"Misty Mountain Hop" is a song by English rock band

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...

, released in 1971 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. The song appears on the band's untitled fourth album, and was released as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to the single " Black Dog" and performed in most of the band's 1972 and 1973 concert tours. In 2019, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked the song number 10 on its list of the 40 greatest Led Zeppelin songs.

Lyrics and recording

The most common interpretation of the song's title involves a reference to the

Misty Mountains The geography of Middle-earth encompasses the physical, political, and moral geography of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, strictly a continent on the planet of Arda (Tolkien), Arda but widely taken to mean Arda (Middle-earth), t ...

in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

''. The lyrics refer to the events of the 7 July 1968 "Legalise Pot Rally" in

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Gre ...

, in which police made arrests for marijuana possession. The lyrics reflect Plant's quest for a better society, a place and time when hangups are replaced with individual freedom and a life of mutual support and rapport. The song was recorded at

Headley Grange Headley Grange is a former workhouse in Headley, Hampshire, England. It is a Grade II listed historic building. It is best known for its use as a recording and rehearsal venue in the 1960s and 1970s, by acts including Led Zeppelin, Genesis a ...

, a mansion where the band sometimes lived in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

, England.

Releases and versions

The song was released as the

to the single " Black Dog", which was released in the United States on 2 December 1971, continental Europe (the United Kingdom did not receive the single release), and Australia. A different version of this song is featured on the second disc of the remastered two CD deluxe edition of ''Led Zeppelin IV''.

Live performances

The band performed the song at the 3 May 1971

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

concert (song's first concert performance) and then at the 1972 and 1973 concert tours. Band member

Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the English rock band Led Zeppelin for all of its existence from 1968 until 1980, when the band broke up following th ...

performed it for most of his own solo concerts since the 1980 band breakup. Plant also performed it with the surviving members of the band at the 10 December 2007 tribute concert for

Ahmet Ertegun Ahmet Ertegun (, Turkish spelling: Ahmet Ertegün; ; – December 14, 2006) was a Turkish-American businessman, songwriter, record executive and philanthropist. Ertegun was the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records. He discovered and ch ...

References

{{authority control 1971 singles Atlantic Records singles Led Zeppelin songs Music based on Middle-earth Songs about cannabis Songs based on actual events Songs written by Jimmy Page Songs written by Robert Plant Songs written by John Paul Jones (musician) Song recordings produced by Jimmy Page 1971 songs

Lyrics and recording

Releases and versions

Live performances

See also

References