Big Log, to me, is an interesting entry in the Robert Plant cannon. It’s a very classic Robert rambling song. He talks a lot in his work about his nomadic impulses. In Becoming Led Zeppelin he described “Ramble On” as “the story of [his] life.” See also: “I gotta roll, can’t stand still, got a flaming heart, can’t get my fill” ; later, “Farewell my wanderer's home.” If I’m totally honest I don’t love it, musically. It feels very 80s cheesy. Journey-esque. But LYRICALLY??? Extremely compelling. The exact sort of song that, if I were trying to explain to someone who Robert is and why he and Jimmy keep falling apart and coming back together, I would point to as evidence.
Let’s do a Jimbert reading of Big Log because I think it would be fun :)
(disclaimer: this analyis is not me trying to prove the existence of Jimbert. I’ve done that elsewhere, as have others before me, but that’s not what i’m doing now. I’m just reading Big Log through a Jimbert lens because I think that doing so yields interesting results. This is one of many possible interpretations of the song. Suspend your disbelief! Consider the Jimbert with me!)
My love is in league with the freeway
Its passion will rise as the cities fly by
Awesome. Here’s how I understand this: it’s the thesis of the song, and it’s: “distance makes the heart grow fonder.” When he says “my love” I think he is literally referring to HIS experience of being in love, and not “My Love” as in “my beloved,” given that he refers to it as “it.” Its passion will rise as the cities fly by: the farther I go, the bigger and more intense my love gets. It’s in league with the freeway, the freeway and the love serve one another. It is because of my tendency to ramble on that I am able to love so deeply and widely. To me this also implies that Robert believes in the possibility to return to a lover he’s already had. If, as you venture further away, your love grows, then you do not spend the time away from your beloved getting over them; you spend it missing them, thinking of them, growing into a better version of yourself, that you might love them more richly when you see them again. Therefore, it’s implied that to Robert, love is not a linear journey which always follows the same normative script of “meet, date, break up, move on.” It is a fluid thing which defies such a simplistic and uniform characterization.
What does this mean for Jimbert? It means that, yes, what Robert needs to do right now is go his own way, both creatively and romantically, but he has not closed the door on Jimmy forever. His mind is open to the idea that distance might make their hearts grow fonder. It is better to have time away with the possibility that they might return to each other one day than to stick around and let everything fester and get worse than it already is.
And the tail lights dissolve in the coming of night
I don’t look back, I look forward.
And the questions and thousands take flight
I don’t want to talk to the reporters about Zeppelin anymore, enough of the questions about John and about you and about black magic and curses and reunions. The people who only want me to be what I was, the Golden God, when I’m not him anymore - I leave them behind. On the freeway, on the road, they fade away, and I’m free of that burden.
My love is a-miles in awaiting
The eyes that just stare and the glance at the clock
Oh. OOOOOOH.
Okay. Now we’re cooking.
If you know me you know that I love any excuse to talk about Tea for One. Musically, it’s like a top 20 Zeppelin song for me (if that sounds like faint praise, you underestimate how much I love Led Zeppelin). Lyrically it’s maybe my number one favourite ever. I can, and have, talk for a LOOOONG time about the implications, and LO AND BEHOLD, here they are.
Because staring at the clock, waiting for the hand to move is what Tea for One is all about, baby!!!!!!!! While Robert’s healing from his life-threatening injury, he’s writing Presence with Jimmy, and he’s fucking fed up, dude. This song is open to interpretation, and I know that not everyone interprets it the way I do (fishie). But listen. Listen. Ultimately what that song is about is being fed up with one’s circumstances. IN MY OPINION, it was about being fed up with the band. It was about stagnation. It’s time to ramble on! I gotta roll, can’t stand still! If we’re doing a Jimbert reading, and we are, then invoking Tea for One here means invoking Zeppelin. In a Jimbert reading, “eyes that just stare and glance at the clock” can be understood as a reference to the tension and frustration that characterized the last few years of Robert’s experience in Led Zeppelin. Which brings us to the next lines:
And the secret that burns, and the pain that grows dark
And it's you once again
SECRET, YOU SAY???
So what’s being said is that the secret of his relationship with Jimmy is a contributing factor to the pain of those years and to Robert’s moving on.
Now, of course, Robert didn’t break up Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin broke up as a result of John Bonham’s death, when they decided, supposedly by consensus, that they could not continue without him.
Yet, we know from what we know of the band’s history that, by this time, Robert basically had control over Led Zeppelin’s future, in the sense that Jimmy would have done just about anything to keep it going. They met with a few drummers, in the time between Bonzo’s death and their official announcement that they would not continue in his absence. Every attempt at a reunion that would occur in the next several decades would be Jimmy’s doing, and every failure to launch would be owed to Robert’s refusal to rehash what they’d already done. Jimmy wanted to go on, Robert didn’t. While officially the decision to disband was made by consensus, it’s fair to say that, if Robert had wanted to continue, they might have made a different choice - this characterization of events is backed up in pretty much any biography or history of the band that you’ll find.
SO. The secret that burns. The pain that grows dark. They loved one another in hiding. Robert grew restless, Jimmy was addicted and unable to contribute artistically to the group, and now Bonzo was dead. The whole thing’s gone sour.
And it’s you once again.
Okay…
What do we make of this?
If we connect it to the line that precedes it, it’s Robert basically blaming Jimmy for everything that happened. It’s the same energy as - say it with me gang - Tea for One. “To sing a song for you, I recall you used to say, ‘this one’s for we two,’ which in the end is you anyway.” This is your vision, your creation, your ego, your vanity, and so all this is the consequence of your actions. It’s not my dream, dad, it’s your dream! He’s OVER it!
On the other hand, if we connect this line to the broader context of the song, the lyric is more literal. “It’s you once again” means “I’ll be back one day.”
Did Robert have the foresight to know this for a fact? Obviously not, and at this time - 1983 - he’s deliberately distancing himself from Zeppelin and Jimmy. All I’m saying is that this interpretation of the line would suggest that he’s open to the idea that he and Jimmy will return to each other one day. “Maybe some day in time, as we move down the line, what we seek we shall find.”
Leading me on (leading me on)
Leading me down the road
Driving me on (driving me on)
Driving me down the road
LOVE is what MAKES him the rambler, nomad, traveler, vagabond he is. Lust for life. The will to experience all that this world has to offer, to meet new people, to keep learning, to experience new ways of being and knowing: that’s love, baby!
My love is exceedingly vivid
When I’m in love, I know it. When I’m in love, you’ll know it. It’s straightforward. I see what I want, and I go after it, simple as that. If I want you, I’ll make it known.
Red-eyed and fevered with the hum of the miles
Okay, I know this isn’t ACTUALLY what he meant, but in my mind I like to think that this was a sneaky reference to the scene in “The Song Remains the Same” when Jimmy’s eyes are all red. Hehehe. That’s my love!
Distance and longing, my thoughts do provide
Should I rest for a while at the side?
Like I said, distance makes the heart grow fonder! Should I rest for a while at the side? Am I moving too fast? Maybe I’ll stop and explore a new love, for a minute. Or maybe I’ll just take a breather and get to know myself for a minute (incidentally, this album came out the year Robert and Maureen divorced. Not that being married had ever stopped Robert from exploring new love with other people. But that’s none of my business.)
Okay but wait a minute. Because now we get to the part where Robert addresses somebody else!! And since we ALREADY AGREED that we’re doing a Jimbert reading, we’re going to assume, in the space of this long ass post, that he is addressing James Patrick Page.
Your love is cradled in knowing
MMMMMMMMM. Yes. I don’t know about y’all, but I read this as an invocation of the sorcerer and apprentice aspect of their relationship. I read this as: “the love you gave me was bolstered by all that you had to teach me: the pride you felt in being able to teach me, and the care and protection I felt under your guidance.” It could also be: “you are someone who requires a measure of certainty in order to feel secure in your relationships; this is something I, a wandering free spirit, cannot offer you.” It could also be: “the more deeply we know each other, the more deeply we love one another.” It could also be a combination of these things and more! It’s a beautiful lyric that says so much with so little!
Eyes in the mirror still expecting they'll come
Hmmm. I’m not sure about this one. Maybe, “you look at yourself and tell yourself that Zeppelin can live on, that people will still come to see it, and you’re in denial that it’s not what it used to be?” That’s the best I can do with this one, but I’m not rock solid here so I welcome your alternative interpretations.
Sensing too well when the journey is done
There is no turning back, no
There is no turning back
On the run
It’s over and I think you KNOW that, Jimmy!!!!!! We can’t go back to how it used to be!!
ANYWAY that’s my thoughts on Big Log. If you read this whole thing I love you and we’re friends now <3 AND if you're a nerd for this sort of thing, PLEASE read Fishie's Jimbert meta on Ao3 because this whole thing is basically just me copying her homework.
Hello! These are more photos from that hike in September. There were two fungi battling it out for territory on this deciduous log, and the salmon pink looking one was losing.
Do not make assumptions about mushrooms you see based on this post. I'm a novice. Some edible mushrooms have dangerous lookalikes.
It is a day to take consolation in the ride on the freeway...This beautiful piece has an unmistakable sorrowful and haunting atmosphere and lyrics so poignant in their simplicity. One of my favourite things about Robert's artistry is how each piece blends emotions and landscape into one. It’s always a travel, with Robert, in the soundscape.
Thank you for all the beauties you have created over the years, Bob.
