Led Zeppelin was an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group c… Read Full Bio ↴Led Zeppelin was an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are cited as one of the progenitors of hard rock and heavy metal, although their style drew from a variety of influences, including blues and folk music. Led Zeppelin have been credited as significantly impacting the nature of the music industry, particularly in the development of album-oriented rock (AOR) and stadium rock.

Originally named the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin signed a deal with Atlantic Records that gave them considerable artistic freedom. Initially unpopular with critics, they achieved significant commercial success with eight studio albums over ten years. Their 1969 debut, Led Zeppelin, was a top-ten album in several countries and featured such tracks as "Good Times Bad Times", "Dazed and Confused" and "Communication Breakdown". Led Zeppelin II (1969) was their first number-one album, and yielded "Ramble On" and "Whole Lotta Love". In 1970, they released Led Zeppelin III which featured "Immigrant Song". Their untitled fourth album, commonly known as Led Zeppelin IV (1971), is one of the best-selling albums in history with 37 million copies sold. The album includes "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Stairway to Heaven", with the latter being among the most popular and influential works in rock history. Houses of the Holy (1973) yielded "The Ocean", "Over the Hills and Far Away" and "The Rain Song". Physical Graffiti (1975), a double album, featured "Trampled Under Foot" and "Kashmir".

Page wrote most of Led Zeppelin's music, particularly early in their career, while Plant wrote most of the lyrics. Jones's keyboard-based compositions later became central to their music, which featured increasing experimentation. The latter half of their career saw a series of record-breaking tours that earned the group a reputation for excess and debauchery. Although they remained commercially and critically successful, their touring and output, which included Presence (1976) and In Through the Out Door (1979), grew limited, and the group disbanded following Bonham's death in 1980. Since then, the surviving former members have sporadically collaborated and participated in one-off reunions. The most successful of these was the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, with Bonham's son Jason Bonham on drums.

Led Zeppelin are one of the best-selling music artists of all time; their total record sales are estimated to be between 200 and 300 million units worldwide. They achieved eight consecutive UK number-one albums and six number-one albums on the US Billboard 200, with five of their albums certified Diamond in the US. Rolling Stone magazine described them as "the heaviest band of all time", "the biggest band of the Seventies", and "unquestionably one of the most enduring bands in rock history". They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995; the museum's biography of the band states that they were "as influential" during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.

Albums
Led Zeppelin (1969)
Led Zeppelin II (1969)
Led Zeppelin III (1970)
Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
Houses of the Holy (1973)
Physical Graffiti (1975)
Presence (1976)
In Through the Out Door (1979)
Coda (1982)

Night Flight
Led Zeppelin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I received a message from my brother across the water
He sat laughin' as he wrote the end's in sight
So I said goodbye to all my friends
And packed my hopes inside a matchbox
'Cause I know it's time to fly

Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning
Meet me in the middle of the night

Ah yeah, the morning light is comin'
Don't it make you want to go and feel alright

I just jumped a train that never stops
So now somehow I'll know I never finished payin' for my ride
Just n' someone pushed a gun into my hand
Tell me I'm the type of man to fight the fight that I'll require

Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning
Want you meet me in the middle of the night
The morning light is comin'
Don't it make you want to go and feel alright

Oh, mama, well I think it's time I'm leavin'
Nothin' here to make me stay
Whoa, mama, well it must be time I'm goin'
They're knockin' down them doors
They're tryin' to take me away

Please Mr. Brakeman, won't you ring your bell
And ring loud and clear
Please Mr. Fireman, won't you ring your bell
Tell the people they got to fly away from here

I once saw a picture of a lady with a baby
Southern lady, had a very, very special smile
We are in the middle of a change in destination
When the train stops, all together we will smile
Oh, come on, come on now meet me in the morning
Won't you meet me in the middle of the night, night, night
Oh oh, yeah, everybody know the mornin' time is comin'
Don't it make you want to feel alright
Ah, ah, yeah, make me feel alright
Fly now, baby
Get to fly, yeah

Fly now, baby
Oh, hey, hey

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Led Zeppelin's song Night Flight seem to portray a sense of urgency to leave one's current situation behind and embark on a new journey. The singer of the song relates that they received a message from their brother, who is "across the water," indicating a great spatial distance between them. The message the brother sent suggests that the end of something is near, and the singer takes this as a call to action, packing their hopes in a matchbox and bidding farewell to their friends to go on a flight. The verses continue to paint a picture of someone who is escaping their current life and jumping on a train that never stops in search of a new destination.

As the song progresses, the urgency of the situation continues to build. In the second verse, the singer suggests that someone has handed them a gun, indicating that they may be forced to fight to achieve their goals. The chorus is a call to meet the singer in the morning or the middle of the night, suggesting that they are on the move and seeking companionship as they travel. The bridge of the song calls out to both the train conductor and the fireman, asking them to ring their bells and tell the people to fly away from their current situation. The final verse seems to indicate that the singer is ready to leave with nothing to make them stay and that they are being pursued by people trying to take them away.

Overall, the lyrics to Night Flight are open to interpretation, but they seem to reflect the desire to break free of the past and move forward, even if that means leaving everything behind.

Line by Line Meaning

I received a message from my brother across the water
I received a message from my brother who's far away

He sat laughin' as he wrote the end's in sight
He laughed as he told me it's almost over

So I said goodbye to all my friends
I said farewell to all my friends

And packed my hopes inside a matchbox
I gathered my hopes and dreams

'Cause I know it's time to fly
Because I know it's time to leave

Oh yeah, come on, meet me in the morning
Join me in the morning, oh yeah

Meet me in the middle of the night
Meet me in the dead of night

Ah yeah, the morning light is comin'
The morning light is near

Don't it make you want to go and feel alright
Doesn't it make you wanna feel good

I just jumped a train that never stops
I got on a train that won't ever stop

So now somehow I'll know I never finished payin' for my ride
Now I'll never be able to pay my fare in full

Just n' someone pushed a gun into my hand
Someone put a gun in my hand

Tell me I'm the type of man to fight the fight that I'll require
Tell me that I'm the kind of man who can fight if needed

Oh, mama, well I think it's time I'm leavin'
Oh, mom, I think it's time to go

Nothin' here to make me stay
Nothing's here to make me stick around

Whoa, mama, well it must be time I'm goin'
Whoa, mom, it must be time to leave

They're knockin' down them doors
They're breaking down the doors

They're tryin' to take me away
They're trying to take me somewhere

Please Mr. Brakeman, won't you ring your bell
Please, brakeman, sound your bell

And ring loud and clear
Ring it loudly and clearly

Please Mr. Fireman, won't you ring your bell
Please, fireman, sound your bell

Tell the people they got to fly away from here
Tell the people they need to leave this place

I once saw a picture of a lady with a baby
I once saw a picture of a woman holding a baby

Southern lady, had a very, very special smile
She was a Southern woman with a unique smile

We are in the middle of a change in destination
We're in the middle of going somewhere different

When the train stops, all together we will smile
When the train stops, we will all smile together

Oh, come on, come on now meet me in the morning
Come on, meet me in the morning

Won't you meet me in the middle of the night, night, night
Meet me in the middle of the night

Oh oh, yeah, everybody know the mornin' time is comin'
Everyone knows that morning is near

Don't it make you want to feel alright
Doesn't it make you want to feel good

Ah, ah, yeah, make me feel alright
Make me feel good

Fly now, baby
Fly away now

Get to fly, yeah
Get ready to fly

Fly now, baby
Fly away now

Oh, hey, hey
Oh, yeah

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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