Album: Rising (1976)

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Songfacts®:

• The lyrics, taken literally, are about a wizard who enslaves countless numbers of people and makes them build a stone tower for him. The people hope for the day when their misery comes to an end, as they build the tower in harsh conditions ("In the heat and rain, with whips and chains") just so they can see him fly, which gives them hope. In the end, the wizard falls off the tower and dies ("no sound as he falls instead of rising. Time standing still, then there's blood on the sand."
  
  "Stargazer is written from the standpoint of a slave in Egyptian times," explained vocalist Ronnie James Dio to Classic Rock. "He is serving The Wizard, who observes the skies and stars and becomes obsessed with the idea of flying. The slaves are building a tower of stone so The Wizard can jump off the top and take to the air.
  
  "Finally, this Wizard, this Stargazer, attempts to fly and, of course, falls to his death. The slaves are released, and this is where the song Stargazer ends, and Light In The Black begins. The Wizard has died and the slaves are free, but all they've known all their lives is an allegiance to the Stargazer. They don't know where to turn or what to do until they see the light in the dark."
  
  The lyrics also have a covert meaning, which many people have interpreted as a warning not to believe in false idols or messiahs. It can also mean that one should not give up hope even in harsh circumstances. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Dee - Northfield, IL
• This song is quite a production - it runs 8:26 and features the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The song also showcases Ronnie James Dio's soaring vocals and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar work.
• According to the book Rainbow Rising by Roy Davies, Ritchie Blackmore wrote this song on a cello.

Comments: 14

• Eliahu from UsaI take the song to be an allegory of how the world is actually organized. A small number of psychopaths use magic - propaganda and techniques much more subtle and insidious - to hypnotize the masses to help them build a new Tower of Babel, that is, the technocratic dream of limitless power and desire satisfaction. But the project to control literally everything is self-defeating, as it is impossible that more than one person accomplish this and if somehow he did he would be taken over by his own desires and destroyed by them.
• Ron from EarthSounds like it's about Trump to me, harmonies by MAGA.
• Val from UkraineThe guitar solo is quite good in this song. But the thing many people miss is that its end has a purpose. The solo ends with sounds of the wizard going up the ladder in his tower. And then you can hear a sound of him falling down. Right after that the solo ends and Dio sings the same story.
• Lisa Konie Rainbow Lover from AzWow cool!! I just love Ritchie blackmore an his awesome music
• Groovus Maximus from Boston, MaEPIC!!! I was raised listening to classical music and switched to rock when I was about 7 (much to my dad's dismay!). This is the best of both worlds, and it just about melted my mind the first time I heard it. Never gets old! Rainbow was my 1st concert (October 1983 @ the Worcester Centrum, with Aldo Nova opening) -- I love Richie Blackmore with all my heart & soul, just a brilliant musical mind!
• Dp from Mount Airy, MdWhat an awesome, awesome anthem. If you close your eyes and listen to RJD's voice and the music backing him in the first verse, you'll here hints of Chris Cornell and Audioslave.
• Ricky from Kilmarnock, United KingdomRitchie came up with the main riff for Stargazer while learning the cello. The song as a whole was inspired by Zeppelin's Kashmir which was released the year before.
  
  The greatest Rainbow track ever!
• William from Reno, NvTo Joe:
  
  Ah hem.....Ever hear of Neil Peart?
  
  K/H D
• Joe from Grants Pass, OrCozy was (and is ) the GREATEST drummer; not to dis Ian Paice , or any others, I just like his FEEL !!!
• Ray from Ccs, VenezuelaSome consider Stargazer to be the first symphonic power metal song.
• Martin from Sofia, Bulgariaperfect song from the Golden times of Rainbow!!
• Rusputtin from Atlanta, GaDio and Blackmore was the best set up for Rainbow! I wish they would travel again and Blackmore wud stop his experiments with the music he's doing now.
• Roy from London, United KingdomI am a drummer, and Cozy Powell was my god. His thundering intro to this track is IMHO one of his finest moments.
• Jacko from London, EnglandI played this album to death when it was 1st released,absolutely awesome.Ronnie James Dio is IMHO one of the finest vocalists in the business.
  After he left the band's finest moments were behind them.

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