"The Battle of Evermore" is a folk song characterized as "fantasy medievalism". Plant wanted another voice for the recording to create the sound he wanted for the song, so a folk singer called Sandy Denny was invited in to sing with him. It's the only song LZ recorded with a guest vocalist. During live performances, Jones sang her part, sometimes with Bonham joining in. Sound engineer, Andy Johns, said about the song's development, "The band was sitting next to the chimney in Headley, drinking tea, when Jimmy grabbed a mandolin and started playing. I gave him a microphone and stuck a Gibson echo on his mandolin. Jimmy had brought this stuff before and had asked me to take a look at it. Suddenly Robert started singing and this amazing track was born from nowhere." Plant wrote the lyrics and there has been a lot of debate surrounding from where he developed his idea for them. Some say The Lord of the Rings, others say Scottish history, and yet others still say from King Arthur stories. Plant was a voracious reader (likely still is) and had an interest in various genres, so I think it's a combination of ideas borne out of that, with the general theme being the ongoing battle between good and evil. I've never read anything in which Plant himself spoke about what influenced his idea for the lyrics, but perhaps others have. Good to meet your mom! It's so cool to be meeting your family and friends. Thanks, Silas. :) Edit: If you want to read the lyrics, you can find them here: www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Led-Zeppelin/The-Battle-of-Evermore

Sandy Denny and Robert on vocals, Jimmy on Mandolin. What a masterpiece.

Great reaction guys. Your Mom was right it’s Jimmy on mandolin. He had never played one before and borrowed John Paul Jones’ mandolin and wrote this song…that’s how great the man is. Sandy Denny’s vocals on this song are so beautiful. She is the one rallying the troops and preparing them for battle.

Another great Zeppelin tune referencing the late great J.R.R. Tolkien and his volume of work

I'm a fan of all Zeppelin songs but this was always my favorite because of it's uniqueness. There's nothing else like it.

Hi Mom!!! Mandolin indeed.That is Sanny Denny (the other voice) and yes another LOTR,some,.........Robert was well read and some reference to the border wars(England,Scotland,Wales) Peace,out! 🙂

RIP Sandy Denny im so glad I was i born around this era of music not any later than hearing the computer music of today to hear music of a generation where musicians were on top of their craft

Even though Mom looks young enough to be your sister, it was fun to see her reaction every time the high notes occurred and how she closed her eyes to totally experience the song. It makes this old man happy to see parents experience great music with their kids. Something special about it. Peace!

This is the only song by Led Zeppelin with a guest vocalist with Sandy Denny and yes that’s a Mandolin

I can’t believe Peter Jackson didn’t use this song for the ending credits to any of the LOTR movies. It would have fit perfectly.

You have a beautiful mother. 🌹 Hope we see more of her.

That was Sandy Denny doing a duet with Robert Plant! Sandy Denny she was a famous folk singer from London she has a awesome vocal range!

I think that Plants duet with Sandy Denny, here, laid the groundwork for his modern duets with Patty Griffin and Alison Krause

"Lord of the Rings" was a great source of imagery, in music, back then (and even now?) The late, great Sandy Denny, singing along with mr Plant!

I still get goosebumps listening to this song, too : ) Sandy Denny sang with Robert Plant on this one (the studio version). Their voices were almost mirror images, perfectly matched. For a long time, I also thought it was Robert Plant singing both parts. I saw Led Zeppelin 2x same week (my LZ claim to fame : ) in 1977. All four guys sat on stools up front on stage and did a beautiful acoustic set that included this song, Going To California, and I honestly can't remember what else, but it was ethereal. Page on Madoloin (maybe a double neck??), John Paul Jones on acoustic guitar and I can't rem. what Bonham played, if anything, but they ALL sang. It was amazing. I was 17. We owned the world back then. And we knew we were experiencing history and some of the greatest music ever.

Sandy Denny is singing on the song also .

Hi Mom ! you've got one hell of a son there ! I was born in 1960 so you could say I grew up with them - trust me the more and longer you listen to them the better they get . Enjoy, no band hits like Led Zeppelin

Hi Mom! You've a great kid here! Yes, that is a mandolin played by Jimmy. Page explained in 1977 that "'Battle of Evermore' was made up on the spot by Robert [Plant] and myself. I just picked up John Paul Jones's mandolin, never having played a mandolin before, and just wrote up the chords and the whole thing in one sitting." When performed live, Jimmy would play the mandolin while John Paul Jones played a three-neck guitar with a mandolin on top, a 12-string guitar in the middle, and a 6-string guitar on the bottom. Sandy Denny (RIP), a brilliant singer from folk group Fairport Convention adds the commentary. She is the only other person to ever sing with Led Zeppelin and even gave her a sigil on the album in addition to their own. In concert, John Paul Jones would sing Sandy's part. Robert has always been interested in Lord Of The Rings, histories, various mythologies and folklores, especially Celtic/Welsh so, in addition to lyrics inspired by Lord Of The Rings (Ringwraiths), he also mentions "Avalon" which comes from King Arthur legends. Avalon comes from the Celtic word "abal" which means apple and Avalon was said to be a beautiful paradise island full of wild apple trees (the lyric "the apples of the valley hold the seeds of happiness"), grapevines, and wheat and was considered to be a source of Magic. This song is an ethereal fantasy/fairytale.

This tune raises the hair on the back of my neck EVERY time I listen to it. Good pick, man...

An absolute standout track for Zeppelin. I love loud, heavy, and dirty guitar, but there was always something special about Zeppelin's acoustic work. This being the most obvious example. It's enough to make you forget that Bonzo's not there. For a minute anyway. Magic.

So great to see mom and son vibing to Zeppelin.

Excellent song to share with your mom! Found this info about this song.... What inspired The Battle of Evermore? “Evermore” is even more directly inspired by the fifteenth and sixteenth century Anglo-Scottish wars, mostly fought along the border of the two countries, which Plant had been reading about prior to writing the lyrics. However, it is believed to be based on events in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings because of the references. It "specifically alludes" to the Dark Lord and the Ringwraiths, while the "Queen of Light" mentioned is "possibly" the elf-queen Galadriel. The song was written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant at Headley Grange while Page was experimenting on John Paul Jones's mandolin. Page explained in 1977 that "'Battle of Evermore' was made up on the spot by Robert and myself. I just picked up John Paul Jones's mandolin, never having played a mandolin before, and just wrote up the chords and the whole thing in one sitting.

While Zeppelin IV is often referred to as Four Symbols, there is a Fifth symbol on the inner sleeve, one for Sandy Denny.

Unbelievably great song!! Hi mom!! I'm 62 and grew up on Zeppelin too#

Hello Mrs Bailey ! We in England ( when i was sweet sixteen ) always referred to this as the Runes album and i thought that The Battle of Evermore was the constant battle between good and evil ! However at that time i was not aware of the Tolkien influence on Page and Plant !The song is an absolute gem and rarely gets any airplay which is a shame because i actually think its better than Stairway to Heaven !

Best band in the world.Still are today !!!!

No the GREAT Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention is singing with Robert Plant.

Great song...the most underrated song on side 1 for sure...🎩

I think this is the very peak of Plant's power as a lyricist. Vivid imagery, poetic phrasing...

I have to admit that at first I believed it was all Robert, his singing was so diverse, but of course I found out later it was Sandy Denny once I read the cover. Absolute great song, thanks for the reaction, to you as well mom, good insight :)

First off….great to see two family members on screen! ❤ What a joy. No BS….. I haven’t heard this song in ages--maybe 30 years. As a kid I remember this song being special to me because I always read fantasy novels and this song felt like the perfect music for that. At the time, I had no clue the band took inspiration from middle earth. That aside…. Just friggin pretty! Big thumbs up for this one! 👍👍

My mother heard this album so many times when I bought it in 1971, she loved Stairway to Heaven.

“HI MOM!” This channel’s great. I admire all the support that Silus is getting from family and friends. ❤️ Again, you never know what you’re going to hear from Zepplin…

Love your Mother. That's both a statement and a universal law of nature for any son or daughter.

The vocals are a duet between Robert Plant and female singer Sandy Denny. The Battle Of Evermore is not a rock composition so the tune never got played on rock radio or top 40 stations back in the 70s. Being a duet between Robert Plant and Female singer Sandy Denny and being mandolin driven the tune was not heard by many people until they actually purchased the album. There is so much excellent music by many artists that never gets mainstream airplay unfortunately because record companies do not push it or it does not fit into the genre that a radio station is focused on. Thank you Silas for your reactions and for introducing all of us to your family and girlfriend. As has been said many times, Rock On!

Hi there Mom. Great to see you. This band is mind numbingly good. Good job mom, it is a mandolin. Jimmy has a two neck guitar regular guitar and a mandolin above that. Good ear lady. Young man cherish your mother....!!!! She is special woman from a special time. I believe the Battle of Evermore is the battle between good and evil. Early in the song Robert mentions the Prince of Peace.???? I never got to see Zeppelin, but I have seen Robert Plant in concert. The man's voice is like a musical instrument. Young man you are on a noble path. Take your time and enjoy it... Bye mom, take care lady. Peace!

Robert has performed this live with Alison Krauss, she also plays violin. Their collaboration has produced some amazing music.

A great cover of this song is by the band Heart, Ann and Nancy Wilson..Its well worth a listen..

Wow......What a Loving Family!!!! You are soooooo BLESSED!!!! You come from a Loving Wonderful Space/Place........it explains your disposition........I and many of us did not come from a loving place as we are experiencing from your Family!!!! Love your Family/girlfriend....Hahahaha.........lol...................hahahaha😃😃😃😃

I LOVE WHEN UR MOM AND ALL UR GUESTS SHOW THEIR REACTION!!!!!

The thing I've always loved about this song, simply an acoustic guitar, a mandolin, Robert Plant and British folk singer Sandy Denny, but something about the tempo and the cadence of the singers makes this simple song rock just as hard as anything else in their catalog, truly one of my favorites.

Hi Silas! Being on the west coast, by the time I watch your postings, everything I was going to say has been said! I would add only this: In the fall of 1970, Robert Plant was voted the top male singer in Britain, and Sandy Denny the top female singer. She was invited to sing on the album during the recording period of December 1970 to January 1971. Robert and Sandy were good pals. Robert has maintained a decades long relationship with some of the members of Fairport Convention, one of the top folk groups in England. He sang Battle of Evermore at a special tribute to Sandy Denny given by Fairport Convention around 2009. Sandy died in 1978 at the age of 31

Hi great reaction and lovely to see your mum keep doing what you are doing and enjoy yourself. Thank you

Your mom is chill dude! Something to know about recording techniques back in the 70's, multitracking was the thing, hence why Rob's voice plays such tricks. Bear in mind, there were no synths back then, or at the most very basic and simple types, more effects than synths. So everything was done with instruments. The level of talent and creativity that Zepp had can only be sustained for a limited time, they burn so very brightly but only for so long.

This has to be one of my top 10 favorite tracks by LZ, and possibly by anyone. I get chills every time!

Nice to see a reaction to a song that wasn't played heavily... Also nice to have Mum and son enjoying themselves so. ✌

They were and still are the Gods of rock and roll. I was listening to Zepplin long before your mom was born :-)

Transports you far away . When our German teacher in high school got mad we'd always say, " the tyrant's fsce is red!" Lol Favorite lryic is, "the pain of war cannot exceed the woe of aftermath" Great response!

Ohh! You still got a mom!I my mom was gone in the beggiing of this year. i missed her so much! Yeah! The Battle of Evermore is one of the greatest moment in this albun .

"No comfort has the fire at night that lights the face so cold". One of my all time lyrics in any song I've heard

💕Sandy Denny! Her vocals on 'who knows where the time goes' with Fairport convention is heartbreakingly beautiful.

Great Reaction & Nice To Meet Your Mom.

Sandy Denny singing with Robert Plant. She is from a group called Strawbs and also has many solo albums. Almost forgot Fairport Convention. Can't leave that group out!

I'd recommend looking into Sandy Denny's music - she has the most perfect voice. Probably my favourite female singer of all time. Fairport Convention's album 'Liege and Lief' is a masterpiece. She's the only 'outsider' ever to sing on a Zeppelion album. She sadly died young and was a great loss.

An utterly charming reaction by both of y'all! Good call by mom on the Poe ("Nevermore") reference possibility! As I'm sure others have said, the higher, cleaner vocal here belongs to one Sandy Denny. She sang for the folk group "Fairport Convention." Robert Plant (and the band) were such admirers of her voice that she became basically the only non-Zep person to sing or play on a Zeppelin song. (Excepting Ian Stewart). And: Not quite The Hobbit, but, yes, "Ringwraiths" (Nazgul) were mentioned!

Hello Bailey family!! You're video just made my day!!! Luv it, family together listening to the best of the best!! Thx guys. Rock on!!¡

Sandy Denny was a legend. And made a good song sound fantastic.

Great reaction, nice you inviting your mom..respect. This is just an awesome song to sit back, close your eyes and get lost in..there's going to be a lot of that feeling as you continue on your LZ journey...thanks for taking us along for the ride !!

And yet another masterpiece from one of the greatest bands of all time.

This was rarely performed live by Zeppelin, but for those here who might not know, Heart often performed it during their concerts and did a fantastic job. Several vids on KZfaq of that Also, Robert and Alison Krauss sing it together in concert. Check out Nashville concert from their 2008 tour Superb audio.

That was so awesome. Your mom is fantastic, have her come on some more. Anyway that was highly enjoyable and the vocals on that are just stunning. But now there's at least two people on that, one of them is a woman he knew that they brought in because he just wanted that sound on that to have both a male and a female voice kind of weaving in and out of each other. I wouldn't be surprised if either of the other two guys didn't perhaps join in because that's the way they did it later when they toured with it live.

Shout out to Mom..and Dad..Silas you get a big shout out to discovering some of the greatest music that will never be again! ..love it..and blessings to you and the family!

Poe said Nevermore from The Raven. Great reaction. Your mom is cool. Next up.... Stairway! Can't wait

You've inherited your mother's easy smile...lucky guy! Tolkien was a strong influence on this generation...LZ mentioned LOTR characters in several songs as you astutely note. This reaction makes me happy on so many levels...to watch a first-time listener experience this work, and to see how music can bridge generations at a time when we need more connection in our world. Keep it up...Evermore!

I do believe after several decades of careful consideration that this may be my favorite Zep song. Great reaction thanks :)

An exceptional tune! possibly the greatest instance of voices truly being used as the solo instruments.

Good call mom, 'unearthly'. A comment from another reaction wrote he first heard this song while travelling in the back of his parents car (as a young lad) through the mountains of Scotland while the weather was misty and foggy. He found it surreal, unearthly. I can just imagine

Hey Mommy Bailey, welcome to Silas's 'other family', now you know what he does in his room all the time. Silas, great to meet your Mom, and this is another great reaction, can't wait for the next one, Stairway To Heaven considered by many to be the best song ever written, vying for top spot in a lot of music critics views with Bohemian Rapsidy by Queen.

The softer side of Zeppelin is a compliment to their heavy psychedelic side. 💥💥💥👍😎 Looked like mom enjoyed it,,,,,👍

Wow...the whole family! Great to see that on your channel. This is the only song in their entire catalog with a guest singer, Sandy Denny. When the 4th album was released, there was no text on the cover or on the spine of the album cover identifying the name of the band, or the songs. The record company thought Zeppelin was committing professional suicide by doing this - instead, this was their best selling album. On the liner notes, each member of the band took a symbol to represent themselves. Zep gave Sandy her own symbol, just as each member of the band had their own symbols.

A mandolin is used in this song. ☺️

Its so Special seeing Your Mom with you! I Enjoyed both of your reactions. ☺

One of the few songs with a guest singer. There is a lady singing also

One of my absolute favorites from Led Zeppelin 4!

Hey bro ! I am blown away once again ! Music that I experienced and grew up listening to! I am so delighted to see the younger generation experience what I call, the greatest time to have lived ,while these great band were rising to stardom

Great job love your reactions! It's fun watching someone listen to music I've been listening to my whole life! Glad the young people like this stuff! Your lucky to have such cool parents!

Mach speed on that STANK FACE!!!! Hi Mom!! We are all here supporting your son, Silas. He is doing great!! & he has great taste in music!!!!!

My second favourite song on this album.

Great Great Great reaction! ❤ Love Mom being here, please have her come back anytime. Pleasure to watch your channel.

Forever grateful to Led Zeppelin and this song for introducing me to Sandy Denny. Very few could stand up as an equal with Robert Plant. Amazing!

I saw Heart perform this live around 1977-78. They later recorded it as "The Lovemongers."

I memorized to the drum section to this song years ago. I've got to say I'm quite good at it. 😄 Hi Mom!

Check ot this song on a video here where Plant and Page play it with Plant's backup group and a female from the far east singing the high part. It is amazing. I think it is from the late 90s.

For those of you who might be interested, Robert Plant talks about this song on his podcast Digging Deep. It’s Season 2, episode 3. About 15 minutes.

Her voice is so similar -- did you notice that a woman is singing duet with Robert? -- Her name is Sandy Denny and I believe its the only song they do with a guest singer -- There are many references to Tolkiens books in several of their songs

Sandy Denny is the other vocalist. She was from Fairport Convention. This is one of the very very few Zep tracks that has someone outside the band playing or singing on it (Boogie w/ Stu, others?). Very beautiful great Zep song, one of my favorites, on the Zep Rushmore for me. Mom is right: "ethereal".

This is my #1 all time Zeppelin song. The intricacy of instruments, vocals and melody is unsurpassed. P.S. your mom is cool.

It is a common reference to JR Tolkien books you will find. On Lead Zeppelin II, I/We would think you absolutely noticed it in the song Ramble On. Has the feels here as well, but I haven't heard lyrics that say "oh... That's it!" Very very nice!

It is the only Zep song that has a guest singer ..Zep folk songs are as good as the rock and never slack either way ..

I'm loving watching Silas' mind get blown...go mum!

Sandy Denny accompanied the vocals. From Fairport Convention there are a couple notable songs that are associated with her, Matty Groves and Tamlin, both worth a listen for those not familiar.

Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart do an amazing live cover of this song.

Definitely makes you think of Lord of the rings

The 1st time Jimmy page picked up a mandolin. He did this!!!

Awesome! Hi mumsy! Heart does an amazing live cover of this song. On the 'singles' movie soundtrack.

It’s a Mandolin, and Sandy Terry singing with Robert! The GOATS! It’s from the Lord of the Rings!

hands down my favorite Zeppelin track

Wow, does this bring back memories! Thank you

Sharing the love of Zeppelin with a parent, been there. Cherish it. Definitely Tolkien inspired btw...and the woman harmonizing with Robert's name is Sandy Denny.

Love your enthusiasm for this great music! And your Mom is awesome. Thanks for appreciating this amazing gift to music!