I did all my best to smile
Till your singing eyes and fingers
Drew me loving to your isle
''Sail to me, sail to me
Let me enfold you
Here I am, here I am
Waiting to hold you''
Did I dream you dreamed about me?
Were you hare when I was fox?
Now my foolish boat is leaning
Broken lovelorn on your rocks
''Touch me not, touch me not
Oh, come back tomorrow
Oh my heart, oh my heart
Shies from the sorrow''
I am puzzled as a newborn baby
I'm as troubled as the tide
Should I stand amist the breakers?
Or should I lie with Death my bride?
''Swim to me, swim to me
Oh, come and let me enfold you
Here I am, here I am
Waiting to hold you''

Robert Anthony Plant (born 20 August 1948) is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin from its founding in 1968 until their breakup in 1980; since then he has had a successful solo career, sometimes collaborating with other artists such as Alison Krauss. Regarded by many as one of the greatest singers in rock music, he is known for his flamboyant persona and raw stage performances.
Plant was born and brought up in the West Midlands area of England, where after leaving grammar school he briefly trained as a chartered accountant before leaving home at 16 years old to concentrate on singing with a series of local blues bands, including Band of Joy with John Bonham. In 1968, he was invited by Peter Grant and Jimmy Page to join The Yardbirds, which Grant and Page were attempting to keep going. The new version of The Yardbirds changed their name to Led Zeppelin, and from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s the band enjoyed considerable success.
Plant developed a compelling image as a charismatic rock-and-roll front man, comparable to contemporaries such as Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey of the Who, Jim Morrison of the Doors, and Freddie Mercury of Queen. After Led Zeppelin dissolved in 1980, Plant continued to perform and record continuously on a variety of solo and group projects. His first well known post-Led Zeppelin project was The Honeydrippers, alongside former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, among others. In 1988, he released the solo album Now and Zen, from which came the hit singles "Tall Cool One" and "Ship of Fools". In the 1990s, another reunion project named Page and Plant released two studio albums and a live album from an MTV Unplugged performance, as well as winning the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1998 for "Most High". In 2007, Plant began a collaboration with bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, releasing the album Raising Sand, which won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2009 and produced the hit song "Please Read the Letter", which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year the same year. In 2010, he revived the Band of Joy (which shared its name with an early band he performed with in the 1960s), and in 2012 formed a new band, the Sensational Space Shifters, followed by a reunion with Alison Krauss in 2019.
In 1995, Led Zeppelin were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked Plant as one of the 100 best singers of all time (2008); and was the top pick for the greatest lead singer in a 2011 readers poll. Hit Parader named Plant the "Greatest Metal Vocalist of All Time" (2006). Plant was named one of the 50 Great Voices by NPR. In 2009, Plant was voted "the greatest voice in rock" in a poll conducted by UK classic rock radio station Planet Rock. Billboard ranked him number 4 on their list of The 50 Greatest Rock Lead Singers of All Time (2023).
What is it, Hal?
In 2002, if my math is correct, Plant was 54. Why you would expect him to be still reprising his Led Zep era vocals at that age is beyond me. This is lovely, and a fitting evolution of one of the very best vocalists who has ever graced our world.
That is the truth! Artist with no comparison and vocalist of great depth in feeling and texture all through his career. His Desert Island Discs shows him to be a man of breadth.
In 2002, if my math is correct, Plant was 54. Why you would expect him to be still reprising his Led Zep era vocals at that age is beyond me. This is lovely, and a fitting evolution of one of the very best vocalists who has ever graced our world.
In 1982 I saw Robert fronting The Honeydrippers at Bradford University. Some intellectual in the crowd called for 'Stairway to Heaven.' Despite my having seen Led Zep at Knebworth three years previously I really did not think that Robert should then or should ever be restricted in repertoire. What he has done over the years (lets give him a pass on Now and Zen) has shown he has a voice that can rock and croon with equal melodic quality. I am, and will always be, a fan of the man and not simply the era of Led Zep in which he was a quarter of the whole.
Sorry, I'm not buying it....just doesn't compare to the version by This Mortal Coil.
Agree, Liz Fraser's vocals were outstanding.
In 2002, if my math is correct, Plant was 54. Why you would expect him to be still reprising his Led Zep era vocals at that age is beyond me. This is lovely, and a fitting evolution of one of the very best vocalists who has ever graced our world.
It must have been 20 years ago I saw Sir Robert perform this song at the end of his set. Alone on stage, a capella he silenced the entire venue with every breath. My wife a die hard Zep fan was blown away. There were plenty of Zep riffs played that night with his amazing band but this song was a highlight.
Not a patch on the This Mortal Coil version, not by a long, long chalk. Stick to rock, Plantie. 3 from the Nottingham jury.
Edit: sorry, make that a 2 - it really gets worse and more offensive as it goes on. Bring on Liz Fraser and her goose-pimple-inducing ethereal voice.
To be fair, almost anything is better when Liz Fraser sings it