The Battle of Evermore

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"The Battle of Evermore"

Song by Led Zeppelin
from the album (Led Zeppelin IV)
Released	November 8, 1971
Recorded	December 1970 – March 1971
Genre	Folk rock
Length	5:52
Label	Atlantic Records
Writer(s)	Page/Plant
Producer(s)	Jimmy Page
(Led Zeppelin IV) track listing
"Rock and Roll" (2)	"The Battle of Evermore" (3)	"Stairway to Heaven" (4)

"The Battle of Evermore" is an acoustic guitar and mandolin track from English rock band Led Zeppelin's fourth album, released in 1971.

On the recording, folk singer Sandy Denny duets with Robert Plant. In live performances, bassist John Paul Jones sings Denny's vocals with Plant, and plays acoustic guitar while Jimmy Page plays mandolin.

1 Tolkien's influence
2 Cold War imagery
3 Trivia
4 Sources

[edit] Tolkien's influence

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

It is commonly believed to be based on events in The Return of the King , primarily The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, in the final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy book, The Lord of the Rings ("The drums will shake the castle wall, The ring wraiths ride in black"). "The magic runes are writ in gold to bring the balance back" is believed to refer to the Elvish writing across the band of the One Ring and the destruction of the One Ring. However, some of the lyrics don't fit to that particular battle/book, including the part about the angels of Avalon, as Avalon was not from Tolkien's world but the legends of Merlin and King Arthur. It could however, refer to the Elvish haven of Avalonne in Tolkien's The Silmarillion. The haven was essentially the entry into the Blessed Realm, which is Tolkien's version of heaven in his works. It would make some sense, although it would be strange that Plant didn't just say Avalonne in the song.

Plant is a huge Tolkien fan, and also referred to his books in "Ramble On" and "Misty Mountain Hop."

In the most common interpretation, the Prince of Peace, who "embraced the gloom" and "walked the night alone", refers to Frodo, who left the Fellowship of the Ring and went to Mordor with only his servant and friend Samwise Gamgee for company. "The Queen of Light" who "took her bow" is taken to refer to Galadriel, a ruler of the Elves, signifying that the Third Age is ending and that the Age of Men will begin soon.

Other interpretations of how the lyrics relate to Tolkien exist: one example has the "Prince of Peace" referring to Aragorn. This interpretion is logical in the sense that Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor, did embrace the darkness and walk the night alone. This occurred in The Return of the King when Aragorn walked the path of the dead in order to have the Dead Men of Dunharrow fulfil their pledge to help Gondor. Also, this could refer to Gandalf who wrestled with the Balrog in the dark depths of Moria and walked through the darkness alone for a time. A second interpretation of "the Queen of Light" is that it refers to Éowyn taking up arms to fight with the Army of Rohan.

Probably the song's most compelling link to Tolkien is the lyric: "The Ringwraiths ride in black", a Tolkien invention. An extended commentary in favour of the Tolkien interpretation can be read here: "The Battle of Evermore" and Tolkien.

[edit] Cold War imagery

References to Tolkien works and the Irish national anthem aside, the time period in which the song was written, the Cold War, must also be regarded as a factor in the song's content considering much of the imagery present in the lyrics. The ominous title of the song itself, as well as such lines as, "the pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath" and "the tyrant's face is red" are imagery pulled straight from the propaganda of the early 70s Cold War period.

[edit] Trivia

In "All Music Guide to Rock", the song is incorrectly referred to "The Ballad of Evermore."

Page and Plant would also record a version of the song in 1994, released on their album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded. Singer Najma Akhtar sang Sandy Denny's vocal part.

The song was also covered by Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, credited as "The Lovemongers", on the soundtrack to the 1992 film Singles.

Robert Plant wrote the lyrics after reading a book on Scottish border wars. The lyrics are about the everlasting battle between night and day, which can also be interpreted as the battle between good and evil.

This is the only song Zeppelin ever recorded with a guest vocalist; Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention sang on this with Robert Plant. Fairport Convention was a British folk group Zeppelin shared a bill with in 1970.

Denny was given a symbol on the album sleeve - three pyramids - to thank her. The four members of Led Zeppelin each designed their own symbols for the album.

Jimmy Page wrote the music on a mandolin he borrowed from John Paul Jones. He had never played the mandolin before.

Plant felt he needed another voice to tell the story. He was the narrator and Sandy Denny represented the people as the town crier.

When played live (during the 1977 US tour) John Paul Jones sang Denny's part.

[edit] Sources

Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9