Saturday, August 25, 2012

"Stairway to Heaven" - Rocking English!

Last year was the 40th anniversary of "Stairway to Heaven."  Since I am always on the lookout for musical material for English language learners, I decided to post this for teachers and students.  What seems to make this song a classic are the thought-provoking lyrics and the captivating guitar work.  Many covers for "Stairway to Heaven" were presented here at NPR (National Public Radio) last November in a salute to Led Zeppelin's masterpiece.  There are purely instrumental versions and song performances.

Listen to the story at the top of this page - there is also a transcript link.  If teachers want to use this material for a song cloze or anyone wants to sing along, here are the lyrics. There is the interpretation of the interviewee on NPR, but students might enjoy reading some of the more long-winded interpretations of the song (in comment form) by music listeners.

If nothing else, enjoy the performance by Led Zeppelin (here's another one).  Personally, the wordless flamenco-Mexican (Fla-Mexican?) mix by Rodrigo and Gabriela and Stanley Jordan's offerings were my favorites (other than the original, that is)! Now I've got an earworm!

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