Strider, Robert Plant's collie with blue eyes and a mottled merle coat, was the inspiration to Led Zeppelin's song Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.
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| Robert Plant and his dog Strider |
In 1970, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp - as well as most of the other songs on Led Zeppelin's third album Led Zeppelin III - was written by Robert Plant, the lead singer of the English rock band, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones at a small 18th century cottage known as Bron-Yr-Aur (meaning "breast of gold" in Welsh - as in a hillside of gold) in the wilderness of Wales. This folk-rock song is about Robert Plant walking in the countryside with his dog Strider:
Ah caught you smiling at me,
That's the way it should be,
Like a leaf is to a tree, so fine
Ah all the good times we had,
I sang love songs so glad
Always smiling, never sad, so fine
As we walk down the country lanes,
I'll be singing a song, hear me calling your name
Hear the wind within the trees,
Telling mother nature 'bout you and me
Well if the sunshine's so bright,
Or on our way it's darkest night
The road we choose is always right, so fine
Ah can your love be so strong
When so many loves go wrong
Will our love go on and on and on and on and on and on?
As we walk down the country lanes,
I'll be singing a song, Hear me calling your name
Hear the wind within the trees,
Telling mother nature 'bout you and me
My, my la de la come on now it ain't too far,
Tell your friends all around the world,
Ain't no companion like a blue eyed merle
Come on now well let me tell you,
What you're missing, missing, 'round them brick walls
So of one thing I am sure,
It's a friendship so pure,
Angels singing all around My dog is so fine
Yeah, ain't but one thing to do
Spend my nat'ral life with you,
You're the finest dog I knew, so fine
When you're old and your eyes are dim,
There ain't no old shep gonna happen again,
We'll still go walking down country lanes,
I'll sing the same old songs, hear me call your name
When performing live, Robert Plant was known to shout out "Strider!" following the song's final line "Hear me call your name" - you can hear it in the video below.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (Live at Earls Court 1975)