Misty Mountain Hop

Written for Jim’s Thursday Inspiration #274 –
‘Misty.’ Here’s my spin on things.

This week in Thursday Inspiration, Jim Adams has asked us to respond to his challenge “Misty” in any number of ways, including using the image above, the word tree, or another way which inspires us.

With the word “misty” rolling around in my head, it didn’t take very long for me to think of a song by one of the greatest rock bands of all time. There are so many classic songs on Led Zeppelin’s 1971 untitled fourth album that it’s easy for a single one of them to get a little bit lost in the shuffle. No danger of that happening with “Misty Mountain Hop,” which grabs your attention with pulsating music and pointed lyrics. And in case you were wondering, the song title emanates from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth books. 

The untitled album …. often referred to as Led Zeppelin IV …. was the culmination of all the progress Zeppelin had made in a relatively short time together as a band. Much of the album featured the band pushing the boundaries of their repertoire and creating songs with expansive, unpredictable arrangements.

And while no one would ever label Zeppelin a political band, “Misty Mountain Hop” displays a bit of Robert Plant’s social consciousness; he based the song at a 1968 rally in London to legalize marijuana, one that was broken up by police. Using that as a backdrop, the song goes on to inspect how different social groups need to do a better job of understanding each other.

Plant sets the scene as he stumbles onto a gathering crowd and partakes of what’s offered him. The police happen upon the scene, and Plant somewhat sarcastically paints them as friendly and accommodating. In the final two verses of the song, he delivers his commentary on the situation, suggesting that apathy isn’t the answer but yet, a lack of concern is all he seems to see. In frustration, he decides it’s time to leave.

“Misty Mountain Hop” showed off Plant’s expanding horizons as a songwriter, while the rest of Led Zeppelin kept it nice and tight to provide him the perfect showcase.

This is “Misty Mountain Hop”, by Led Zeppelin

LYRICS

Walkin′ in the park just the other day, Baby,
What do you, what do you think I saw?
Crowds of people sittin’ on the grass with flowers in their hair said,
“Hey, Boy, do you wanna score?”
And you know how it is;
I really don′t know what time it was, woh, oh,
So I asked them if I could stay awhile.
I didn’t notice but it had got very dark and I was really,
Really out of my mind.
Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us said,
“Please, hey, would we care to all get in line,
Get in line.”
Well you know, They asked us to stay for tea and have some fun,
Oh, oh, he said that his friends would all drop by, ooh.
Why don’t you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see,
And Baby, Baby, Baby, do you like it?
There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rustin′
Ah, not trying to fight it.
You really don′t care if they’re coming, oh, oh,
I know that it′s all a state of mind, ooh.
If you go down in the streets today, Baby, you better,
You better open your eyes.
Folk down there really don’t care,
Really don′t care, don’t care, really don′t
Which, which way the pressure lies,
So I’ve decided what I’m gonna do now.
So I′m packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
Where the spirits go now,
Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh.
I really don′t know.

Writer(s): James Patrick Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones

Thursday Inspiration #274 Misty

Big thanks Jim Adams for today’s inspiration. Thanks to you all for stopping by for a look and a listen.

That’s all she wrote. See you on the flip side. 😎

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