The Battle of Evermore
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"The Battle of Evermore" is an acoustic guitar and mandolin track from Led Zeppelin's fourth album.
Folk singer Sandy Denny duets with Robert Plant. In live performances bassist John Paul Jones, who plays the mandolin on this track, sang along with Plant.
It is commonly believed to be based on events in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings' final volume, The Return of the King.
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 left for 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 queen 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. Probably the song's most compelling link to Tolkien is the reference to "Ringwraiths," a Tolkien invention.
However, not everyone agrees that the lyrics of The Battle of Evermore refer to Tolkien's book. An extended commentary in favour of the Tolkien interpretation can be read here: "The Battle of Evermore" and Tolkien (http://groups.msn.com/ZeppelinTriviaandmore/lyricswhatdo.msnw?action=get_message&mview=0&ID_Message=507&LastModified=4675317152761229038)
| Led Zeppelin |
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| John Bonham - John Paul Jones - Jimmy Page - Robert Plant |
| Original albums: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II - Led Zeppelin III - Untitled - Houses of the Holy - Physical Graffiti - Presence - The Song Remains the Same - In Through the Out Door - Coda |
| Other albums: Boxed Set - Profiled - Remasters - Boxed Set 2 - The Complete Studio Recordings - BBC Sessions - Early Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume One - Latter Days: The Best of Led Zeppelin Volume Two - How the West Was Won |
| Films: The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Songs: "The Battle of Evermore" - "Dazed and Confused" - "Stairway to Heaven" - "When the Levee Breaks" |
| Other: Peter Grant - Swan Song Records |