An upbeat morning, some extra family time in the form of a shared breakfast and drive to work. Led Zeppelin's IV was playing in the car. I was struck by - as stupid as this might sound - what a great song Stairway to Heaven is after all. Evocative lyrics, great arc, a masterwork guitar solo, nice sound.

Maybe it was the amount of mind altering drugs that lyricists took back in the seventies, but somehow there is an irresistible fairy tale quality to many of the classic rock texts:

"And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,
and the forests will echo with laughter."

I have no idea what that means, nor do I have a particular inclination to, but it sure sounds great. Another great text, also featuring a piper, is King Crimson's In the court of the crimson king:

"The rusted chains of prison moons
Are shattered by the sun.
I walk a road, horizons change
The tournaments begun.
The purple piper plays his tune,
The choir softly sing;
Three lullabies in an ancient tongue,
For the court of the crimson king.

The keeper of the city keys
Put shutters on the dreams.
I wait outside the pilgrims door
With insufficient schemes.
The black queen chants
The funeral march,
The cracked brass bells will ring;
To summon back the fire witch
To the court of the crimson king."

And now, back to work. Now where was I? :-)