What Is and What Should Never Be

What Is and What Should Never Be is a song written by Led Zeppelin for their second album, Led Zeppelin II, and appears as the second track on it.

Background

The song is one of the first that Jimmy Page used his now signature Gibson Les Paul for recording. It has been described as one of their most psychedelic songs.

Lyrics

And if I say to you tomorrow
Take my hand, child come with me
It's to a castle I will take you
Where what's to be, they say will be

Catch the wind, see us spin
Sail away leave today
Way up high in the sky, hey, whoa
But the wind won't blow

You really shouldn't go
It only goes to show
That you will be mine
By takin' our time, ooh

And if you say to me tomorrow
Oh what fun it all would be
Then what's to stop us, pretty baby
But what is and what should never be

Catch the wind, see us spin
Sail away, leave today
Way up high in the sky, hey, whoa
But the wind won't blow

You really shouldn't go
Only goes to show
That you will be mine
By takin' our time, ooh

So if you wake up with the sunrise
And all your dreams are still as new
And happiness is what you need so bad
Girl, the answer lies with you, yeah

Catch the wind, see us spin
Sail away, leave today
Way up high in the sky, hey, whoa
But the wind won't blow

You really shouldn't go
Only goes to show
That you will be mine
By takin' our time, ooh

Oh, the wind won't blow
And we really shouldn't go
And it only goes to show

Catch the wind
We're gonna see it spin
We're gonna sail
Leave today
Do do do, bop bop a-do-oh
My my my my my my yeah

Everybody I know seems to know me well
But they're never going to know that I move like hell
Baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, Lord
Baby baby babe, huh, oh, I love ya
Do no no no no no no, c'mon now
I want you now