Sounds like somebody stole his girl, exactly ten years ago. I think that's why he's going to ramble on, though he's grateful to us for being allowed to rest up here during his journey. He likens the guy who whisked her away to the evil one, Gollum, from J R R Tolkien's 'The Lord Of The Rings', and the place where the dastardly deed took place, naturally, was similar to Mordor, the source of all evil in Lord Sauron, seeker and coveter of the One Ring.
Is the storyteller a hobbit then? Possibly. His thought processes don't seem to allow him to logically and carefully conduct a measured search for her (though there was no internet or social media to consult in those days), so instead he takes himself across countless hundreds of miles on a blind, random, physical quest, more romantic than realistic, one feels. The quest ends up becoming the excuse to keep moving and looking, without ever really expecting to "find the queen of all [his] dreams".
The backbeat keeps perfect time with the plodding footsteps of the searcher in this story, serving to emphasise all the more how futile this exercise will end up being. In Tolkien's story, Gollum cherishes, but loses, his 'Precious' ring - forever. You suspect that the storyteller is destined suffer the same fate where his 'queen' is concerned. A Zepp classic, from the 1969 album "Led Zeppelin II". For @lynn200 by request. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramble_On
cheers downloading...as was the norm in those days...Tolkien gave many names to 70s babies,mine was Thorin. great track .... ps Led Zepp often used that Ramble term.....now? as K once comm...join a club...
You're right about "ramble" being an anachronism. I think the last time I saw this on TIMJ, or it might have been on YouTube, some guy was firing off about using uncool words in song titles. Uncool now, maybe, but 'rambling' was something we all did back in the day cos there was no internet. We got ourselves out and about, walking across hills. If they did that these days, they'd miss some precious post on Facebook! Anyway, they could always "ramble on" with their 3G/4G phones, couldn't they? :)
@kemiladashdot Whoopee. I still preferred to get up our local hill (White Horse monument outside Westbury, Wiltshire) with my mates, having a whale of a time, with a decent transistor radio blowing out Radio One; Sunday afternoons was the child molester and his "Speakeasy" show, where you would get kids our age talking about all kinds of things that weren't supposed to be talked about in those days (teen pregnancy, drugs, etc.). If we could take radios out and about, why not their phones today?
@leejohnson totally agree,my school hols were biking ,picking pots,getting out,taking picnics. the tranny of course.surely many kids still do. lol,''the child molester on Speakeasy!!....mmm sorry. Ramble means to walk,taking in the air/view..... me thinks Dylan''times they are a changing''....
@lynn200@kemiladashdot Don't get me wrong. From what I see lately, there is a move back to outdoor pursuits, albeit taking the car instead of walking. And modern all-whistling phones help to make sure kids aren't welded to their bedroom chairs in front of a desktop computer any more. Subject closed then! :)
@hsmagnet According to all the Lyrics sites, he is singing that. But two things make me think it is actually: "Gollum (uh) the evil one, crept up and slipped away with her-er".
1. Gollum was never an agent of Sauron in the books - he was quite independent as a malevolent character. Sauron never physically left the volcanic mount at Mordor - his legion did, but not him. Gollum was obsessively selfish about "my Precious". So Gollum AND Sauron would not have worked together.
@hsmagnet
2. I believe that Rob Plant was using the "uh" utterance to signify a comma, a slight break in the emphasis of the line, as in: "Gollum, the evil one, crept up &etc.;"
But, ultimately, it's whatever works for each individual listening to it. It's a fantastic piece of story-telling set to a marvellous background of music.
28 Comments (since 18 Jan 2013)
leejohnson
Sounds like somebody stole his girl, exactly ten years ago. I think that's why he's going to ramble on, though he's grateful to us for being allowed to rest up here during his journey. He likens the guy who whisked her away to the evil one, Gollum, from J R R Tolkien's 'The Lord Of The Rings', and the place where the dastardly deed took place, naturally, was similar to Mordor, the source of all evil in Lord Sauron, seeker and coveter of the One Ring.
leejohnson
Is the storyteller a hobbit then? Possibly. His thought processes don't seem to allow him to logically and carefully conduct a measured search for her (though there was no internet or social media to consult in those days), so instead he takes himself across countless hundreds of miles on a blind, random, physical quest, more romantic than realistic, one feels. The quest ends up becoming the excuse to keep moving and looking, without ever really expecting to "find the queen of all [his] dreams".
leejohnson
The backbeat keeps perfect time with the plodding footsteps of the searcher in this story, serving to emphasise all the more how futile this exercise will end up being. In Tolkien's story, Gollum cherishes, but loses, his 'Precious' ring - forever. You suspect that the storyteller is destined suffer the same fate where his 'queen' is concerned. A Zepp classic, from the 1969 album "Led Zeppelin II". For @lynn200 by request. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramble_On
lynn200
cheers downloading...as was the norm in those days...Tolkien gave many names to 70s babies,mine was Thorin. great track .... ps Led Zepp often used that Ramble term.....now? as K once comm...join a club...
philipnareike
Gollum......every girl's dream man......
leejohnson
You're right about "ramble" being an anachronism. I think the last time I saw this on TIMJ, or it might have been on YouTube, some guy was firing off about using uncool words in song titles. Uncool now, maybe, but 'rambling' was something we all did back in the day cos there was no internet. We got ourselves out and about, walking across hills. If they did that these days, they'd miss some precious post on Facebook! Anyway, they could always "ramble on" with their 3G/4G phones, couldn't they? :)
kemiladashdot
@leejohnson There was the TV before the internet.
leejohnson
@kemiladashdot Whoopee. I still preferred to get up our local hill (White Horse monument outside Westbury, Wiltshire) with my mates, having a whale of a time, with a decent transistor radio blowing out Radio One; Sunday afternoons was the child molester and his "Speakeasy" show, where you would get kids our age talking about all kinds of things that weren't supposed to be talked about in those days (teen pregnancy, drugs, etc.). If we could take radios out and about, why not their phones today?
lynn200
@leejohnson totally agree,my school hols were biking ,picking pots,getting out,taking picnics. the tranny of course.surely many kids still do. lol,''the child molester on Speakeasy!!....mmm sorry. Ramble means to walk,taking in the air/view..... me thinks Dylan''times they are a changing''....
leejohnson
@lynn200 @kemiladashdot Don't get me wrong. From what I see lately, there is a move back to outdoor pursuits, albeit taking the car instead of walking. And modern all-whistling phones help to make sure kids aren't welded to their bedroom chairs in front of a desktop computer any more. Subject closed then! :)
kemiladashdot
@leejohnson You sound like a nice man Lee Johnstone, always a pleasure to hear your thoughts.
leejohnson
@kemiladashdot And you, most definitely. :)
kemiladashdot
I'm ramblin' the net right now. It's a bit slower than surfing, but healthier.
MsSue
While you lot witter on aimlessly, can I just say how much I love this? :)
d0minic
One does not simply meet a girl so fair in Mordor.
d0minic
hmmm @philipnareike let's see a choice between multi millionaire rock god Robert Plant or raw fish eating Ring obsessed Gollum, no brainer really.
death36
love this song
joeldurhamjr
@LadyGulag Gollum it is, huh? ;)
leahevans
one of my favourite Zeppelin songs!
hsmagnet
i always thought he he was singing "gollum and the evil one" as in sauron
leejohnson
@hsmagnet According to all the Lyrics sites, he is singing that. But two things make me think it is actually: "Gollum (uh) the evil one, crept up and slipped away with her-er". 1. Gollum was never an agent of Sauron in the books - he was quite independent as a malevolent character. Sauron never physically left the volcanic mount at Mordor - his legion did, but not him. Gollum was obsessively selfish about "my Precious". So Gollum AND Sauron would not have worked together.
leejohnson
@hsmagnet 2. I believe that Rob Plant was using the "uh" utterance to signify a comma, a slight break in the emphasis of the line, as in: "Gollum, the evil one, crept up &etc.;" But, ultimately, it's whatever works for each individual listening to it. It's a fantastic piece of story-telling set to a marvellous background of music.
hsmagnet
@leejohnson makes more sense the way you explain it. plus. i have horrible ears. like phoebe on friends "hold me closer tony danza"
leejohnson
@LadyGulag FAIR comment I suppose... Oh dear. I can't believe I just laid down so terrible a pun.
psyclopstrees
probably zeps best song
lukeduggan2006
@leejohnson Just to defend my generation: We don't spend ALL the time on our iPads! There's some rambling spirit left yet!
teen
@psyclopstrees I agree, love this song!
joseph.e.lee
t is good