Robert Plant’s voice sounds like it’s underwater. Then, suddenly, it isn’t. You’ve probably heard What Is and What Never Should Be a thousand times on classic rock radio, sandwiched between car insurance commercials and some guy shouting about "the hits." But if you actually sit down and listen—really listen—the song is a total fever dream. It’s the second track on Led Zeppelin II, the 1969 album that basically invented the blueprint for hard rock. While "Whole Lotta Love" gets all the glory for its heavy riffing, this track is where the band proved they weren't just blues-rockers. They were architects of sound.
It’s a weird song. Jimmy Page was messing around with the stereo spectrum in a way that makes your head spin if you’re wearing headphones. One second the guitar is in your left ear, then it’s drifting across your skull to the right. People call it psychedelic, and it is, but it’s also remarkably disciplined.
The track represents a turning point. It’s the moment Zeppelin stopped being a "New Yardbirds" cover band and started building their own mythology.
The Secret Love Story Behind the Lyrics
Most people think Robert Plant writes about Vikings or Hobbits. Sometimes he does. But What Is and What Never Should Be is actually deeply personal, and honestly, a bit scandalous for the time. Plant wrote the lyrics about his wife’s sister, Shirley Wilson. He was essentially describing a "what if" scenario—a romantic daydream about a relationship that couldn't happen.
"Catch the wind, see us whirl," he sings. It sounds innocent enough until you realize he’s talking about a forbidden attraction. This adds a layer of genuine tension to the music. The song isn't just a technical exercise; it’s a manifestation of longing. You can hear it in the way the verses are quiet and jazzy, almost like a whispered secret, before the chorus explodes into a loud, crashing realization of reality.
John Paul Jones, the quietest member of the band, is actually the MVP here. His bass line during the verses is incredibly fluid. It doesn't just provide a beat; it carries the melody. Without that walking bass line, the song would just be a hollow shell. He’s the one holding the floor while Page and Plant are off in the clouds.
✨ Don't miss: Cuba Gooding Jr OJ: Why the Performance Everyone Hated Was Actually Genius
Why the Production Still Floors Engineers Today
Jimmy Page produced this thing himself. He was obsessed with "distance makes depth." If you look at the recording sessions at Olympic Studios in London, Page wasn't just plugging in and playing. He was placing microphones all over the room to capture the natural reverb.
The most famous part? The slide guitar.
Page uses a slide in the outro that sounds like a siren. It’s soaring. But look at the panning. In 1969, most bands were just happy to have stereo sound. Page used the mixing board as an instrument. He moved the vocals and the guitars back and forth across the stereo field so rapidly it creates a physical sensation of movement.
- The verses use a "wah-wah" pedal kept in a stationary position to give the guitar a muffled, "telephone" quality.
- The drums, played by John Bonham, are crisp but restrained—at least until the chorus hits.
- The transition between the soft "A" section and the heavy "B" section happens in a split second. No fade-in. No warning. Just a wall of sound.
Bonham’s drumming on this track is a masterclass in dynamics. He isn't hitting the kits with the same force he used on "Moby Dick." He’s playing with nuance. He hits the snare with a specific snap that cuts through the hazy atmosphere of the guitars.
Dealing With the "Rip-off" Accusations
It’s no secret that Led Zeppelin had a habit of "borrowing" from old bluesmen. They got sued for "Whole Lotta Love," "Bring It On Home," and "The Lemon Song." But What Is and What Never Should Be is one of the few tracks on the second album that is credited entirely to Page and Plant.
🔗 Read more: Greatest Rock and Roll Singers of All Time: Why the Legends Still Own the Mic
It feels original. It doesn’t have that 12-bar blues structure that anchored their first record. It feels like a precursor to the progressive rock movement of the 1970s.
Critics at the time were polarized. Rolling Stone wasn't always kind to Zeppelin in the beginning. They thought the band was too loud, too flashy, and too derivative. But history has a way of filtering out the noise. This song is now cited by everyone from Jack White to Dave Grohl as a masterclass in how to record a rock song. It’s about the space between the notes.
The song’s title itself has become a sort of philosophical catchphrase. It’s used in movies, TV shows, and books. It captures that feeling of regret or the road not taken.
How to Listen to It Properly
If you're listening to this on crappy laptop speakers, you're missing 60% of the song. Seriously.
To actually appreciate the engineering, you need a decent pair of over-ear headphones. Listen to the way the vocal track splits. Plant’s voice is doubled in certain sections, but one track is slightly delayed. This creates a "phasing" effect that makes it feel like the room is vibrating.
💡 You might also like: Ted Nugent State of Shock: Why This 1979 Album Divides Fans Today
- Find a quiet room.
- Turn the volume to about 70%.
- Close your eyes during the bridge.
- Notice the transition at the 3:15 mark.
That final outro is one of the most chaotic yet controlled endings in rock history. The way the slide guitar mimics the vocal melody is a trick Page would use for the rest of his career. It’s a call-and-response between man and machine.
The Legacy of the Song in Modern Gear
Guitarists are still trying to replicate the "What Is and What Never Should Be" tone. It’s not just a Les Paul into a Marshall stack. Page was likely using a Vox AC30 for the cleaner parts, which gives it that chime-y, British Invasion feel.
Modern digital modelers (like the Helix or Kemper) have entire presets dedicated to this one specific song. Why? Because it’s the perfect example of "edge of breakup" tone. It’s not quite clean, but it’s not distorted either. It’s that sweet spot where the tubes are cooking just enough to add some grit.
Actionable Takeaways for Musicians and Fans
If you want to understand why Led Zeppelin stayed relevant while other 60s bands faded away, look at the structure of this song. It’s not a verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-outro boring slog. It’s a journey.
- For Songwriters: Learn how to use dynamics. You don't have to be loud the whole time to be heavy. The quiet parts make the loud parts feel massive.
- For Audiophiles: Seek out the 2014 remasters. Jimmy Page went back to the original master tapes, and the clarity on the percussion is significantly better than the 1990s CD versions.
- For Guitarists: Experiment with your volume knob. Page didn't use many pedals. He got his clean tones by rolling back the volume on his guitar and his heavy tones by cranking it. It’s a lost art.
What Is and What Never Should Be isn't just a song; it's a blueprint for creative tension. It balances love and lust, quiet and loud, and tradition and innovation. It’s the sound of a band realizing they could do anything they wanted. And they did.