Editing Robert Plant (section)

===Lyrics===
[[File:Robert-Plant.jpg|thumb|Plant with Led Zeppelin, 1973]]

Plant began writing song lyrics with Led Zeppelin during the making of ''[[Led Zeppelin II]]'', in 1969. According to Jimmy Page:

{{blockquote|The most important thing about ''[[Led Zeppelin II]]'' is that up to that point I'd contributed lyrics. Robert hadn't written before, and it took a lot of ribbing to get him into writing, which was funny. And then, on the second LP, he wrote the words of Thank You. He said, "I'd like to have a crack at this and write it for my wife."<ref>Kent, Nick. "Led Zeppelin: Eyewitness." '' Mojo Magazine: Classic Rock Special Issue'' (2009, Volume 2, 1ssue 6), p. 104.</ref>}}

Plant's lyrics with Led Zeppelin were often mystical, philosophical and spiritual, alluding to events in classical and [[Norse mythology]], such as "[[Immigrant Song]]", which refers to [[Valhalla]] and [[Viking]] conquests.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ffcpop/led_zeppelin/0 |title=Led Zeppelin {{!}} The Faber Companion to 20th Century Popular Music – Credo Reference |website=search.credoreference.com |access-date=23 April 2018}}</ref> However, the song "[[No Quarter (song)|No Quarter]]" is often misunderstood to refer to the god [[Thor]]; the song actually refers to [[Mount Thor]] (which is named after the god). Another example is "[[The Rain Song]]".{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Plant was influenced by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]],<ref>Robert Plant himself, in ''[[Vox (magazine)|Vox]]'', May 1993, page 18, stated, "The self-indulgence, the silly over-the-top Tolkien-esque stuff ... [[John Bonham|John]] made it everlasting.".</ref><ref>Helen Armstrong (1993), 'The Singer, not the Song', in ''Amon Hen'' (the bulletin of [[The Tolkien Society]], U.K.), no. 123 p..4-5.</ref> whose book series inspired lyrics in some early Led Zeppelin songs. Most notably, "[[The Battle of Evermore]]", "[[Misty Mountain Hop]]", "[[No Quarter (song)|No Quarter]]", "[[Ramble On]]" and "[[Over the Hills and Far Away (Led Zeppelin song)|Over the Hills and Far Away]]" contain verses referencing Tolkien's ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[The Hobbit]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Conversely, Plant sometimes used more straightforward blues themes dealing with sex, as in "[[The Lemon Song]]", "[[Trampled Under Foot]]" about giving in to sexual temptation,<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Robert |last= Godwin |author-link= Robert Godwin |title= Led Zeppelin: Alchemists of the '70s |magazine= [[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]] |date= 24 August 1990 |page= 13}}</ref> and "[[Black Dog (Led Zeppelin song)|Black Dog]]" narrated by a man obsessed with a woman.<ref>{{cite book |title=Led Zeppelin, All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers |location=New York |first1=Jean-Michael |last1=Guesdon |first2=Philippe |last2=Margotin |year=2018 |chapter=Ch. Black Dog|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/ledzeppelinallso0000gues/page/244/mode/2up?view=theater |page=244 |isbn=978-0-316-44867-3 }}</ref>

[[Welsh mythology]] forms a basis of Plant's interest in mystical lyrics. He grew up close to the Welsh border and would often take summer trips to [[Eryri]]. Plant bought a Welsh sheep farm in 1973, and began taking Welsh lessons and looking into the mythology of the land (such as [[Black Book of Carmarthen]], [[Book of Taliesin]], etc.) Plant's first son, Karac, was named after the Welsh warrior [[Caratacus]]. The song "[[Bron-Y-Aur Stomp]]" is named after the 18th-century Welsh cottage [[Bron-Yr-Aur]], owned by a friend of his father; it later inspired the song "[[Bron-Yr-Aur (instrumental)|Bron-Yr-Aur]]".<ref name=":0">{{cite book |title=The Life and Times of Led Zeppelin |last=Morris |first=Robin |publisher=Assegai Publishing |year=2012 |isbn=9781620957936 |location=Jeffreys Bay, South Africa |pages=50}}</ref> The songs "Misty Mountain Hop", "[[That's the Way (Led Zeppelin song)|That's the Way]]", and early dabblings in what would become "[[Stairway to Heaven]]" were written in Wales and lyrically reflect Plant's mystical view of the land. Critic Steve Turner suggests that Plant's early and continued experiences in Wales served as the foundation for his broader interest in the mythologies he revisits in his lyrics (including those myth systems of Tolkien and the Norse).<ref>"Stairway to Heaven, Paved with Gold: Led Zeppelin's Snowdonia", ''The Independent'', 6 April 1991.</ref>

Page's passion for diverse musical experiences influenced Plant to explore Africa, specifically [[Marrakesh]] in Morocco, where he encountered [[Umm Kulthum]]:

{{blockquote|I was intrigued by the scales, initially, and obviously the vocal work. The way she sang, the way she could hold a note, you could feel the tension, you could tell that everybody, the whole orchestra, would hold a note until she wanted to change.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/robert-plant-i-feel-so-far-away-from-heavy-rock-2063017.html |title=Robert Plant: 'I feel so far away from heavy rock' |work=The Independent |location=UK |access-date=30 August 2010 |date=27 August 2010 |author=Andy Gill}}</ref>}}

Both he and Jimmy Page revisited these influences during their reunion album ''[[No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded]]'' in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/people/robert-plant-12103147 |title=Robert Plant |website=Biography |access-date=26 April 2018 |archive-date=26 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326064330/https://www.biography.com/people/robert-plant-12103147 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During his solo career Plant tapped into these influences many times, most notably on the 2002 album ''[[Dreamland (Robert Plant album)|Dreamland]]''.

Most of the lyrics of "[[Stairway to Heaven]]" from ''[[Led Zeppelin IV]]'' were written spontaneously by Plant in 1970 at [[Headley Grange]] while the track was being recorded. While never released as a single, the song has topped polls as the greatest song of all time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272083.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309135735/http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1272083.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 March 2005 |title=Rockers still climbing 'Stairway to heaven' |date=25 December 2004|website=ABC News Online |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=25 February 2017}}</ref>