Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, Mississippi-native Taylor took up the guitar when he was 20 years old. He made a few appearances on Sonny Boy Williamson's fabled KFFA King Biscuit Time radio broadcasts out of Helena, AR, before coming to Chicago in 1942. It was another 15 years before Taylor made blues his full-time vocation, though. Taylor was a favorite on the South and West sides during the late 50s and early 60s. It's generally accepted that Freddie King copped a good portion of his classic "Hide Away" from an instrumental he heard Taylor cranking out on the bandstand.
Taylor's relentlessly raucous band, the HouseRockers, consisted of only two men, though their combined racket sounded like quite a few more. Second guitarist Brewer Phillips, who often supplied buzzing pseudo-bass lines on his guitar, had developed such an empathy with Taylor that their guitars intertwined with ESP-like force, while drummer Ted Harvey kept everything moving along at a brisk pace.
Hound Dog Taylor began playing guitar when he was 20 and became a full-time musician around 1957. He wasn’t well known outside of the Chicago area until his debut album, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, with Alligator Records in 1971. The LP contained the typically rowdy Give Me Back My Wig while Taylor's first Alligator encore in 1973, Natural Boogie, boasted the hypnotic Sadie and a stomping Roll Your Moneymaker.
His fourth Alligator album, Beware of the Dog, was recorded live in 1974 but only released after his death. Hound Dog Taylor died of cancer in 1975 and was buried in the Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.
It Hurts Me Too
Hound Dog Taylor & the House Rockers Lyrics
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Said you almost lost your mind
Well, the man you love
He hurts you all the time
When things go wrong
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
When you should love him less
Why I lick up behind him
And take his mess
When things go wrong
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
You love another man
I love only you
But you follow behind him
Stick to him like glue
When things go wrong
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
When things go wrong
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
He's gonna leave you
Well, you've gotta put him down
No, oh, I won't stand
To see you bein' pushed around
Baby, when things go wrong
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
Yeah, when things go wrong
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
In Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers's song "It Hurts Me Too," the singer is expressing their concern and empathy for someone close to them who is in an unhealthy relationship. The person they address has confided that they are hurt and almost "lost their mind" due to their lover's mistreatment. The singer acknowledges the pain that the person feels and tells them that it also hurts them too. The singer believes that the person loves their partner too much and should love them less, while also acknowledging that they themselves are the one who cleans up after the partner and accepts their mess.
The singer then reveals that they love the person and only them, but they see the person following their partner closely and sticking to them like glue, even though they hurt them consistently. The singer implores the person to leave their partner before he inevitably leaves them, because they can't bear seeing them being pushed around. The song, at its core, is a poignant expression of empathy and concern for the damaging impact that toxic relationships can have on our loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
You said you was hurtin'
You mentioned you were in pain
Said you almost lost your mind
You claimed to have nearly lost your sanity
Well, the man you love
The man you adore
He hurts you all the time
He causes you constant pain
When things go wrong
When situations turn sour
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
I also experience discomfort when you are experiencing difficulties
You love him more
Your affection for him has grown stronger
When you should love him less
When you ought to reduce your love for him
Why I lick up behind him
That's why I clean up after him
And take his mess
And deal with his problems
You love another man
You have feelings for someone else
I love only you
I only love you
But you follow behind him
But you continue to pursue him
Stick to him like glue
Stay close to him permanently
He's gonna leave you
He intends to abandon you
Well, you've gotta put him down
You must detach yourself from him
No, oh, I won't stand
I cannot allow
To see you bein' pushed around
To witness you being bullied
Baby, when things go wrong
My dear, when unfavorable events happen
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
It also affects me negatively
Yeah, when things go wrong
Yes, when unfavorable events happen
Go wrong with you, it hurts me too
It also affects me negatively
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HUDSON WHITTAKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind