Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are in a serious situation, but I need a break from the gloom, doom and bullying by way of hoarding. Music has always been my refuge and watching those beautiful Italians singing to each other from their balconies reaffirmed my belief that music is the answer. So until the old normal returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day.  And if this helps anyone else, even better.

There was no way to grow up in the 1970’s, love music as much as I do and not possibly know most of Led Zeppelin’s songs.  They are regarded by many fans and music critics as one of the greatest bands, if not the greatest, of all time.  Whenever there is a countdown or a list of the top rock songs of all time, “Stairway To Heaven” is always number one.  And lead vocalist, Robert Plant, is usually hailed as the best singer of all time.  Plant turned 72 years young on August 20, and after the band broke up in 1980, he continued his career singing with many other artists.  He collaborated with Jeff Beck in The Honeydrippers (they did a cover of “Sea Of Love”, a hit in 1959 by Phil Phillips, who died in March at the age of 94), country/bluegrass star Alison Krauss and indie singer Patty Griffin, amongst others.

I have enjoyed all of Plant’s music over the years.  But if I had to choose my favorite song of his it would be from his Zeppelin years.  He co-wrote it as a tribute to his son who died in 1977 and it appears on the band’s final album, “In Through The Out Door”.

“Yours is the cloth, mine is the hand that sews time
His is the force that lies within
Ours is the fire, all the warmth we can find
He is a feather in the wind“.

Led Zeppelin – vocalist Robert Plant performing live on what would be the band’s final UK performance at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire UK – 11 Aug 1979. Photo credit: Alan Perry/IconicPix ***LO-RES IMAGE – Please contact IconicPix to approve usage and HI-RES image***

Robert Plant and Led Zeppelin circa 1979 (L-R:  Jimmy Page, John Bonham, Plant and John Paul Jones.   (Images found online.  Original sources unknown.)

Led Zeppelin:  “All My Love” (1979, written by John Paul Jones and Robert Plant).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.