Anyone who has read Tolkien's work can tell you that the Misty Mountains are a place that is mysterious, awe-inspiring, and seemingly infinitely far away from the perspective of the main characters at the start of their journeys. The Misty Mountains are a metaphor for a long and difficult, yet ultimately rewarding and meaningful journey. It is so upsetting to him that he has decided to go to a place where his spirit can be free and he can be among like-minded individuals. They don't care if they're pushed from the political 'right' or 'left', they're just happy to do what the establishment tells them to. In my mind, Plant is saying that the majority of people of that day in his society don't really care what their government does to them and their kin. The final verse has always carried for me the tone of a 'call to arms' (figuratively) for the youth of the day. It seems like a very typical thing for a member of the establishment (see: 'the man') to say to a group of hippies who, in the mind of the speaker, are accomplishing nothing but spinning the clock and 'rotting their mind.' I can remember many a-time when a similar thing was said to me in my youth. The verse that begins 'Why don't you take a good look.' has always struck me as being spoken by a member of the police department. Never 'really, really out of my mind.' On the other hand, there have been many times during my long career of psychedelic exploration that I have reached states that I would describe, either in the moment or in retrospect, as 'really, really out of my mind.' So basically he was detained by a policeman for hanging out after dark in a park, with a bunch of 'suspicious characters' (as I'm sure the police would refer to a bunch of members of the counterculture of the day) while being under the influence of something. I know I can say that no matter how much grass I've smoked (and I live in BC, widely known for our excellent smoke) I've never been in a state that I would even remotely describe as 'really, really out of my mind.' Stoned, yes. It seems likely that he was on more than just marijuana. Furthermore, given the fact that he says he:Ī) Didn't even notice that it had gotten very dark, and While many people see marijuana here, I think given the time period and who he scored from, I think LSD is an equally likely possibility. "It refers to an incident when Robert Plant was held for some hours in police custody for loitering after dark in Hyde Park." -Wikipedia article on the songīased on this information, it would seem that Plant was out for a walk when he ran into some flower children who asked if he wanted to score. Well, here it is, courtesy of Wikipedia, the quickest reference I could find: General CommentI came to this site looking for more information on the story that I had heard in multiple places regarding the meaning of this song, but it seems no one has posted the true meaning as I've heard it. Over the hills where the spirits fly, oh, I really don't know So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains If you go down in the streets today, Baby, you betterįolk down there really don't care, really don't care I know that it's all a state of mind, oh. You really don't care if they're coming oh, oh There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rustin' Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see Oh, oh, he said that his friends would all drop by, oh They asked us to stay for tea and have some fun Please, hey, would we care to all get in line Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us said I didn't notice but it had got very dark and I was really I really don't know what time it was oh, oh Walkin' in the park just the other day, babyĬrowds of people sittin' on the grass with flowers in their hair said
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