Hot Dog

Album: In Through The Out Door (1979)
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Songfacts®:

  • This was influenced by American rockabilly music, which Robert Plant enjoyed. A hot dog is distinctly American cuisine.
  • Led Zeppelin had some heavy songs, but this was a fun, rollicking tune at a tough time for the band. Plant's 5-year-old son, Karac, died in 1977 and they were all worn out from constant touring and recording.
  • The lyrics about a girl in Texas who "Took my heart" may have been based on a real woman in Plant's life, but he called this a tribute to Texas and the state of mind of the people in Texas.
  • A promotional video was shot. This was the closest Led Zeppelin came to a music video.
  • Led Zeppelin played this live throughout their 1979 and 1980 tours, placed rather awkwardly between "Ten Years Gone" and "The Rain Song." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Chris - Whitesboro, NY
  • On a particularly cold day at a turn of the 20th century New York baseball game, no one was buying concessionaire Harry Stevens' ice cream, so he begun selling sausages and rolls. He started calling out, "Red hot dachshund sausages!" and found they were very popular. Thomas "Tad" Dorgan, a sports cartoonist for The New York Journal, was in the press box and seeing this he attempted to draw a cartoon of a barking sausage steaming in its stretched out roll. He didn't know how to spell "Dachshund," so he wrote "hot dog" instead, a name which immediately caught on. (from the book Food for Thought: Extraordinary Little Chronicles of the World by Ed Pearce)

Comments: 35

  • Glori from Sebring FlThis song is truly horrible!! But we know why he wrote it! He wanted to tell Audrey that he came back to find her but she was gone! She must not have known just how much Robert truly loved her! I'm so sorry about his son Karac rip baby! God bless you all!
  • Evie from Kentucky I love this song! First time I ever heard it though! My reason for loving it is because it was inspired by Robert Plant who was inspired by Jack Scott who was a neighbor of mine when I was a kid in Taylor MI. Oh the memories! It’s crazy to think that the father of my babysitter was at one time in the same airspace as Robert Plant! R.I.P. Jack Scott who passed December 12, 2019
  • Noor from KarachiWritten for Plant's girlfriend at the time: Audrey Hamton
  • Joanne from SouthRobert wrote the song for Audrey Hamilton a groupie he broke up with after his son died
  • Don from Sevierville, TnElvis Presley recorded a very short song with this same title. It was from his 1957 movie, "Loving You", which was his 2nd movie, and the only one released in the 1950's that was in color - the other 3 were in black and white (Love Me Tender, Jailhouse Rock and King Creole).
  • Ryan from Anahola, Hi"Hot Dog" was also a song by Limp Bizkit from their album "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water".
  • Robert from Hesperia, California, CaRobert..

    The lyrics are "I took her love at 17"
  • Lisa from Blountville , TnThis song used to get on my nerves back in the day when I first heard in 1980....wheeww showing my age but,I really come to really like the song.
    It's a funny song kinda hats off to country music and Texas.Jimmy did say once that Texas had the richest groupies in the world, that their jet would follow Zeppelins'jet. Makes me smile when I hear it. Jimmy plays some nice riffs on it and Plants lyrics are a jab at mate Pagey for his liking of the young girls. Remember his affair with a 14 year old Lori Maddox.
  • Robert from Ali think the line 'she took my love at 17, a little late these days it seems' was a friendly jab at jimmys relationship with that 14 year old chick.
  • Rauel from New York, NyI, however, think that this song is one of my FAVORITE led zeppelin songs. its very up beat and fun to dance to and sing. :P
  • Bill from Topeka, Ksin the knebworth video plant forgets some of the lyrics that was pretty funny
  • Mark from Worcester, Mimatt thanks for the tip. This is a fun song. Pretty funny how Plant not only absorbed aspects of American-Texan culture (and Texas is a very independent state) but was able to translate them, with the help of Page, both lyricaly and musicaly. It's just a fun toss away song, but it does show a side of Plant that runs against the grain of his isolated rock star image.
  • Matt from Detroit Rock City, MiHey guys go to Google video type in Knebworth 1979 and you can watch them perform this song live.
  • Page from London, Canadahe he, first time I heard this song it cracked me up. To me Hot Dog is a break from the rest of in through the out door. All in all the album was o.k. but the synthesizers made the rest of the songs extremly dated.
  • Christopher from Kingston, Canadapage and company teach the country crowd some riffs they never even thought of
  • Jack from Beijing, ChinaThis song reminds of of an old west saloon. It's a cheerful song. I could imagine cowboys square dancing to it, even though it's probably the wrong style of music.
  • Sara from Zuni, VaBilly, if you think Plant's got a fetish for underage girls, what about Page, who was dating Lori Maddox when she 14?
  • BrynjÃ?lfur from Hafnarfjörður, IcelandActually... this song makes me laugh every time I hear it. :)
  • BrynjÃ?lfur from Hafnarfjörður, Icelandwow this song made me laugh a lot when i first heard it! Nick, Solvang, CA




    Me too. :D
  • Nick from Solvang, Cawow this song made me laugh a lot when i first heard it!
  • David from Orlando, Fl'Hot Dog' always puts me in a good mood.

    "I took her word I took it all
    Beneath the sign that said "U-haul"

    LOL! How can you not love that?! :)
  • David Corino from Hawley, PaLed Zeppelin is so diverse! The play rock n roll, hard rock, rockabilly/country, folk songs, psychadelic rock, and blues. And there good at all of them!
    - Will, Portland, OR
    how many bands since zeppelin have covered so many genres and rocked (xcuse the pun) at all of them?
    - Sam, Sydney, Australia--------Hell yea! Thats what seperates Led Zeppelin from so many other bands, they rule the Rock n' Roll world!
  • Scott Moore from Boston, MaThis was Jimmys last inspired guitar solo in the studio. I can play everything in this song on my guitar except some of the lead chordal stuff,its amazing. I once heard Robert say this is a song about a girl named audrey. They performed this live in 1980, theres a great bootleg of it form a german concert.
  • Collin from Texas, TxThis is quite a funny song. I like the cliched country lyrics and Jimmy Page's guitar pieces. I don't really like country, but a rock band (one of the best, as well) poking fun at country is rather enjoyable!
  • Melissa from Fairborn, OhThis is one of my favorite Led Zeppelin song. This song is yet another '50s and '60s oldies like.
  • Kurt from Flemington, NjIf someone listened to this song and did not know it was Led Zep, they would think it's a good song but they would not think it's the legendary rock/blues group that is Led Zeppelin. That shows how good Led Zeppelin really was...they really could do anything.
  • Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScGood point will! Yeah, Led Zeppelin did play songs in all sorts of musical styles, and they did it very well!
  • Michael from Kearny, NjI don't think it was released as a single, but this was the song that radio stations started playing the day "In Through the Out Door" was released. I find it funny that so many people still don't realize that the album title is a pun for anal sex.
  • Nick from Baton Rouge, Laahha country, they can do ANYTHING
  • Billy from Bellingham, WaWhats Plant's deal with underage girls? He seems to sing about them alot.
  • Sam from Sydney, Australiahow many bands since zeppelin have covered so many genres and rocked (xcuse the pun) at all of them?
  • Will from Portland, OrLed Zeppelin is so diverse! The play rock n roll, hard rock, rockabilly/country, folk songs, psychadelic rock, and blues. And there good at all of them!
  • Adrian from Wilmington, DeI personally hate country music so this is probably my least favorite Zeppelin song, but Jimmy does lay down a nice solo and Plant is obviously doing his Elvis impression (funny lyrics too).
  • Kelly from Los Angeles, Cai play this for my country music-fan friends who don't realize zeppelin's great diversity.
  • Gerald from Stockton, CaLed Zeppelin doing a country song. . . it works.
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