smurfco
Meatus McPrepuce
Everybody assumes the worst about Robert Plant when he says "I wanna be your back door man" - at best, they think he means he's the secret lover who sneaks out the back door when the woman's husband shows up, but more commonly this is assumed to be referring to performing "butt stuff" on a woman as it were.
I have a different read - Mr. Plant fancied himself quite the handyman, and his specialty was doors. But he wasn't quite confident enough in his abilities - yet! - to have his handiwork exposed to the scrutiny that front doors (entryways) would naturally invite. That's how it started, anyways - but after a few months, he realized he preferred working only on back doors. He took immense pride in doing a respectable job for the passion and craft of it, knowing full well that the work wouldn't get the same exposure and fame as other entryways and fixtures.
He wants to do his job, do it well, and do it without a lot of ostentation. This is not the persona he usually let shine forth in Led Zeppelin. That was John Paul Jones. Steady, sure, in some ways the foundation on which the mighty Zep sound was built - but never basking in the limelight like Jimmy Page, John Bonham, or - most of all - Robert Plant. Robert Plant, thrusting his denim-crushed tallywhacker into the camera lens (and worse). Robert Plant, preening on stage like a county fair prize cockatiel. Robert Plant - not just a "frontman" but a true "front door man".
But that wasn't what he wanted. He saw what John Paul Jones did... respected it... he, too, wanted badly to be a "back door man". But he also literally wanted to work in carpentry hanging doors and focus only on back doors.
I bet you will never listen to this song the same way again! Now, you'll think of Robert Plant, hammer in hand, tool belt on waist, expertly crafting a home's rear entryway whilst pondering in awe the silent power of John Paul Jones. You see, and you understand, and you no longer think about him drilling some groupie in the ass.
I have a different read - Mr. Plant fancied himself quite the handyman, and his specialty was doors. But he wasn't quite confident enough in his abilities - yet! - to have his handiwork exposed to the scrutiny that front doors (entryways) would naturally invite. That's how it started, anyways - but after a few months, he realized he preferred working only on back doors. He took immense pride in doing a respectable job for the passion and craft of it, knowing full well that the work wouldn't get the same exposure and fame as other entryways and fixtures.
He wants to do his job, do it well, and do it without a lot of ostentation. This is not the persona he usually let shine forth in Led Zeppelin. That was John Paul Jones. Steady, sure, in some ways the foundation on which the mighty Zep sound was built - but never basking in the limelight like Jimmy Page, John Bonham, or - most of all - Robert Plant. Robert Plant, thrusting his denim-crushed tallywhacker into the camera lens (and worse). Robert Plant, preening on stage like a county fair prize cockatiel. Robert Plant - not just a "frontman" but a true "front door man".
But that wasn't what he wanted. He saw what John Paul Jones did... respected it... he, too, wanted badly to be a "back door man". But he also literally wanted to work in carpentry hanging doors and focus only on back doors.
I bet you will never listen to this song the same way again! Now, you'll think of Robert Plant, hammer in hand, tool belt on waist, expertly crafting a home's rear entryway whilst pondering in awe the silent power of John Paul Jones. You see, and you understand, and you no longer think about him drilling some groupie in the ass.
