Musical Monday - Ramble On by Led Zeppelin

Ramble On contains some of the most explicitly Tolkien-influenced lyrics in all of the Led Zeppelin ouevre, directly referencing both Mordor and Gollum. The references are part of a jumble of imagery that make almost no sense - after all meeting a "girl so fair" in the darkest depths of Mordor seems somewhat improbable, and for Gollum and the "evil one" to sneak up and steal away with her seems slightly out of character for Gollum, who really only wants the One Ring. Although the "evil one" is not defined in the song, there don't seem to be many Middle-Earth personalities to whom this would apply who would be particularly interested in stealing away with a beautiful maiden. Even so, these lyrics make it clear that Jimmy Page was at least familiar enough with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien to incorporate allusions to his work in the band's songs, albeit allusions that seem to have been filtered through a cloud of marijuana smoke.

Previous Musical Monday: Your Love Is (a Metaphor) by Paul & Storm

Subsequent Musical Monday: Wonder (Wonder Woman Song) by The Doubleclicks

Led Zeppelin     Musical Monday     Home