Phil Collins played drums on this and 5 other tracks on the album. He also played drums on Plant's previous album Pictures At Eleven.
This was Robert Plant's first hit as a solo artist after the break up of Led Zeppelin.
Plant's lyrics were often influenced by the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. Big Log is a mythical, extended metaphor for a lost love: "My love is in league with the freeway... My love is the miles and the waiting."
A Big Log is common lingo of tractor trailer drivers.
It is the book in which their road hours are logged, therefore the connection between the road and love and the countless hours we all log on both.
Many of the videos to Plant's songs take place in desert settings.
The music video for the song was filmed on location in various areas around California and Nevada, including the Amargosa Opera House and Hotel in Death Valley Junction, California, the Calico Ghost Town in California, the Glass Pool Inn in Las Vegas, and in Crystal, Nye County, Nevada.
The guitar solo is by Robbie Blunt who was a member of Robert Plant’s solo band at the time and got a co-writing credit on the song.