What Is and What Should Never Be Lyrics

Lyric discussion by Jaspin Demothenese 

Cover art for What Is and What Should Never Be lyrics by Led Zeppelin

Again, one of my favorite Zeppelin songs. I see it as a song about a man taking away a child or a young woman to a place to escape from reality. The castle is a dream, or a fantasy world in the girl's imagination.

"Then what's to stop us, pretty baby. But What Is And What Should Never Be" Basically, the things in reality the girl see happening and does not want to see happening. This could range to a lot of different things.

"So if you wake up with the sunrise, and all your dreams are still as new," She has woken from her dream, and finds the dreams still fresh in her mind. The next line tells the girl, that if she wants what is in her dream or imagination, than she can find it in herself.

The chorus and the last stanza I haven't really given much thought to yet. But when I do, you can be sure that I will tell you all what I think it means.

I think this song is about a guy who is daydreaming about a girl. The guitars and beat on the verses suggest lazy imaginings. But, the pumped up, hard rock riff of the chorus suggests feeling the excitement of love.

I would think this is to a girl the singer likes and would like to make her feel good. 'And happiness is what you need so bad' suggests that the guy wants to make her happy.

The guy dreams of taking her off to some perfect place in the sky where they can be together. It also suggests that if...

Its about a romance Plant had with his wife's younger sister

@Jaspin Demothenese I like your very fantastical and dreamy take on this song. It was, of course, based on his yearning for his wife's sister, and your elaboration into some noble fantasy is fair enough, I guess. Plant did like to hunker down in very unreal texts of fantasy, after all, so the allusion is definitely possible. The verses and music work wonderfully together like a seamless piece of magic to entrance the listener in its web of beautiful enchantment. These boys certainly knew how to rock, cajole and entertain us like the masters they truly were.