What did Led Zeppelin mean by “bustle in your hedgerow”?
Led Zeppelin may well be one of the biggest rock acts to have ever graced the earth, but a large amount of their popularity is down to their incredible musicianship and the soaring vocals of Robert Plant.
It goes without saying that Jimmy Page was also an exceptional guitarist, and the rhythm sections of John Paul Jones and John Bonham were exemplary at their respective crafts, but as is often the case with rock bands, the first person to get noticed by those not of a musical education is the frontperson, whose performances often carry the melodies and entice the listener.
However, hiding beneath Plant’s inimitable vocals were his often cryptic and elaborate stories, which often don’t get looked at in quite the same way as the musicality of the band or his vocal performances, even by their most ardent of supporters.
Yes, there were times when these were influenced by high fantasy, especially Tolkienesque folklore, which has been referenced in songs such as ‘Ramble On’ and ‘The Battle of Evermore’, and there were times when Plant would also resort to inserting sexually-charged lyrics into the band’s work when playing in a far more rock-oriented and raunchy style.
But what about in Led Zeppelin’s most famous song of all, ‘Stairway to Heaven’, where the lyrics are slightly harder to decode? There has been plenty of speculation among fans of the band as to what the true meaning of the song is, and what had originally inspired Plant to write such lyrics as: “If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now. It’s just a spring clean for the May Queen.”
It’s mysterious both in tone and in its lyrical content, but this line in particular has stumped listeners for years. It sure is poetic, but what on earth was Plant referring to?
What does “bustle in your hedgerow” mean?
While many have suspected that this is another sexual reference, something that Plant wasn’t shy about incorporating into his wordplay, there have been plenty of theories that would suggest that he was on about something a lot less provocative, and that fans had deliberately tried to drum up controversy by suggesting that Plant was being euphemistic with his lexical choices.
After people suggested several alternatives to the meaning, ranging from it referencing a young woman experiencing menstruation for the first time to there being suggestions of it being about a wedding, Plant would reveal all in an interview on Australian television, where it turns out the song, and this line in particular, was a lot more innocent than one may have predicted.
“What it is, it’s the beginning of spring,” Plant revealed. “It’s when the birds make their nests, when hope and the new year begins, and it’s nothing to do with any of that weird stuff you read about in America!”
While he may have seemed as though he was trying to divert attention from the slightly suggestive nature of the line by creating something so pure as he joked his way through the response, it also seems quite watertight when lined up against the rest of the lyrics of the song.
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