Behind the Harrowing Accident That Led to the Meaning of This Led Zeppelin Hit

The most nuanced and relatable songs are often the most personal. We staunch and fervent music fans can smell disingenuous and empty lyrics from a mile away, and we’re never afraid to call them out. Thus, musicians and songwriters know that the only way to truly win over an audience is to wear their heart on their sleeve. One songwriter who is no stranger to putting it all out there is Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, and one of the many songs he did so on was “Achilles Last Stand”.

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Featured on Led Zeppelin’s 1976 album, Presence, “Achilles Last Stand” didn’t appear on any major charts, given that they never released it as a single. Although the majority of Zeppelin’s staples weren’t released as singles, they cared far more about their albums’ success. Nevertheless, there is a rich and deeply personal story behind this single, and it has to do with Plant and a set of injuries brought on by a car crash he experienced in Greece.

Robert Plant Recorded the Led Zeppelin Album From a Wheelchair

In 1975, while in Greece, Robert Plant was in a car crash in Greece that left him with a shattered right ankle, elbow, and leg. The injuries forced Plant to record vocals from a wheelchair, and consequently, inspired the whole album, and particularly the song, “Achilles Last Stand.”

Concerning how this adversity inspired the song, Plant told The Vulture, “I spent some time in Greece, probably about six or seven months, after a car wreck in 1975. I was unable to walk. That particular song’s lyric relates to the absolutely desperate need to get out of jail, out of the wheelchair, or out of the whole syndrome of being stuck in wherever I was.”

“I longed to head back to the Atlas Mountains, to the place where it was solace and joy, but at the same time, intrigue and adventure,” added Plant. Other than the lyrics and allusions to mythology, there is one other element that mirrors the literary tradition of the Greeks, and that is the length and form of this song.

Led Zeppelin’s “Achilles Last Stand” is one of their longest songs and most expansive in terms of story. In short, and like The Iliad, “Achilles Last Stand” is an epic. An epic translated through the harrowing experience and debilitating limitations experienced by Robert Plant.

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