Years ago someone told me that if you played Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven song backwards that you could make out “satanic messages”. It is not my opinion that Led Zeppelin was given the power to make these backwards sounds have a satanic message. And, no, I did not create this to show the evils of Rock and Roll. Instead I made this flash piece for two reasons: 1. I was new to flash and wanted to be better at it and 2. The backwards file sounds cool.
From the too-much-time-on-my-hands department:
The forwards lyrics:
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen
Yes there are two paths you can go by
but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on
What people heard in the reversed lyrics:
Oh here’s to my sweet Satan
The one whose little path would make me sad
Whose power is Satan
He’ll give you give you 666
There was a little toolshed where
He made us suffer, sad Satan
My mapping of reversed sounds to forwards lyrics:
| heard | ” Oh ” | here’s | to my | sweet Satan |
| sounds | naah ohrydoahruhtttth | zhehhsh | o’t mai(t) | eeelss et’ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mapped | on you’re road the | change | to time | still there’s |
| lyrics | There’s still time to change the road you’re on | |||
| heard | The one whose little | path would | make me | sad |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sounds | Nrrr Ngone ethni | tahb ohg | naah’c eeyy | sthap |
| mapped | runlong the in but | by go | can you | paths |
| lyrics | paths you can go by but in the long run |
|||
| heard | Whose power is Satan |
|---|---|
| sounds | ooo t au rer esthsSay’ |
| mapped | two are there Yes |
| lyrics | Yes there are two |
| heard | He’ll give you give you | 6 6 6 |
|---|---|---|
| sounds | Eyuuuh Qyih yaymeth orrthneac | pssats uhst tsih |
| mapped | Queen May the for clean | spring a just It’s |
| lyrics | It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen | |
| heard | There was a little | toolshed | where he made us suffer | sad Satan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sounds | awn d’ma laehb’d | woolshdge’ | yerr’er nih elst sub | seretdhif’ |
| mapped | now alarmed be don’t | hedgerow | your in bustle | there’s if |
| lyrics | If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow don’t be alarmed now |
|||
UPDATE 2005-05-15:
After just over a year, the original link is dead. I’ll update it here so people can still hear it backwards… so maybe you can actually listen to it before shooting your mouth off.
- albino black sheep
- original at jmilner– note I did not make either of these!
Someday when I feel even crazier I should do a phonetic transcription in the IPA… which I believe theoretically should be easier to reverse into something just as legible as the forwards version! -brainWeb link of note: My Sweet Satan
(At http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/stairway.php)
Your brain tells you to imagine the lyrics you’ve been told.
Doing this kind of thing is impossible in the studio.
honestly, go listen to another song that supposely contains backward messages but dont find out what they say, you wont be able to hear anything untill someone tells you the “message.”
Well, someone found the message. In fact I found one of my own in Hanson’s MMBOP, it does indeed stick out in your head because it is clear as day.
CREEEPY
THAT IS A PRETTY GOOD SONG BACKWARDS
THAT IS A PRETTY GOOD SONG BACKWARDS
Also to note I forgot to mention the exceptions like Floyd’s “empty spaces”, the Beatles “rain”,
ELO’s…something fire (i forget the title) and others that put them in on purpose by taking a piece that was recorded forward and inserting it into the song in it’s backward form. So if you were to listen to the song backwards at that moment you would hear the reversal the way it was originally recorded forward. thank you
the weird thing is the lyrics make almost no sense forward,
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow
don’t be alarmed now
It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen
Yes there are two paths you can go by
but in the long run
There’s still time to change the road you’re on
exactly what is that suppose to mean?
Dont say its imposible to hear it unless your told. I heard it before I was told. There was another one, “Another one bites the dust” played backwards, it sounds like “fun to smoke marijuana”. I couldent hear it until I was told, Now its very clear. I decided to show my brother and he said “something about marijuana?”. Although, there is one part that is wrong in this. Satan has no power. I wondered about that, and if you will notice, there is no “an” after what sounds like “sat”. I think that line is “Whose power is fake”. Also, something that is VERY interesting, The fist words you hear are “Play backward, hear words sung”.
Actually, it’s very possible… they record a message, play it backwards, then pick words that sound like it so that it comes out sounding (badly) like their message in reverse.
A quote:
Actually, it’s very possible… they record a message, play it backwards, then pick words that sound like it so that it comes out sounding (badly) like their message in reverse.
My Verdict:
I think this is most probably true. It makes no sense, to be honest. They probably heard their satanic message backwords, and tried to relate each noise to a sound.
————————————————–
If you explained the definitions for all the words, it would say the following:
If there’s a…
BUSTLE – another type of woman’s bra
In your…
HEDGEROW – means bushes
It’s just a…
SPRING CLEAN – a thorough cleaning, especially of a residence when winter is over.
For the…
MAY QUEEN = The May Queen is a girl (usually a teenage girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a gown and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day Celebrations.
Yes, there are two paths you can follow, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.
————————————————–
See? It makes absolutely no sense. I think it was put in on purpose.
A quote:
Actually, it’s very possible… they record a message, play it backwards, then pick words that sound like it so that it comes out sounding (badly) like their message in reverse.
My Verdict:
I think this is most probably true. It makes no sense, to be honest. They probably heard their satanic message backwords, and tried to relate each noise to a sound.
————————————————–
If you explained the definitions for all the words, it would say the following:
If there’s a…
BUSTLE – another type of woman’s bra
In your…
HEDGEROW – means bushes
It’s just a…
SPRING CLEAN – a thorough cleaning, especially of a residence when winter is over.
For the…
MAY QUEEN = The May Queen is a girl (usually a teenage girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride at the front of a parade for May Day celebrations. She wears a gown and usually a tiara or crown. Her duty is to begin the May Day Celebrations.
Yes, there are two paths you can follow, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.
————————————————–
See? It makes absolutely no sense. I think it was put in on purpose.
Led Zepplin was and is still atleast in my opinion the founders of metal and to be able to fully emotionally wright lyrics for a song like stairway to heaven (also ironic that its a song about buying a stairway to heaven opposite of hell, duh) one mustsell there soul to the devil in exchange for emotion. i aswell think it would be an amzing song if done the way it sounds backwards, it hass emotion and soul (the ones they all lost)
The verse does make sense:
If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow – at face value this means a noise or a rustling in your hedge (bustle is also an old term for a bra as mentioned)
Don’t be alarmed now, it’s just a spring clean for the May Queen – don’t be worried by the rustle – the May Queen (Queen of the Spring) is just cleaning up the countryside
Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on – There are two ways fo doing things, but it’s never too late to change.
It is a common practice in satanism to read write and talk backwards, the band was studying occult practices and studying the theoreys of allestiar crowley (black sabbath mr. crowley) the ironic part is that jimmy page moved into his castle when he died. People were beheaded and sacrificed in the house too. And that is where the song was written, he admitted in an inteview that he beileved his house to be haunted and that it did not bother him also that stairway was a song done in satans name. the whole song backwards has messages that include “SHall I loathe you now parishoner etc.” I have listened to recording of crowleys work, I believe that this is true. the messages make complete and totl sense too.
I heard that it was written in 1 afternoon, on a hill {some people call it satans toolshed}(There was a little toolshed), right near a Church that burned down (where he made us suffer)
Oh here’s to my sweet Satan
The one whose little path would make me sad (Satans path leads to hell)
Whose power is fake (Satan has no power, but he sure wants people to think he does!)
He’ll give you give you 666 (The antichrist will give a marking on either the forehead or the wrist.-and basicaly give up your life to Satan- Without the mark, people are going to refuse to sell or buy from you. Some people think this mark will be 666.
There was a little toolshed where
He made us suffer, sad Satan (The hill with the Church that burned down)
Quote: It is a common practice in satanism to read write and talk backwards
_________________________________________________
This is absolutely incorrect. It is a common misconception. In fact, Anton LaVey only recited the bible backwords in a black mass for a publicity stunt. Also, Aleister Crowley was not a Satanist. He started the Thelemic Church. In fact, Crowley was quotes as saying, “The devil does not exist. It is a false name invented by the Black Brothers to imply a Unity in their ignorant muddle of dispersions. A devil who had unity would be a God.”
Robert Plant was interviewed on NPR and he explained quite well what the song meant. Paraphrasing, it is about man’s abandoning of nature and the hope of being able to change that.
The only power Satan could have is by your own choosing to believe in him. Just listening to the song (forward or backward) is harmless in itself.
Robert Plant was interviewed on NPR and he explained quite well what the song meant. Paraphrasing, it is about man’s abandoning of nature and the hope of being able to change that.
The only power Satan could have is by your own choosing to believe in him. Just listening to the song (forward or backward) is harmless in itself.
ok you people are really crazy and so is this song!
Well i dunno bout this. i went through my dads records the other day and got intersted in Zeppelin. i went to D-load some songs on BEarshare and found SAtanic Verse (stairway). i was kinda freaked out bout this. many people say its not true, we r just immagining the words being spoken to us. My dad is a phsycoligist and explains this is not true. 3 or 4 words we can mix and mash all we want, but this message is to long & clear for us to immagine it. Rob was probably doing a significant thing in the song where he has an opposite of two sides. think about it, that would be pretty neat. i do think however, Oh heres to my sweet satan was crafted. No one probably has figured out a clear part to this. im sure he would not worship satan or Baal or anything. he could also have said this verse forward, then play it backward and make out what ever verse in english (forward) he could. and unfortunately the best was if theres a bustle in your hedgerow…He also sings it weird forward. the way he hits the notes while singing is not normal. he probably did this to make the message clear. But im not his Studio Recorder so im not sure. ther is alot of smart people and theories here but mine makes most sense to me. If u think he was trying to send a subliminal message to become “evil,” then u r wrong… other sites and my dad all say subliminal messages hardly ever work the only proven successful one was in 57, the coke and popcorn one where it flashed a 3rd of a milisecond on some sitcom. coke prices boomed 15% and popcorn 57%. anyway… subliminal messages can not sent backwards, it is impossible for the brain to obtain this message backwards hearing it forwards. the brain wouldnt even be able to obtain this forwards to that extent. if u heard this message backwards, without knowing or no1 tellying u what ure suppost to be looking for would we really of heard the message? not me, maybe the satan words but thats it. try it on sum1 who knows nothing about Stairway To Heaven or the “message.”
A bustle is a bra? Come on.
Bustles were originally worn (in the period from 1825 to 1867) under the skirt in back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging down, especially if the fabric was heavy. Heavy fabric tended to pull the back of a skirt down and flatten it, so a petticoated or crinolined skirt would be out of shape from sitting down or just from moving.
The lyrics don’t make sense, anyway, and the funny way the words are pronounced and the rhythm of the words makes it obvious it was contrived to be played backwards.
actually the song is very strange and it took a long time for me to understand but let me tell you the words definitions in BRITISH, not americans, BRITISH terms, after all these guys were Brits…… any way a BUSTLE is a disturbance like a loud poop or noise, Hedgerow, is like a row of bushes, The May Queen is normally a woman/teenage girl who rides the float on a May Day parade..The There are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road your on, is talking about the paths of life, the two paths are Heaven or hell, and there is still time to change with road you take, overall this stanza is talking about hearing something and being afraid of what might happen in a pessimistic sense…..in my eye this song is a perfect example of the two paths.the forward version is the stairway to heaven, the reverse is the escalater to hell
After hearing about ‘some’ hidden message in this played backwards, me and my friends tried it, and could clearly make out parts of the reverse lyrics. The 666 part sticks out alout, and the’sweet satan’ and the bit about the toolshed.
We then looked up the lyrics, and what we heard was pretty acurate to whatr is written here.
The idea of a stairway to heaven is quite ambiguous, as a stairway does not only travel in one direction, so the idea of a stair way to heaven suggests that if you go backwards, you’ll arive in hell, hence the reverse lyrics.
This is an all time classic song, and even after finding out about the reversed stuff, it adds a new depth of intrigue.