[9] Page explained that he achieved the smooth, sustaining violin-like tone on the solo by using the neck pickup on his Gibson Les Paul guitar with the treble cut and utilising a sustain-producing effects unit built by the audio engineer Roger Mayer.

[1] The song's lyrics, particularly in the first line and the third verse, were influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, mentioning among other things "the darkest depths of Mordor", Gollum, and "The Evil One" (Sauron).

[11] The musicologist Caitlin Vaughn Carlos suggests that in the song's references to The Lord of the Rings, Led Zeppelin was relying on its audience's cultural memory "to actively participate in a dialogue of urban criticism and a romanticized vision of rural Britain".

Popoff calls it "a strange reference", but notes that the music backs it up with the "near-Renaissance feel" of Page's guitar playing in the key of E major.

[14] On American Songwriter, Jacob Uitti agreed that Page's acoustic guitar is stirring and Plant's vocals are electrifying, but emphasized that John Paul Jones's less-noticed bass playing is sublime.

"[6] Madden called the rough mix of "Ramble On" the best of all the bonus tracks in the Deluxe Edition, finding Page's acoustic strums "particularly driving".