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Led Zeppelin — The Battle of Evermore
Album: Led Zeppelin IV (aka ZOSO)
Avg rating:
8.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2386









Released: 1971
Length: 5:35
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Queen of Light took her bow
And then she turned to go,
The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom
And walked the night alone.
Oh, dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morning light.
The dark Lord rides in force tonight
And time will tell us all.
Oh, throw down your plow and hoe,
Rest not to lock your homes.
Side by side we wait the might
Of the darkest of them all.
I hear the horses' thunder
Down in the valley blow,
I'm waiting for the angels of Avalon,
Waiting for the eastern glow.
The apples of the valley hold,
The seas of happiness,
The ground is rich from tender care,
Repay, do not forget, no, no.
Oh,---dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the morning light.
The apples turn to brown and black, the tyrant's face is red.
Oh the war is common cry, pick up you swords and fly.
The sky is filled with good and bad
That mortals never know.
Oh, well, the night is long, the beads of time pass slow,
Tired eyes on the sunrise, waiting for the eastern glow.
The pain of war cannot exceed
The woe of aftermath,
The drums will shake the castle wall,
The ring wraiths ride in black, ride on.
Sing as you raise your bow,
Shoot straighter than before.
No comfort has the fire at night
That lights the face so cold.
Oh dance in the dark of night,
Sing to the mornin' light.
The magic runes are writ in gold
To bring the balance back, bring it back.
At last the sun is shining, the clouds of blue roll by,
With flames from the dragon of darkness
The sunlight blinds his eyes.
Comments (433)add comment
First album I ever bought, 10-years old and saved up my money for this album! Best purchase I’ve ever made! Wore a groove in it….?!
GOOD TUNE!  But my least favorite song on this album.
Someone please put the cats out. I heat them howling.
The all girl band Shel does a pretty cool cover version of this on Youtube.  Someone on Audiogon pointed it out to me.  The Heart version is pretty good as well. 
-John
"If it (The Battle of Evermore) suffered from naivete and tweeness—I was only 23—it makes up for it in the cohesion of the voices and the playing." R. Plant
Few things on RP grate as badly as this. One of RP's rare 1s. A true sucko-barfo if ever there was one.
Great song and great homage to JRR Tolkien!
Love!
 franta wrote:
This is just horrible to my ears.

 
You need to get your ears checked.
May be my favorite Zeppelin song -

If you're curious about Sandy Denny, "I've Always Kept A Unicorn - The Acoustic Sandy Denny" is a great place to start. 
just upped my rating to 10   : )     beautiful song on this 5th of May as a fierce storm pelts all the newly sprouted tree leaves
 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
Godawful. Hadn't bothered rating it until now but it gets a 2. 

 

Come on!..... PURE BRILLIANCE!
 
Godawful. Hadn't bothered rating it until now but it gets a 2. 
My favorite band since high school 1969.
This is just horrible to my ears.
Sandy Denny - the only guest vocalist to ever appear on a Zep album.  What a voice.
My early 20's..... bring it back.
 Elvis78 wrote:
Awful!!!!

 
Elvis has left the building.
So beautyful!{#Daisy}
Awful!!!!
{#Music}{#Music}{#Music}{#Music}
 KeithT wrote:
This song was probably the first time I ever actually LISTENED to a mandolin.

 
I started guitar lessons in 5th grade. My teacher was an older Italian man who would play his mandolin before each lesson. Mesmerizing. 
a magical song for a magical time in a magical life
Thank you 
Lyrics are not a real strong point on this one, but the creative, but simple use of mandolin makes this one that always gets my head bobbing.
History of the world...
Backwards.
indie = alternative = grunge = big hair rock = glam rock = punk = hard rock = acid rock = Led Zepplin
BILL...There should be an offering above the "godlike" rating
 jbuhl wrote:
Doing great folk songs like this helped set these guys apart form other hard rock bands.  Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention sang on this song.

 
Yep.  Was a loss when she passed

 


 MinMan wrote:
Sandy Denny's vocals are terrific on Thompson's "Farewell, Farewell"
 

Sandy Denny’s vocals are terrific on everything.


Sandy Denny's vocals are terrific on Thompson's "Farewell, Farewell"
This song was probably the first time I ever actually LISTENED to a mandolin.
Doing great folk songs like this helped set these guys apart from other hard rock bands.  Sandy Denny of Fairport Convention sang on this song.

 
 jimtyrrell wrote:
Thanks RP for playing a lot of Led Zeppelin. After their first self titled album blew me away (back in the day), I left them and followed other bands because their constant airplay ment they were "mainstream" and I'd lose my hippie credentials. Well I failed to give them the credit they greatly deserve - some pretty amazing music!
  

 
I'm not alone in this behavior? Maybe Robert Plant's persistence as an influential musician well past those long lost days has something to do with this, also.
Page  on mandoline, Jones on accoustic.  So good.
Do the 52 morons who voted this a "1" just come to Radio Paradise to troll ANYTHING? 
Poetic is in  Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales today..
perfect song for the start of a Friday night-Thanks Bill!{#Music}
8 track....LOUD, in the 70s  {#Guitarist}
 susesusi wrote:
I met this song in a version of Finvarra, a little less challenging for the inexperienced user.

 
Yep,this one is QUITE challenging for the inexperienced listener :D {#Wall}
 jimtyrrell wrote:
Thanks RP for playing a lot of Led Zeppelin. After their first self titled album blew me away (back in the day), I left them and followed other bands because their constant airplay ment they were "mainstream" and I'd lose my hippie credentials. Well I failed to give them the credit they greatly deserve - some pretty amazing music!
  

 
Quite right. Amazing!
One of my favourite Zep songs. {#Good-vibes}
{#Bananajam}{#Drummer}{#Bananapiano}{#Dancingbanana}  = 10
Every Zeppelin song is a 10
 
Thanks RP for playing a lot of Led Zeppelin. After their first self titled album blew me away (back in the day), I left them and followed other bands because their constant airplay ment they were "mainstream" and I'd lose my hippie credentials. Well I failed to give them the credit they greatly deserve - some pretty amazing music!
  
I met this song in a version of Finvarra, a little less challenging for the inexperienced user.
Pure Magic on this one
this is terrible. PSD buton, don't fail me now...
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Holy crap, is there a Led Zeppelin store in Richmond?

 
LOL - sorta I guess. Good 'ole Plan 9 Records in Cary Town.

Richmond also has Deep Groove, BK Music and Steady Sounds.

Good times for vinyl lovers. 
 ckcotton wrote:
Sadly not many kids today know or care to explore their catalog.....  

 
My kids don't have an option on the matter.
 jnhashmi wrote:
There aren't many bad Led Zeppelin songs, but this is definitely one of them. I give it a 4. A dead spot on an otherwise great album.

 
I agree, this one only gets a 9.
 Propayne wrote:
Picked up the brand new, deluxe, 2 album re-issue last week.

Cashier bagged it up in a paper bag with the Zep logo and runes printed on it plus he threw in some decals, buttons, a coaster and a very cool turn table mat with the cover of Houses of the Holy on it.
 
Holy crap, is there a Led Zeppelin store in Richmond?
Picked up the brand new, deluxe, 2 album re-issue last week.

Cashier bagged it up in a paper bag with the Zep logo and runes printed on it plus he threw in some decals, buttons, a coaster and a very cool turn table mat with the cover of Houses of the Holy on it.

 
 jnhashmi wrote:

Out your mind.

There aren't many bad Led Zeppelin songs, but this is definitely one of them. I give it a 4. A dead spot on an otherwise great album.

 


Been stoned may-a-times to this song. Though that was long ago, this song always brings back those fond memories tripping to the mandolin playing.
There aren't many bad Led Zeppelin songs, but this is definitely one of them. I give it a 4. A dead spot on an otherwise great album.
 le_colonel wrote:
1.

enough with this overrated, unbearable band already

 
You're free to listen to something else if you want.  These guys are part of the fabric of our growing-up years for us Baby Boomers.
 Cynaera wrote:

Total 10.  I remember when my parents would take off for good fishing territory, leaving the house to me. I'd put this album on and sit at the end of the hallway where the stereo was, and just close my eyes and dream... It was before I'd ever read Lord of the Rings, but it moved me in ways I didn't understand until much later... Say what you want about this song, or this album - it kicked my creativity and made me realize that I wanted to be a writer.  I love this whole album.

  
Such a Great Album!
I'd play Battle of Evermore, not knowing Tolkien's tale, and yet the music worked something awesome and inspiring…then I saw my Dad's LotR paperbacks on a shelf in the garage (next to Fleming's Bond series), grabbed them and that summer I was transported!
Led Zep kicked my spirit too! 
1.

enough with this overrated, unbearable band already
My dog is protesting...: oooohooooh! Oooohoowooo!
 terrapin52 wrote:

I got sick of Stairway to Heaven, but then one night I shared a bong made out of a wiffle ball bat with a friend, and heard it.  I will never be the same after that.  I learned what they were doing with that song that night and I have not tired of it since.  Weird, huh?  You'll either have to try it or take my word for it. {#Tongue}



 
"A bong made out of a wiffle bat:" necessity is the mother of...cats? Oh shit I'm too high         {#Cowboy}

Seriously, that's a pretty impressive feat of desperation and/or ingenuity. And the 'rents never figured it out, I'll bet. "Young Terrapin seems to have a real passion for wiffleball again, Madge!"

Good to see younger generations taking up this torch and now lighting the way for all to blend America's Favorite Pastime with...sport:

pictures of wiffle ball bat bong


"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."






 ScottishWillie wrote:

Not sure that the case. I have 2 teenaged boys and Nirvana and Zeppelin seem to feature high on their pals playlists and T shirts. I think you must just be hanging with the wrong kind of adolescents. 



 
Oh yeah, my son LOVES Zep. So weird going into Hot Topic and seeing all the Zeppelin t-shirts they have for sale.

Back in the '70s when the band was still around, you really couldn't get a shirt unless you were lucky enough to attend one of their concerts.
big smile

{#Daisy}
 ckcotton wrote:

Sadly not many kids today know or care to explore their catalog.....  

 

Not sure that the case. I have 2 teenaged boys and Nirvana and Zeppelin seem to feature high on their pals playlists and T shirts. I think you must just be hanging with the wrong kind of adolescents. 


Bring the Balance Back Indeed
The great Sandy Denny providing fantastic vocal accompaniment.  Foreshadowing Robert Plant's later collaboration with Allison Krauss! 
Just about the only song on "IV" that I still listen to on a regular basis. There are some hilarious live versions floating around the inter-web, where Jimmy or JPJ are singing Sandy Denny's part... 
 kcar wrote:
. . . Somebody else here regretted that kids today ignore Led Zep. My guess is that the band still has some pull, probably far more than their contemporaries back in the day. 
 
A friend of mine teaches guitar and piano. He says many of "the kids these days" (ie his students) still love Led Zep and Pink Floyd. Most of the other classic rockers do not seem to have transcended the generations as successfully.
This is not the OEM album version.  What's this recording from?
 terrapin52 wrote:
Led Zeppelin were just amazing.  They took you to another world and showed you another way to live.

 
What still amazes me about LZ is that they were a heavy-rockin' band, about as heavy as you could get in the 70s...but then they put out beautiful folk-oriented music. And they could pull off songs about Tolkien's Middle Earth without sagging into self-parody. 

Somebody else here regretted that kids today ignore Led Zep. My guess is that the band still has some pull, probably far more than their contemporaries back in the day.  
Plant and Sandy Denny on vocals - that's about as good as it can get.
8 > 9. Bought this album 28 years ago. Liked it and then found it a little tiresome in recent decades. Today is a good day for oldies, just off the back of "the good the bad the ugly" - Yah!
Pure Magic

I'm 15 and flying

every time 
Love the mandolin in this.
Seems like a good time to go outside and watch the hummingbirds.
 Cynaera wrote:

I suppose the answer to that would be "yes."  https://www.publishamerica.net/product88950.html  That's a link to the website where one can buy my book, should one want to pay the ungodly-expensive price (I didn't set the price, so don't shoot me.)

Truth be told, I think everyone is a writer of one sort or another. {#Mrgreen}
 

You were a great writer, Cynaera...  miss you so much...

love this brilliant classic song...
 
 BBoyes wrote:
Bill just mentioned that Sandy Denny was the guest vocalist here, and this is the only time LZ had one. I was not familiar with her by name. Turns out she is quite well known in the UK, and her work dates back to Fairport Convention and others... 

 
I figured everyone knew that; I guess not.
 terrapin52 wrote:

I got sick of Stairway to Heaven, but then one night I shared a bong made out of a wiffle ball bat with a friend, and heard it.  I will never be the same after that.  I learned what they were doing with that song that night and I have not tired of it since.  Weird, huh?  You'll either have to try it or take my word for it. {#Tongue}

+1

I don't smoke anymore, but listening to this album high was an amazing experience. There are some many good tracks on it.



 


Nothing touches this!!! authentic, creative, sighs!

This song will last forever...  profound...  love it...
 
 BBoyes wrote:
Bill just mentioned that Sandy Denny was the guest vocalist here, and this is the only time LZ had one. I was not familiar with her by name. Turns out she is quite well known in the UK, and her work dates back to Fairport Convention and others... sadly another case of artist vs substance addiction, deceased in 1977. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Denny

 
Had no idea she was so messed up on drugs. Wow. You wonder how her child fared with such erratic parents.

But yes, Sandy's legendary among folkies. 

Everybody in my churches loves this song...  and this entire album...
 
my favorite song from IV.
10
Bill just mentioned that Sandy Denny was the guest vocalist here, and this is the only time LZ had one. I was not familiar with her by name. Turns out she is quite well known in the UK, and her work dates back to Fairport Convention and others... sadly another case of artist vs substance addiction, deceased in 1977. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Denny
This album was my first exposure to Led beyond Stairway.... can still remember being blown away during our Outdoor Ed trip listening on my buddies walkman.

Just incredible.

Sadly not many kids today know or care to explore their catalog.....  
Nice!!  {#Clap}
 mistabird wrote:
ein sehr schöner song, unvergeßliche erlebnisse fallen mir ein  nur gute
 
das haben jetzt alle verstanden!
ein sehr schöner song, unvergeßliche erlebnisse fallen mir ein  nur gute
 Cynaera wrote:

Total 10.  I remember when my parents would take off for good fishing territory, leaving the house to me. I'd put this album on and sit at the end of the hallway where the stereo was, and just close my eyes and dream... It was before I'd ever read Lord of the Rings, but it moved me in ways I didn't understand until much later... Say what you want about this song, or this album - it kicked my creativity and made me realize that I wanted to be a writer.  I love this whole album.

 

Miss you so much, Cynaera...

love this song...
 

old-fashioned cacophony 
Long live the lads
 martinc wrote:
Imagine LedZep I, II, III and IV in two years. Glad to have been 16-18 during this time, the music was magical.
 
Doesn't 1969 - 1973 = 4 years?
Imagine LedZep I, II, III and IV in two years. Glad to have been 16-18 during this time, the music was magical.
 
Just learned about Sandy Denny and the fact she is the only guest singer on a Zeppelin album and this being the only such song to have one. Now I know. I love this song for so long.
 impediguy wrote:
Maybe this is what Robert Plant was trying to recreate with Allison Krauss.
 
He shoulda picked Allanis Morrisette instead.

Now that would be a show to see !
Did Led Zep steal the intro from Gustavo Santaolalla or vice-versa?
 mpatnode wrote:


You need to hear Dread Zepplin do Black Dog.   It will bring it back for you.
 

  fer sure ...

I got a chance to see dread zep 15 years ago or so at Peabody's Downunder in the Flats of Cleveburg. 

Loved every minute of it !
this one gets my long ago Tolkien memories rising, the echoeing vocals and strumming tune send me way back in a good, grand way
Maybe this is what Robert Plant was trying to recreate with Allison Krauss.
This is one of those songs that takes you on a little journey of wonder - it's so pure and mediative. I needed that, thanks.
 cayenne wrote:
I have been listening to this since it was on the new releases rack at Record Town and I just now realized this was Sandy Denny. No wonder this is my favorite Led Zep song ever. Thanks, RP!
 
Same here - picked up at the Record Bar after class. Listened to it for years and didn't know that was Sandy Denny until someone mentioned it here on RP. Well, that's the mark of a true classic - always something new to hear, or see, or learn.
I have been listening to this since it was on the new releases rack at Record Town and I just now realized this was Sandy Denny. No wonder this is my favorite Led Zep song ever. Thanks, RP!
 ozzie1313 wrote:
A better album?
 
FOABP...??
But not sure - my tastes & preferences ebb & flow, back & forth like a gentle breeze over time...

A better album?
 Bleyfusz wrote:

And have you become one?

 
I suppose the answer to that would be "yes."  https://www.publishamerica.net/product88950.html  That's a link to the website where one can buy my book, should one want to pay the ungodly-expensive price (I didn't set the price, so don't shoot me.)

Truth be told, I think everyone is a writer of one sort or another. {#Mrgreen}
 Xeric wrote:

I bought this album for "Stairway" at a time when I still though that "hard rock" (like all the other cuts, which I had no intention of listening to) sucked.  Pretty soon, I'd decided that "Stairway" was the weakest cut on an incredibly great album.  Still think so.  (And I'm no "Stairway" hater, or "Black Dog," either, however much play they might get.  It's just that the whole album is so incredibly good.)
 
I got sick of Stairway to Heaven, but then one night I shared a bong made out of a wiffle ball bat with a friend, and heard it.  I will never be the same after that.  I learned what they were doing with that song that night and I have not tired of it since.  Weird, huh?  You'll either have to try it or take my word for it. {#Tongue}


Led Zeppelin were just amazing.  They took you to another world and showed you another way to live.
 brulie wrote:
Like everyone, I wore out my needle listening to this album. (Many of the other Zeppelin albums contributed to my needles' demise, too!) I'm pretty sure I started with this one (or Houses of the Holy). As I listened to Zeppelin IV over and over and over again, "The Battle of Evermore" and "When the Levee Breaks" became my favorites on the album. In fact, at the risk of everyone's wrath, I must say that "Black Dog" became my least-favorite Zeppelin song — helped largely by its frequent play on Classic Rock radio. 

 

You need to hear Dread Zepplin do Black Dog.   It will bring it back for you.
 OhKatieLaughs wrote:
What's not to love here? References to Tolkien, and with Robert Plant, Sandy Denny, Jimmy Page on mandolin, John Paul Jones on acoustic guitar . . .. Heaven.
 
So dang true!
 brulie wrote:
Like everyone, I wore out my needle listening to this album. (Many of the other Zeppelin albums contributed to my needles' demise, too!) I'm pretty sure I started with this one (or Houses of the Holy). As I listened to Zeppelin IV over and over and over again, "The Battle of Evermore" and "When the Levee Breaks" became my favorites on the album. In fact, at the risk of everyone's wrath, I must say that "Black Dog" became my least-favorite Zeppelin song — helped largely by its frequent play on Classic Rock radio. 
 
I bought this album for "Stairway" at a time when I still though that "hard rock" (like all the other cuts, which I had no intention of listening to) sucked.  Pretty soon, I'd decided that "Stairway" was the weakest cut on an incredibly great album.  Still think so.  (And I'm no "Stairway" hater, or "Black Dog," either, however much play they might get.  It's just that the whole album is so incredibly good.)

What's not to love here? References to Tolkien, and with Robert Plant, Sandy Denny, Jimmy Page on mandolin, John Paul Jones on acoustic guitar . . .. Heaven.
 Bleyfusz wrote:

And have you become one?

 

I'm hoping that is an innocent question....
The latest (August 2011) issue of Classic Rock is devoted to Led Zep IV. I was surprised to read that Sandy Denny was not happy with her vocal contribution to "The Battle of Evermore" and in fact felt like she was really "out-sung" by Robert Plant.

Everyone else thought she was magnificent and that Plant's idea to bring her in was brilliant.

I think she more than holds her own and can't imagine this track without her. 

 Cynaera wrote:

Total 10.  I remember when my parents would take off for good fishing territory, leaving the house to me. I'd put this album on and sit at the end of the hallway where the stereo was, and just close my eyes and dream... It was before I'd ever read Lord of the Rings, but it moved me in ways I didn't understand until much later... Say what you want about this song, or this album - it kicked my creativity and made me realize that I wanted to be a writer. <...>

 
And have you become one?

 jimmpypowder wrote:
I smoked alot of herb to this song back in the 70's .

I think im getting a flashback.LOL
 
Still works great today

;)

 
 Grammarcop wrote:
I have reached my limit. Mute. 

 
I concur...virtually intolerable...

Like everyone, I wore out my needle listening to this album. (Many of the other Zeppelin albums contributed to my needles' demise, too!) I'm pretty sure I started with this one (or Houses of the Holy). As I listened to Zeppelin IV over and over and over again, "The Battle of Evermore" and "When the Levee Breaks" became my favorites on the album. In fact, at the risk of everyone's wrath, I must say that "Black Dog" became my least-favorite Zeppelin song — helped largely by its frequent play on Classic Rock radio. 

 SinisterDexter wrote:
What's amazing is that this is the weakest cut on the whole album, and it still rates a 9 from me.
 
You almost have to rate it a 9 because, while this is still a classic, there are better Zeppelin songs. And yet, its as good as "10" rated songs by other bands.

We need to revamp this whole ratings system to reflect the disparity of bands AND there songs. I could rate my favorite song by a band a 10, but the band itself might only rate as a 7. A two-tiered ratings system is in order.

My all-time favorite Zep tune.
What's amazing is that this is the weakest cut on the whole album, and it still rates a 9 from me.
 d-don wrote:


Point taken! {#Lol}
 
I've actually been assuming it was Joan Baez all these years, I'm glad I looked it up myself first!

 cakkafracle wrote:

You should also plead ignorance of Google, then? :P

Sandy Denny
 

Point taken! {#Lol}
 d-don wrote:
I have to plead ignorance - who is the female background vocal on this? Has a Grace Slick quality.
 
You should also plead ignorance of Google, then? :P

Sandy Denny