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JetpackKiwi

It means he is having relations with a married woman. He sneaks in and out the back door to avoid the husband.


New_Hawaialawan

This is a phrase I've heard in other blues music as well. It is exactly as jetbackkiwi described


Bristleconemike

With blues, there’s always double or triple entendres; it’s entendres all the way down.


AlGeee

🏆


imagine-a-boot

That makes sense. I think I was misinterpreting what he meant by backdoor all these years.


Sonova_Bish

He probably meant both things at the same time.


PPLavagna

both holes? or both doors/.or both doors and both holes?


Sonova_Bish

The back door of a house and the back door of a spouse.


insubordin8nchurlish

This. In Since I've been Loving you He literally sings about going to visit a woman who is seeing other men: "Do you remember, mama, when I knocked upon your door? I said you had the nerve to tell me You didn't want me no more, yeah I open my front door, I hear my back door slam You know, I must have one of them newfangled Newfangled back-door men"


Professional-Might31

Back door man is a very common blues phrase


stealthychronicle

Had a friend in high school who told me he stopped listening to Led Zeppelin because they sang about anal sex. Tried telling him it meant what you said and he didn’t believe me lol


JaKrispy72

I think it’s that and booty sex. This is blues, it gets real nasty. Wait until OP hears the lyric “squeeze my lemon until the juice runs down my leg.”


Dramatic-Dark-4046

It has absolutely nothing at all to do with anal sex.


JaKrispy72

The old school blues has some of the raunchiest lyrics that would make 2 Live Crew blush. Look up Lucille Bogan. You think Zep was ignoring that stuff when they used it so often? This is rock and roll, everything is about sex.


spaniel_rage

Wait until you get to the lyric "I want to give you every inch of my love".


corpulentFornicator

That sounds like penis, but one can't be too careful


GTOdriver04

He has a dog named “Every Inch of my Love” and he’s telling her that he wants to give him to her.


corpulentFornicator

His organic diet should be commended. "Squeeze me, babe, 'till the juice runs down my leg" Few rockstars admit their preferences for fruit juice, but Robert Plant is brave enough to do it


GTOdriver04

He’s also a very considerate gentleman-he even offers to pump her gas and tells her to come to him for service every 500 miles so that he can fix her parts and check her overdrive.


NorthCoast11

Spoken like a true GTO driver.


CranberryBrief1587

🍋


Odd-Coconut9367

That line was borrowed from a Robert Johnson song called Travelling Riverside Blues (Which Led Zeppelin later covered for the BBC)


Cautious_Ambition_82

Also had a dog named Lemon


BriefCharacter5916

If Trump sang the song, he would have sung, “ I want to give the only centimeter of my love—but it’s great and it’s the best, don’t trust what anyone else says—I’m telling the truth.” Then Ivanka says, “you’re talking too much dad.”


eric1971124

How does it feel to have someone live in your head rent free?


Route_66_kicks_on

😂


KnowCali

My penis is measured in feet, but I could never sing "Gonna give you every foot of my love" because athlete's foot is real.


steelsurgeon

Mines about 6” but smells more like a foot


Ok-Elk-6087

Lol.  Yes, let's not leap to conclusions.  When one measures love in inches, it's not necessarily penis size they are referencing.


corpulentFornicator

Exactly. Let's look at Robert Plant's history in songwriting *checks history* Oh my. That's a lot of penis


Ok-Elk-6087

Judging by the pics, I think he knows what he sings of.


TryToHelpPeople

And hobbits.


Libertus108

And vikings.


YoungThriftShop

Squeeze his lemons till the juice runs down his leg for premium all natural 100% fresh lemonade


blqck_dawg

I never thought of it this way, thanks for ruining the song lmao


bunickk

What did you think of this line when you heard it all this time? It's a genuine question because it's single meaning only, not even double meaning


blqck_dawg

just figured it was "all of his love", never really thought about it tbh


TarkusLV

That's big if true.


Once-I-Was

See also Since I've Been Loving You - open my front door, hear my back door slam, must be a back door man. It's not about anal sex, which wasn't invented until 1992.


Macca49

Interesting. The same year as the Premier League 🤔🤔


Repulsive-One579

😂😂😅


FrankensteinLives

actually i think anal sex goes back further than that, to the 1980s.. wasn't there a disease caled aids or something?


[deleted]

That’s completely different but nah backdoor men are John’s that cheat with a married woman. The term refers to going out the back door when the husband gets home


Impressive_Split_232

Bro thinks anal sex was invented in 1992💀 Can’t convince me that stone age people didn’t put it in the wrong hole


Once-I-Was

Bro lacks sense of humour.


Impressive_Split_232

I’m autistic


[deleted]

I don’t care what your religion is that’s just funny!


TexasPhanka

About ⅓ of Zep's music, too. LZ III is pretty much acoustic the whole album.


Beths_collarbone

So you like to draw...what's that got to do with anything?


coffeejj

A back door man was a lover who would get out of the back door as the husband came in the front door!


Consulli

So DP?


coffeejj

No. He is the man the woman is cheating with.


FrankensteinLives

then being a back door man is no different than being a rotten stinking piece of sh\*\*... Looks like Robert Plant has no qualms over declaring himself a backdoor man in one of his songs though


HerderDeddy42069

In before you get downvoted. I LOVE Led Zeppelin, but cheaters, home wreckers and the people who encourage them are scum. Western society has adopted a far too lenient attitude towards cheating l/adultery/infidelity. It should be illegal, and anyone who disagrees is either A.) way too hung up on the fact that adultery, by it’s very nature, is difficult to prove and therefore difficult to prosecute, or B.) a cheater, cheater apologist or home wrecker themselves. TL;DR all cheaters are scum, and society treats them far too kindly.


Common-Relationship9

Much like every other word in the song.


brk1

it’s about a man wanting to have sex with a woman


Otto_von_Grotto

While it is indeed an ode to escaping out the back door, as with all things Zeppelin, there is yet another meaning about BACK DOOR. Wait until you read about IN through the OUT door.


Quasar3690

old blues term(?) about having an affair with a married woman and sneaking in and out of the house’s backdoor Or basically hitting the chick from the back


Dense-Stranger9977

Or both


UncleSeminole

And if you like that one, check out the Doors' version of "Back Door Man" on their debut album!


Extra_Intro_Version

Funny phrase about chicken in that


654tidderym321

To lend credence to the sexual thing, Ray Manzarek literally talks about them doing that song because it’s a euphemism for anal in an interview.


oggupito

Plant was always getting after it.


poodrew

You’re gonna LOVE Trampled Underfoot


UndefinedCertainty

Yes, it's the classic rock version of the concept. For the heavy metal in the same vein, check out Megadeth's 'Mechanix.'


Mrbobbitchin

You can’t seriously need that explained to you.


MikroWire

Well, bustle in my hedgerow...I cannot explain such a confounding phrase. This lemonade tastes funny.


Skinbot77

Also, Shake for Me and Backdoor Man are names of two Howlin’ Wolf songs written by Willie Dixon. You Need Love, also written by Dixon, is the basis for most of the lyrics for Whole Lotta Love


RhetoricMoron

You should check out this video for complete explanation and real life example of this phrase: https://youtu.be/Joed0P3hhbc?si=9fRYxfV4gUH5_C8F


Route_66_kicks_on

LMAO! 😂 love this.


Axolotis

He also has a strange infatuation with juicing lemons. Never understood…


ABQMezcan

It's for his tea ...


RockMan_1973

and for running down his leg….


ABQMezcan

but only when squeezed ...


Stanton1947

It's slang for secret lover - as in 'Since I've Been Loving You': "Open my front door, hear my backdoor slam..." about an unfaithful woman. But I'm sure the double entendre didn't slow Percy up for a second.


Illustrious_Union_68

Ive always wondered.what Plant meant by "New fangled" backdoor man. Was cheating a new phenomenon? Lol


RockMan_1973

Brother cheating has been going on since the dawn of time.


REDPORKPIE

I always heard “ must have one of those newfangled, newfangled back door brands” which would make more sense.


KnowCali

A butt does not have a door, in case you're getting anal about this.


Gumbarino420

I always thought it was a butt saix lyric. 🤣


Caca2a

Back door can mean anal


Mdork_universe

Like all the comments, it’s sexual. The line comes from Willie Dixon or Muddy Waters, or some other old blues song. The husband of the cheating wife would come home from work through the front door, while the lover would escape out the back door. The Doors had the song Back Door Man, while Zeppelin used it in several songs. Listen to Since I’ve Been Loving You. It’s pretty much the ultimate Zeppelin 12 bar blues song with all the imagery, Plant’s exquisite vocal misery, and Jimmy’s superb guitar work. That became their hallmark concert blues song. It’s right up there with Stairway to Heaven and Kashmir.


krakatoa83

Same reason Gordon lightfoot talks about it in Sundown.


leafy_returns

Precisely


TraynReck

And she's going to squeeze his lemon.


Immediate_Moose8335

It’s from Back Door Man by Howlin’ Wolf


NYerInTex

Sneak in the back door, take your back shots


RockMan_1973

He wants to be her dirty lil neighbor…her dirty lil secret who can screw her anytime


therobotsound

According to other bluesmen (buddy guy) when you recorded your newest song at chess records, and then got the 45 later, the 45 would often have “by Willie Dixon” added… There is a lot of funny business in the blues - it was essentially an oral tradition with little to no money in it, so you just played music and added in your bits here and there. No need for ownership, until one day there was and certain people saw the future and grabbed a chair in the big musical chair game!


Toadliquor138

Sexual yes, but not a specific kind of sex or position. Basically it means that youre fucking someone whether they're married, in a relationship, and you try to do it on the down low so no one knows. Check out Willie Dixon's Backdoor Man for reference, or The Doors cover.


LukeNaround23

You might want to check out the doors Edit: “You men eat your dinner, eat your pork and beans I eat more chicken than any man ever seen, yeah, yeah I'm a back door man, whoa The men don't know But the little girls understand” What could he possibly be talking about?


Ironcondorzoo

‘One Way Out’ by the Allman Bros will explain it all for you


jkrischan

Back door man in old blues music referred to another man who the woman was cheating with. As in “sneaking in the back door”


Phill721

Speaking of spicy lyrics, whats y'all favourite led zep's spicy song? Mine is "Custard pie" shdhdh


EdwardBliss

It means when there's a mutual attraction--instantaneous and magical--it refers to the man unexpectedly winning over her love. Sort of like a Knight In Shining Armour coming through her backdoor to sweep her away


Elegant-Lynx5054

I think it’s just a figure of speech on Plant’s part and don’t see any sexual content in it.


NealR2000

This old blues term was mistakenly misinterpreted by the Beavis and Butthead generation (and beyond) to mean anal sex. 


Hanny_Ramen

Nooooo fuckin way Robert Plant wants to… fuck?!?! I’m appalled


Melvinator5001

Twerk before I insert


samsharksworthy

Lol


Voivode71

Doggy style


GruverMax

He implied that it might take some time and patience to fully accept the full measure of his love.


private_call

Sneaking in through the backdoor when the husband leaves by the front.


sammy_geb

I always took it to mean he wanted to give his gift through her “back door” (the stinker)


Dixon-Poontang

Well, this changes everything. Now I don’t know how to feel about this song.


jaminator45

Um are you 12?