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"Ramble On," originally released in 1969 on Led Zeppelin’s second album (Led Zeppelin II), provides some of the clearest evidence that one of guitar god Jimmy Page’s song-writing influences has been J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings trilogy. Undeniably, the lyrical references in “Ramble On” to Gollum and Mordor and the wanderings of the song’s protagonist evoke images of Frodo and his time spent since leaving Hobbiton. 

With this in mind, the 8/1/98 Phish debut of “Ramble On” at Alpine Valley was not as big a surprise as it may have seemed. Why? Because this crowd pleasing, first set opening, brand new cover song appeared during the summer 1998 “Ring of Fire” tour. So what? Well, Narya, the Ring of Fire, namesake of the Phish summer tour, was one of the three named rings of Tolkien’s elven kings. Furthermore, the next Phish rendition of “Ramble On” (8/12/98 at Vernon Downs) came eleven days later after the band and its touring legion had rambled on by Syracuse, the boyhood home of Phish’s de facto lord of Hobbiton Jon Fishman.

It was over 12 years before Phish would next visit Middle Earth by performing "Ramble On" during their second set “TweeZeppelin” medley on the second night (10/30/10) of Halloween weekend festivities at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall.  The medley, in addition to “Ramble On,” contained a tease of “Whole Lotta Love,” a brief roll in the hay with "Heartbreaker,” a terse  “Thank You,” and the transcendent finale of “Stairway to Heaven.”  Trey and Page shared the vocal duties, yet together were largely (“Thank You” being the exception) unable to match the sonic gymnastics of Robert Plant; demonstrating quite clearly why this medley may be as close as we will ever get to Phish covering a Led Zeppelin album for Halloween.  Considering that each of the songs featured in the medley except “Stairway to Heaven” appear on Led Zeppelin II, it may actually have been an alternate album considered for the Halloween Costume set at Boardwalk Hall, only to be abandoned due to the inherent vocal challenges it presents.

Watch Ramble On on YouTube Led Zeppelin "Ramble On"

(Page/Plant)
© Warner Chappell Music, Inc. (ASCAP)

Leaves are fallin' all around, time I was on my way
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay
But now it's time for me to go, the autumn moon lights my way
For now I smell the rain, and with it, pain
And it's headed my way
Aw, sometimes I grow so tired
but I know I've got one thing I got to do

A-ramble on, and now's the time, the time is now
Sing my song, I'm goin' 'round the world, I gotta find my girl
On my way, I've been this way ten years to the day
Ramble on, gotta find the queen of all my dreams

Got no time to for spreadin' roots, the time has come to be gone
And though our health we drank a thousand times
It's time to ramble on

A-ramble on, and now's the time, the time is now
Sing my song, I'm goin' 'round the world
I've gotta find my girl
On my way, I've been this way ten years to the day
I gotta ramble on, I gotta find the queen of all my dreams
I tell you no lie

Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear
How years ago in days of old when magic filled the air
'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, mm-I met a girl so fair
But Gollum and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her
Her, her, yeah, and ain't nothin' I can do, no

I guess I'll keep on ramblin', I'm gonna
Sing my song/Sh-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah, I've gotta find my baby
I'm gonna ramble on, sing my song
Gonna work my way all around the world
Baby, baby/Ramble on, yeah

A-do-do-n-do-n-do-n-do, my baby/Baby
A-ramble on, baby
A-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-de-do-de-do-de-do-de-do-de, yeah, yeah/
I can't stop this feelin' in my heart
Everytime I feel I will leave, I really gotta part
Gotta keep searchin' for my baby/
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, babe
I've gotta keep a-searchin'for my baby
My, my, my, my, my, my, my baby/
Yeah-yeah, a-yeah-yeah, a-yeah-yeah
My, my, my, my, my, my baby/
Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah
Ooh, my, my, my-my, my-my, my-my, yeah/
I can't find my bluebird, I'd listen to my bluebird sing
but I, I can't find my bluebird
I keep a-ramblin' baby/ Ah, ah, yeah
I keep a-ramblin', baby/I keep, keep, keep, keep, keep
Babe, babe, babe, babe/
I keep a-ramblin', baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby
My, my babe
Bay-ya-by/A-goodbye, goodbye, a-goodbye, baby
Well, something's wrong