What a timeless classic. Stairway to Heaven.

I heard a lot of this backmasking stuff before. I have tried listening to some actually. Yeah! you can hear somewhat strange sounds or words, but not enough for me to understand very well.
Does not really bother me.

It is what you make of it.

This is true with any music. How often do you really think you know exactly what the artist is talking about? There is always going to be a subjective part to what a song makes you think and feel.

I think it still sounds really good even when you play it backwards. I have listened to it backwards a lot.

I don't think it is trying to recruit people into satanism or anything like that.

IF they did it on purpose, it's not a recruiting tool. It is a ballad, musing on the path to heaven and hell. Not like you hear zombies chanting "Join us" when you play it backwards lol. In fact, it makes "living with satan" sound pretty bleak.

Originally posted by zerotolerance
I think it was just a rumor started after Jimmy Page admitted he was interested in learning about the black arts.

didn't Jimmy buy crowleys old house as well ?

The human mind strives to find faces in images, and meaning in words.

nothing here but myth

Well, it would be on every album with Stairway To Heaven, considering the song has the same words every time.


I can faintly make out the words Satan in the song, but frankly, no one except Led Zeppelin knows what's really going on, and they aren't saying anything about it.


TheRanchMan

Originally posted by Bripe Klmun
This is no Urban Legend.

Yes it is. Listen to any record played backwards when you've been 'told' what it says and you'll hear it. Simple psychological programming.

As another poster said, parents didn't like their children listening to this music so they had to do something to make it 'evil'. In my opinion it's not 'backmasking' that is the problem with songs, it's some of the outright played-forward lyrics in things like rap-songs that are nasty!

BTW, I'm a Christian but I listen to Led Zeppelin, Whitesnake and Black Sabbath sometimes! I like heavy guitar riffs.

well all I have to say is Led Zeppelin f'in rock my world! i love them they are like one of the best in the whole wide world in my opinion. either way i don't care if its really some satan crap or not i dig the music in general..and if they made it to be that way then wow amazing! i love robert and jimmy..everytime i dream about robert though hes always in black and white while everything else is in color! haha

An episode of note from the backwards masking flap:

In 1986 Rev. Jim Brown of Ironton, Ohio, of the First Church of Nazarene informed his congregation that the theme song to the classic TV show "Mr. Ed" contained satanic messages when played backwards. According to Brown, "A horse is a horse, of course, of course" became "the source is satan."

Brown also led a record burning near the church where copies of various books and records were destroyed. The episode made the national news.

If you're looking for the devil in music, and spend hours playing songs backwards, you're going to find something. I just wonder many records Rev. Brown had to go through to find the Mr. Ed 'message'.

"The source is Satan Wilbur."

My interpretation after hearing it played backwards was a little different. I thought I heard: "Oh heres to my sweet Satan. The one whose litte path would make me sad whose power aint fake. He'll give you give you 666. There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad Satan."

i heard that "another one bites the dust" by prince, when played backwards, encourages marijuana.
is this true? if so post a link i want to hear it.

i know thats a little bit off topic but oh well.

subliminal ALL HAIL ROSWELL1!! messages ALL HAIL ROSWELL1!! are ALL HAIL ROSWELL1!! a ALL HAIL ROSWELL1!! load ALL HAIL ROSWELL1!! of ALL HAIL ROSWELL1!! BS!

Roswell.

Well take a look, listen... at "hit me baby one more time" It is the most clear message I have ever heard saying "sleep with me, I'm not too young"

Someone posted a link to a website that has a bunch up the page a little, including this one... I have tested them all with the real song too.


The zeppelin one is odd... seen as though its in a song called "stairway to heaven" and the forward lyrics don't really make sense at all(to me.)

It is pretty clear but, it seems some of the words were just thrown in there just to fill a gap and guess what hes trying to say.

What I hear is "It's my satan... The one whose little path would make me sad, whose power in satan. He'll give those...666. There was a little toolshed where he made us suffer, sad satan." It's a bit different then the one people seem to agree on but, not by much...

The "pokemon rap" just seems VERY intentional.. it's like a frigging satanic chant that kids probably sang "I love satan, love satan." Was that show Japanese?

Originally posted by Jimmy910130
Stairway to heaven is a masterpiece, it is, and always will be, the greatest rock song eer to grace this earth..

The majority of classic rock fans would probably agree with you on that. Personally I've never been one to share the majority opinion on much...

One of the most widespread campaigns against rock music was (and to some extent still is) orchestrated by the Truth About Rock organization founded by Dan and Steve Peters of St. Paul, MN.

The Peters Brothers spent years travelling around the country in the 80's, talking to high school kids and their parents about the dangers of rock music, satanic backmasking, and suicides which were blamed on rock music.

The popularity of their theories eventually ebbed when people began to realize you can find backmasked messages in any piece of audio if you listen long enough. Plus, the Peters Brothers eventually turned their venom on Christian rock as well, which to most christian music fans was dubious. It became quite apparent the Peters brothers just didn't like rock music, weren't fans of long, rock & roll hair (which was the trend at the time) and just generally disapproved of the rock & roll lifestyle.

If you believe backmasking is real, ask yourself, "When bands like Slayer can do songs which are unapologetically Satanic, what would be the purpose of subliminally embedding backward Satanic messages in your songs?" The concept itself is obsolete. People aren't automatons who walk around performing tasks subliminally embedded in entertainment. It's an outmoded concept of the cold war era.

[edit on 2-3-2008 by moviepitchguy]

Here's some meaning I've heard others talk about or given myself to the apparent phrases. I have a similar perspective to what is generally accepted as the words and explanation for those interested, a little fun with the subjectivity.

This line "Ohh I will never be saved because I live with Satan. One wicked little fool who plays for three who make it here late. Say it now the lord turned me off, for one shaggy fool clothed in agony passed at a height."

The three who make it here late would be the holy trinity - Father, Son and Holy spirit. Satan comes to deceive the world before they show up, playing with us. The shaggy fool clothed in agony is Jesus (the agony is the crown of thorns and the torture he endured). The singer is "turned off," disenchanted by the fact that he will never be chosen by the Lord - perhaps because he has blasphemed and can't get away from it.

"Here's to my sweet Satan, that one little path would make me sad whose power is faith. He will give those with him 666, and one little fool safely made us suffer sadly."

The path which makes him sad is Christianity in it's many forms and many faith based servile religions. These just don't appeal - and the reality of his eventual downfall makes him sad because he's stuck going to hell. The one little fool could be Satan. "safely made us suffer sadly" is the sneaky sort of evil that we experience in our bubble feeling safe, by being afraid to face it and appeasing it. And it could be the stupidest little thing keeping us a prisoner to it.

Other lines that I get from it:

"Behind you all with you. Here we all are withering." There is a group of spirits or people that understand the plight of the listener, they are suffering just like him - but they don't necessarily want to change - they've been this way a long long time, it is what they are.

"OH listen here I sieve the river" What would these guys be sieving for? Other souls to be with them, misery loves company. They sieve a river, where things are otherwise moving.

"The world with my knowl(edge) I'll defend thee" Satan will use knowledge to defend the earth. Not faith, not Godly wisdom. He'll use his own brand of wisdom and perhaps his idea of defending the earth is a subtle continuation of his ideals.

"See here's the news, Folks with him is perhaps a family. Say we'll lose alot of them, they've gotta leave forsaken."

The unchosen are tied together almost like a family. They understand eachother's pain. Alot of them will change or die and the family will lose them. They will always be forsaken, obviously they could be forsaken by God and his followers. If not that, then if they change and give up who they are they will have forsaken their own hearts because they gave up a part of themselves that is very real.

Whether Led Zeppelin meant for this to happen or not, it eerily comes close to the way I've felt about things from time to time. The tough decisions, whether to be a sheep and "connected" to God's love and his congregation and reap the benefits, or to be something else and follow your own heart and reap the benefits of that path. This "song" is about the pessimism of the Left Hand Path.