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While known for their proliferation of the Delta blues, Led Zeppelin also took influence from the unlikeliest places, and they continuously found themselves returning to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien when they needed a moment of inspiration. The writer’s depiction of Middle Earth spoke to Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, who used it as a playground for their songwriting.
With the benefit of hindsight, Plant recently admitted he finds it embarrassing how much he delved into Tolkien’s world for lyrical inspiration, but it did help Led Zeppelin craft a string of classics. “Obviously, I was developing all the time with what I felt and what I was surrounded by. I didn’t have to sing R&B stuff because I was able to write stuff. Although sadly some of it was … there were maybe one or two too many well … hobbits,” Plant told Rolling Stone.
He continued: “I can see from this window the hill where Tolkien used to sit and look out over the landscape, and that’s the Shire, and the village just below it is called Bagginswood. I was living in a dream then, talking about C.S. Lewis and Tolkien. And of course it brings hoops of derision into everybody who picked up a guitar or got near a microphone by 1980. But I was a kid,” said Plant.
Although he now finds it cringe-worthy how much he relied upon Tolkien for influence, Plant was yet to experience the full breadth of life yet, and instead had to draw from literature rather than his own memories.
‘Ramble On’ from Led Zeppelin II is a prime example of Zeppelin’s journey into Tolkien’s alternate reality as the group step into “the darkest depths of Mordor”. In the track, the narrator finds love in Middle Earth and also namedrops “Gollum and the evil one”.
On Houses of the Holy, Zeppelin paid tribute to Tolkien once more on ‘Over the Hills and Far Away’. The song takes its title from a poem penned by the writer in 1915. Although the lyrics aren’t particularly aligned with the works of Tolkien, and it’s a traditional folk-rock love track, the title speaks volumes about his lingering influence.
However, 1971 was the group’s most intense year of infatuation with Tolkien, as they wrote two songs with links to his fantasy land. ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ was named after Bilbo Baggins’ hang-out spot in the Misty Mountains of Wales. However, the lyrics were related to a pro-marijuana rally in London disrupted by the police rather than the writer’s work.
Plant explained: “It’s about a bunch of hippies getting busted, about the problems you can come across when you have a simple walk in the park on a nice sunny afternoon. In England it’s understandable, because wherever you go to enjoy yourself, ‘Big Brother’ is not far behind.”
Another track on Led Zeppelin IV, set in the Tolkien realm, is ‘The Battle Of Evermore’, based on The Return of The King. There are many references to the book as early in the track, Plant sings, “The Dark Lord rides in force tonight and time will tell us all”. Later on, he adds, “The drums will shake the castle wall, the Ringwraiths ride in black”. The frontman also discusses war, swords and “the dragon of darkness”.
Although Plant’s days of referencing Tolkien are over, and he now looks back upon this period with embarrassment, he should be proud of the songs he managed to mine from his time in Middle Earth.
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