Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Sisters of the way-side bide their time in quiet peace
Await their place within the ring of calm
Still stand to turn in seconds of release
Await the call they know may never come
In times of lightness, no intruder dared upon
To jeopardize the course, upset the run
And all was joy and hands were raised toward the sun
As love in the halls of plenty overrun
Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
Still in their bliss unchallenged mighty feast
Unending dances shadowed on the day
Within their walls, their daunting formless keep
Preserved their joy and kept their doubts at bay
Faceless legions stood in readiness to weep
Just turn a coin, bring order to the fray
And everything is soon no sooner thought than deed
But no one seemed to question in anyway
Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
How keen the storied hunter's eye prevails upon the land
To seek the unsuspecting and the weak
And powerless the fabled sat, too smug to lift a hand
Toward the foe that threatened from the deep
Who cares to dry the cheeks of those who saddened stand
Adrift upon a sea of futile speech?
And to fall to fate and make the 'status plan'
But no one there had heaven within their reach
Singing uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh
Where was your word, where did you go?
Where was your helping, where was your bow? Bow
Bow
Dull is the armour, cold is the day
Hard was the journey, dark was the way, way
I heard the word, I couldn't stay, oh
I couldn't stand it another day, another day
Another day, another day
Touched by the timely coming
Roused from the keeper's sleep
Release the grip, throw down the key
Held now within the knowing
Rest now within the peace
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed
They had to stay
Held now within the knowing
Rest now within the peace
Take off the fruit, but guard the seed
Take off the fruit, but guard the seed
Await their place within the ring of calm
Still stand to turn in seconds of release
Await the call they know may never come
In times of lightness, no intruder dared upon
To jeopardize the course, upset the run
And all was joy and hands were raised toward the sun
As love in the halls of plenty overrun
Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
Still in their bliss unchallenged mighty feast
Unending dances shadowed on the day
Within their walls, their daunting formless keep
Preserved their joy and kept their doubts at bay
Faceless legions stood in readiness to weep
Just turn a coin, bring order to the fray
And everything is soon no sooner thought than deed
But no one seemed to question in anyway
Uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
How keen the storied hunter's eye prevails upon the land
To seek the unsuspecting and the weak
And powerless the fabled sat, too smug to lift a hand
Toward the foe that threatened from the deep
Who cares to dry the cheeks of those who saddened stand
Adrift upon a sea of futile speech?
And to fall to fate and make the 'status plan'
But no one there had heaven within their reach
Singing uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh, uh-uh
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh
Where was your word, where did you go?
Where was your helping, where was your bow? Bow
Bow
Dull is the armour, cold is the day
Hard was the journey, dark was the way, way
I heard the word, I couldn't stay, oh
I couldn't stand it another day, another day
Another day, another day
Touched by the timely coming
Roused from the keeper's sleep
Release the grip, throw down the key
Held now within the knowing
Rest now within the peace
Take of the fruit, but guard the seed
They had to stay
Held now within the knowing
Rest now within the peace
Take off the fruit, but guard the seed
Take off the fruit, but guard the seed
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More Featured Meanings
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
People often try to find meaning within song lyrics, and of course read many things into them. Often, however, there really is no substantive meeting but rather a “word painting” with no over arching meaning. These lyrics likely represent Robert plants extensive reading and he’s drawing on images and emotional phrases that give the impression of something deep. I doubt this is the case. This is a complex and very long song requiring a lot of lyrics. My sense is that plant, never the great lyricist, was reaching for whatever he could to make a song and melody line work. The lyrics appear to be based in fantasy and mythology. I think Plant did a good job Putting together something cohesive for such a long song. But I highly doubt there are any mystic truths revealed in these lyrics. Sometimes it’s just fun to put words together based on emotionally-baesd imagery in your head.