limit yourself to music for a good time, whatever, but know that Celtic myths go well beyond him and her breaking up, and I seriously doubt the record label insisted on such lyrics; on the contrary, they were quite pleased with the combination of hard, blues, innovative music and the deep lyrics of a Plant, introspective, cultured, and aggressive, who shaped blues rock and folk to his liking and surprised with his fairy-tale visions, something you've unfortunately never grasped. Generalizing has never done any good, and in fact, as far as I can see, you grew up thinking all hard rock is the same, failing to grasp the differences between "can I sit next to you girl" and "our shadows taller than our souls"... Besides inviting you to reread the lyrics of Led Zeppelin, I can’t say anything else.. Plant may be a sly one, but his lyrics need to be digested, remember that.

Yes, what is it, lord? Don't keep me in suspense!! Can you pass it to me, Cymbaline? Pleaaaase!!!!!

Love her like the air, love her as she is, love her like the air, she is there, she is there, love her like the air, love, love as she is, love her like the air, love, she is there, she is there, black that takes away, that takes away the black road that hadn’t been seen for a whole life, so sweetly black, black, that hits hard, that knocks down the doors, it's not water that makes things flow, flow, flow black from misfortune that kills and passes beyond, black like the bad luck that makes its den where there is no moon, moon, black from bitter folds that pass the graves, another one from the edges, another one, another one, but Anselmo's wife must not know, for she has come for me, she arrived an hour ago and love has love as its only topic, and the tumult of the sky has chosen the wrong moment, water that expects nothing but blessed water that brings bad omen, rises from the stairs, rises without salt, rises, water that breaks the mountain that sinks earth and bridge, it’s not the water of ‘na rammà, in calabà, in calabà, but Anselmo's wife is dreaming of the sea when it fills the crevices, it retreats and rises again, and the sheet inflates on the curve of the wave, and the struggle becomes slippery and deep, love her like the air, love, as she is, as she is, love her like the air, love, she is there, she is there, water from sharp needles falling from the sky and ceilings, water for photographs, to look for the accomplices to curse, water that tightens the hips, a net of passersby, another one from the edges, another one, another one, beyond the wall of glass, life awakens, taking each other’s hand after the battle is over, like this love that from the anxiety of losing itself found the certainty of having each other in one day, water that made evening that now retreats low, slipping through the crowd like an innocent that has nothing to do, cold as a pain, sweetly black without a heart, another one from rebelling, another one, another one, and Anselmo's wife feels the water that descends from the clothes glued by every chill of skin in her tram unconnected from any distance, in the midst of time that now moves forward for her, thus was that love with an incomplete ending, so splendid and true that it could deceive you.

And you ask me, iltiziana? Do you feel good about yourself? I wouldn't feel good :-)

Unfortunately, I only listened to the self-titled album, I'm missing that.. a question: but is it true that in a live performance from '72 they did several covers including CYMBALINE???? And is it true that this live, I think in Rome, is impossible to find???

Moreover, if I remember correctly, Plant's lyrics drew from Celtic and even Egyptian mythologies, and I see nothing wrong with that; on the contrary, for me, these are all elements in his favor... and then he had that intrinsic quest for spiritual harmony, inner peace, the balance of the senses (which, by the way, was the meaning of "his" symbol, the feather). In short, he was much more than just a long-haired hippie, as many define him... comparisons with socially or politically charged lyrics are not acceptable here; this is about finding peace within oneself, seeking one's own self. There are no attempts at forced poetry; it is all so simple, so calm, so natural. And even if we wanted to exclude all of this, there remain lyrics that possess a certain magic, unlike anything ever heard in the hard rock realm.

don't waste your time with this... he's more stubborn than birbabirba

Gaber inferior to Fossati? Are you crazy???

I didn't imagine you would bring up that text, especially since it’s not by Plant, but Led Zeppelin took it from a blues by Johnson, so if you really don’t like it, take it up with Johnson. Clearly, it was meant as a tribute; Plant has never written anything like that. Moreover, you confirm your omniscience: what the hell do you know about my taste for AC/DC lyrics? You're mistaken, buddy! I listen to quite different things, and it's childish to compare hard rock lyrics with those of the greatest songwriters that have ever existed. It’s clear that a Cohen, in comparison, deserves a Nobel Prize—discovering hot water... but in the rock-blues and hard rock arena, Plant is one of the best, precisely because he doesn’t aim for poetry but instead focuses on descriptions, allusions told in a different, profound way, fairy-tale atmospheres. For you, there’s only rhythm and, as you make me understand, vulgarity; we’ll never agree. You want to compare AC/DC lyrics with Plant's? Are you sure you know anything about philosophy? I’ve read almost all the lyrics of Led Zeppelin, and the most banal ones were precisely those of blues origin, which ought to be considered at most tributes... now, premised that Stairway to Heaven has nothing to do with Satan, can you explain why you don't like it without continuing to draw useless comparisons with Dylan and company?

And then I don't understand, does a text have to necessarily contain references to occult forces to be beautiful? Does there always have to be something mystical inherent in it? They seem clear to me, far from being obscure.