Move Over, Rover

Written for Song Lyric Sunday  
where the challenge is to write
about a song with ‘black’ in the
title. Here’s my response.

This week the suggestion for Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday comes from our friend Melissa Lemay of Mom With a Blog. The theme is ‘Black Sunday’  and the challenge is to write about a song with the word ‘black’ in the title.

There’s a song I thought about featuring yesterday but figured someone else would so I went with an excellent song by the Hollies instead. Since no one wrote about “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin, I’m going for it. No need to talk about Zep; we all know who they are and it’s all on Wiki anyway. Let’s skip the foreplay and get right to the action.

To create their 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV, Zeppelin traveled to Headley Grange, a pastoral plot of land in England where the band lived, wrote, and played music. “Black Dog” was one of the songs that came from those sessions and was influenced by a canine on the premises …. a nameless black Labrador Retriever the band used to see wandering the grounds. This was one busy dog who stayed out all night partying; he’d disappear in the evening and return exhausted in the early morning before resting all day and repeating his evening sojourns.

There’s been a fair amount of speculation as to whether the song has anything to do with depression, since the term “black dog” is a well-known synonym for depression. I recently read an article which said that, while not explicitly about depression, the song’s title and lyrics can be interpreted as referencing a period of sadness or melancholy. The band saw a black dog wandering the studio grounds, and the song’s lyrics explore themes of longing and loss, so the article claimed. 

Robert Plant believed the lab was spending nights out with his “old lady“; likewise the lyrics are narrated by a man obsessed with a woman who ultimately reveals her true intentions, spending his money and taking his car. The deception becomes clear and the man turns cold, saying “a big-legged woman ain’t got no soul“. It’s the timeless story of lust, eroticism, and ultimately, betrayal.

Since its recording, the song has become one of Led Zeppelin’s most famous. It was a staple of their live shows until the band dissolved in 1980 after drummer John Bonham’s untimely death. It is one of the band’s most beloved and recognizable tracks, as singer Robert Plant opens the song a cappella, before the band comes in with its big percussion and those slinky guitar riffs.

Now, I could have just played the audio we’re all familiar with but why not show a live 1973 performance from Madison Square Garden? This is the very same concert where Robert Plant christened the first two rows with sweat from his mass of blonde curls. How do I know that? Because I was there and, yes …. I was baptized.

Here’s “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin.

LYRICS

Hey-hey, mama, said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove

Ah-ah, child, way you shake that thing
Gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting

Hey-hey, baby, when you walk that way
Watch your honey drip, can’t keep away

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh

I gotta roll, can’t stand still
Got a flaming heart, can’t get my fill

Eyes that shine, burning red
Dreams of you all through my head

Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah

Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty baby
Darling, can’t you do me now?

Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty baby
Move me while you do me now

Didn’t take too long ‘fore I found out
What people mean by down and out

Spent my money, took my car
Started telling her friend she gonna be a star

I don’t know, but I’ve been told
A big-legged woman ain’t got no soul

Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh
Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, oh

All I ask for, all I pray
Steady-rollin’ woman gonna come my way

Need a woman gonna hold my hand
But tell me no lies, make me a happy man

Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: John Paul Jones/Jimmy Page/Robert Plant
Black Dog lyrics © Mushroom Music Pty. Ltd., Succubus Music Ltd., Sons Of Einion Publishing, Cap Three Ltd, Flames Of Albion Music, Inc., Mushroom Music Publishing Pty Ltd

In 2007, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ dynamic musical collaboration began. One of their more memorable performances is their duet of “Black Dog”; you’ll hear the audience’s enthusiasm. This video is obviously from someone’s cell phone and I apologize for that; YouTube wouldn’t allow me to show the real deal. That’s ok; this version drips chemistry and will do quite nicely.

Here are Alison Krauss and Robert Plant with “Black Dog”

Black Sunday

Big thanks to Melissa Lemay for her suggestion and to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to some tunes.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

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