Music Why did Robert Plant turn down ‘Game of Thrones’?
When you hear the thunderous sound of Led Zeppelin, which is completely unwavering both in its instrumentation and lyricism, it’s hardly a surprise to find that TV shows and films are interested in using it. Led Zeppelin has always had a firm stance on corporations of any kind using their music; generally speaking, they have always said no when people have reached out.
There are exceptions to this, of course. For instance, Jack Black managed to convince Robert Plant to let him use ‘Immigrant Song’ in School of Rock. It seems like a strange film for Robert Plant to suddenly agree with, but his reasons were earnest. He wanted to make Led Zeppelin more accessible and get rid of the myths surrounding their music.
“Everyone gets it, young and old. It’s a great song. Not only slightly ridiculous but ridiculous,” said Plant, “All of my grandkids have all been able to play Jack Black’s riffs. I think it was exactly the right thing to do, with School of Rock, to blow our myth up into the sky for a while. Because it’s all myth. It doesn’t matter. I’ve watched the film and find it funny.”
It turns out it’s not just Led Zeppelin’s music that films and TV series have been interested in, though, as Robert Plant revealed Game of Thrones once asked him to appear in the series. He turned the offer down, and his reasons for it were quite interesting.
“Well, I don’t wanna be typecast,” he said, “I started that shit up, go back to ‘Immigrant Song’, Led Zeppelin being part of a cultural exchange in Iceland, with the Icelandic government.”
Plant is referring to the inspiration behind the song, which stemmed from his love for fantasy and a trip to Iceland. As a big fan of Lord of The Rings, JRR Tolkien, Plant decided that he wanted to write a song that had a fantasy element to it. As he and the band made their way across the North Sea to bring their music to Iceland, he created a song depicting the band as Nordic Vikings.
“On we sweep with threshing oar,” he sings, painting the mythological image well, “Our only goal will be the western shore.”
Robert Plant spoke about the complicated circumstances that led to him writing the song in the way that he did. He attests that he wasn’t arrogant, and what you hear in ‘Immigrant Song’ is a fictionalised retelling of their time in Iceland.
“We weren’t being pompous. We did come from ‘the land of the ice and snow.’ We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik, and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike, and the gig was going to be cancelled,” he said.
Adding: “The university prepared a concert hall for us, and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable, and we had a great time. ‘Immigrant Song’ was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different.”