Ah-ah, ah!
Ah-ah, ah!

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
Hammer of the Gods
Will drive our ships to new land
To fight the horde and sing and cry
Valhalla, I am coming

On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the Western shore

Ah-ah, ah!
Ah-ah, ah!

We come from the land of the ice and snow
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow
How soft your fields so green
Can whisper tales of gore
Of how we calmed the tides of war
We are your overlords

On we sweep with threshing oar
Our only goal will be the Western shore

So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins
For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing

Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ahh, ah
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh


Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by patricknuggets, LHGL

Immigrant Song Lyrics as written by Robert Plant Jimmy Page

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Immigrant Song song meanings
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192 Comments

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  • +8
    General Comment

    This song is about the Viking invasion of Britain in the A.D. 800's. It was at this time when Christianity was just about to become the dominant religion of all the kingdoms on the island... and then disaster struck. The so-called "Danes" (from Norway actually!) invaded from the north-east coast and subdued region after region, reintroducing the pagan ways of old. Villages were torched, churches and libraries were demolished. As kingdom after kingdom collapsed, civilization in Britain was threatened. The viking rulers forced the people to pay a tribute tax, the "Danegeld", making them the "overlords" of Britian. The lone hold-out was the south-west Kingdom of Wessex (West Saxons) lead by Alfred the Great. They were the only people stopping the vikings from reaching "the western shore". Here Christian culture was preserved, and eventually the pagans were driven from Britain and/or introduced to Christ.

    RayManon July 20, 2006   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    sounds that way at first, but what ruins would there be to rebuild in america between 800 and 1066 AD? i`m pretty sure it's about the viking invasions of Britain around 800-1000 A.D., since Britain's eastern coast (or the english channel's western shore) was where most of the attacks were aimed. also, i think

    "For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing"

    could be an allusion to england's norman invasion in 1066, since that invasion was pretty much the last great invasion of the British isles, and paved the way for England's power in the future. oh, and by the way, Valhalla is the "hall of Heroes", where, in norse mythology, Odin kept the souls of those great fighters that died in battle so that he would have an army of great fighters with him for the final battle at the end of the world.

    ramtharon May 16, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Norsemen of course:-) My ancestors. I doubt this is the actual meaning, but it always made me think of the Norse being the first Europeans making it to Vinland-The Western Shore- Sailing in their longships, fighting against the storms, on a wide sea to reach Vinland.

    Hildeon April 28, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Yeah, sounds more like an invasion of Britain. "To fight the hoarde" To my knowledge, there weren't exactly an abundance of hoardes in North America at the time.

    odin_loweon May 30, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    The Vikings were mostly from Norway and Denmark, very few if any from Finland. But I'm not going to talk about that. This might either be about when the Danish invaded the English shores or when Leifur Eiríksson sailed from Iceland to America, since this song is written after Led Zeppelin played in Iceland, I'm guessing it's the second:P

    "From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow."

    It's bright 24/7 in Iceland in the summer, so the midnight sun might be referring to that and even though there are hot springs in other places in the world, I do believe that they only "blow" in Iceland, because of the subterranean heat:P

    ravingon March 27, 2003   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    i think this song refers to them first touring the united states and winning over new fans.

    dk2magicon February 03, 2006   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    Back in the day, Zeppelin were known to pillage like vikings.

    lightman135on December 21, 2007   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    In my opinion, taking into account everything that has been said about the song; that is is supposed to be funny etc, this is Robert comparing the way Led Zep were sweeping through the world at the time, to the way the vikings did. He said they had just come from iceland, "we come from the land of the ice and snow". it is about them and their incredible domination of the music scene. Now, don't you think that sounds like Robert Plant's brand of humour? :)

    jenningsfarmblueson March 09, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    and guys dont compare the lyrics in this song too harshly with the historical facts of the viking invasions. yes, the mentions of 'hordes' and 'ruins' dont exactly fit in with north america, and yes, it's iceland that's famous for hot springs, not mainland scandinavia - but remember these were rockstars writing the lyrics, not history or geography professors.

    AndreAndreon September 13, 2008   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    makes sense it fits with led zepplins obsession for celtic lore

    azrealon August 15, 2002   Link

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