1970s songs, epic rock songs

#19 Stairway To Heaven- Led Zeppelin

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.

Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” might be one of the most enigmatic songs ever. Everyone tries to determine what it’s meaning. In general, it is about two characters: The Lady and The Piper and their thoughts on how to live and the path to heaven. Lady is materialistic. She’ll live life how she wants. If she gets to heaven and it turns out her way of living didn’t get her in, she’ll buy her way in (so she thinks). The piper seems to believe that a live of valuing non-materialistic things like reason and spirituality will lead to bliss.

Even if we have been living life one way, we can still change today. Plant suggests that the way of the piper is the way to go (Dear Lady can you hear the wind blow? And did you know/ Your stairway lies on the whispering wind). However, as the song closes, we find that Lady has not changed her ways. She’s still trying to buy her way into heaven.

Stairway to Heaven has the most iconic guitar intro of all-time and it still sounds fresh. The guitar work throughout is amazing. When I was younger, my local guitar shop had a sign that said (jokingly) “You will be asked to leave if you play ‘Stairway to Heaven’”. Apparently, that is the first song everyone wanted to learn. I like that the song has great acoustic and electric parts. The flute that plays throughout makes the song sound eerie. It is a great effect. Plant’s vocal shows incredible range: both in style and in normal terms.

Stairway To Heaven Lyrics

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
Oh oh oh oh 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 misgiving

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 standing 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.

written by Page/ Plant

1970s songs, escape

#18 The River- Bruce Springsteen

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Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true/
Or is it something worse?

Springsteen’s “The River” explores similar themes as Born to Run: the Blue-Collar struggle to make a living and the lack of social mobility within the working class. It also romanticizes the opportunities for temporary escapes that are rather wholesome. In Born to Run it was riding a motorcycle, in the River it is a trip down to the river with his girlfriend. There is a lot of songs about escape, but often they are songs about drugs or other nefarious methods. In this way, it might be said that Springsteen’s music is rather wholesome.

The River Bruce Springsteen Meaning — Bruce

Bruce Springsteen’s music is often dreary and fatalistic. In Springsteen’s music, there is no escaping factors that are much bigger than you. Whether it is the mob and the necessity to make ends meet (Atlantic City), the weariness of everyday life (Born to Run) or your father’s choices (The River), you aren’t really going anywhere in life, so you better take whatever pleasure you can when the opportunity arises.

The melody and tone of Springsteen’s “The River” match the lyrics well. The song sounds dreary and Springsteen’s sings the part as if he were one of the characters stuck, struggling to survive. It is hard to pull off this type of message when you are a billionaire but somehow it still resonates with his audience. The harmonica solos are particularly good and some of the best in rock music.

The River Lyrics

I come from down in the valley,
Where, mister, when you’re young,
They bring you up to do like your daddy done.
Me and Mary we met in high school,
When she was just seventeen.
We’d ride out of this valley down to where the fields were green.

We’d go down to the river
And into the river we’d dive,
Oh, down to the river we’d ride.

Then I got Mary pregnant,
And man, that was all she wrote.
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat.
We went down to the courthouse,
And the judge put it all to rest.
No wedding day smiles, no walk down the aisle,
No flowers, no wedding dress.

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we’d dive,
Oh, down to the river we did ride.
Ah-yah

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company,
But lately there ain’t been much work on account of the economy.
Now all them things that seemed so important-
Well, mister, they vanished right into the air.
Now I just act like I don’t remember,
And Mary acts like she don’t care.

But I remember us riding in my brother’s car,
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir.
At night on them banks I’d lie awake,
And pull her close just to feel each breath she’d take.
Now those memories come back to haunt me,
They haunt me like a curse.
Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true?
Or is it something worse?

That sends me down to the river
Though I know the river is dry.
That sends me down to the river tonight.
Ah-yah-yah
Down to the river,
My baby and I.
Oh, down to the river we ride.
Ah-yah-ay

written by Bruce Springsteen

1970s songs, secular hymn

#17 Bridge Over Troubled Water- Simon & Garfunkel

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Like a bridge over troubled water/
I will lay me down.

“Bridge Over Troubled Water” is Simon and Garfunkel’s Tour de Force sung by Garfunkel and played by Larry Knechtel. He’s a famous piano session man for bands like Bread, The Beach Boys, Joan Baez, The Byrds, The Mamas and the Papas, etc. If you are a fan of music, you’ve heard his work before.

This is a great Paul Simon song that Garfunkel gets to sing because Paul wrote it in a key too high for him to sing it himself. There are ways around that (musically he could have dropped it a step), but there is nothing wrong with having Garfunkel sing lead too. Supposedly, there were times when Simon regretted that decision.

Bridge Over Troubled Water Meaning — Simon and Garfunkel

The meaning of “Bridge over Troubled Water” is about sacrificing your own needs to benefit others. That is one type of love: philos. The song is so universal that my Aunt even told me she heard this sung in a Catholic church.

The piano work is original and compliments the melody perfectly. It is difficult to play. Since Knechtel doesn’t sing at the same time, it becomes a lot easier. Notice how he varies the volume significantly throughout the song to approximate emotion. That is harder to do on a piano than a guitar. When the full band and strings come in one instrument that jumps out at me is the drums. Simon and Garfunkel use a similar effect that they used in The Boxer where they have sole large echoing smashes of the tom.

Garfunkel sounds in his element. He delivers the song beautifully and articulately and unashamedly. It turns out he and Simon make a pretty good team.

Bridge Over Troubled Water Lyrics

When you’re weary,
Feeling small.
When tears are in your eyes,
I will dry them all, all.

I’m on your side,
Oh, when times get rough.
And friends just can’t be found.

Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will lay me down.

When you’re down and out,
When you’re on the street.
When evening falls so hard,
I will comfort you.

I’ll take your part,
Oh, when darkness comes.
And pain is all around.

Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will lay me down.

Sail on silver girl,
Sail on by.
Your time has come to shine-
All your dreams are on their way.

See how they shine,
Oh, if you need a friend.
I’m sailing right behind.

Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water,
I will ease your mind.

written by Paul Simon

Top 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All-time