Robert Plant once told Rolling Stone that the early 1970s were a very sexual and wild period, which were reflected in the lyrics of such Led Zeppelin tunes as "Black Dog." "That era, the whole thing of the G.T.O.'s and - what was that Zappa album? 10,000 Hotels? 'I've Been to Bed with Robert Planet.'…Yeah, shoving the Plaster Casters' cast of Jimi Hendrix's penis up one of the girls in Detroit was…quite fun, actually." The song's mysterious title was inspired by a dog that would roam around the grounds of Headley Grange, in Headley, East Hampshire, England - the location of the recording sessions for Led Zeppelin IV.