The essence of my lyrics is the desire for peace and harmony. That's all anyone has ever wanted. How could it become outdated?...We are trying to communicate a fulfilled ideal...I am a reflection of what I sing. Sometimes I have to get serious because the things I've been through are serious...The way I see it, rock n' roll is folk music.

I think we're in a disposable world and 'Stairway to Heaven' is one of the things that hasn't quite been thrown away yet.

You would find in a lot of Zep stuff that the riff was the juggernaut that careered through and I worked the lyrics around this.

It's funny, you know - time does travel pretty quickly, and I do have good friends, and the further away I go from them in location, it matters that I keep on the same line and the same groove that I had and preserve that groove with people who I see seldom.

I do spend a lot more time away from the U.K., it's important to me that I still feel the beat of the people that have been close to me for a long, long time. It's also important that I have really strong and beautiful relationships which I wish to preserve. That enables me - or challenges me, ultimately - to get a Texas driving license!

I'm a grandfather now.

I don't want to scream 'Immigrant Song' every night for the rest of my life, and I'm not sure I could.