WILLIE D. WARREN (1924.09.11/Stamps, AK – 2000.12.30/Detroit, MI) was an Am… Read Full Bio ↴WILLIE D. WARREN (1924.09.11/Stamps, AK – 2000.12.30/Detroit, MI) was an American electric blues guitarist, bass player and singer. He was described by Allmusic journalist, Michael G. Nastos, as “one of the Midwest’s true blues treasures”.

In a long career, he worked with Otis Rush, Al Benson, Little Sonny Cooper, David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Baby Boy Warren, Guitar Slim, Freddie King, Jimmy Reed, Morris Pejoe, Bobo Jenkins and Jim McCarty. One of Warren’s better known recordings was “Baby Likes to Boogie”.

Warren was born in Stamps, Arkansas, but moved with his family at the age of thirteen to Lake Village, Arkansas. He was taught by Caleb King to play the guitar, and played in his own blues ensemble around the Mississippi Delta. His band’s singer, Guitar Slim was, in turn, taught guitar playing techniques by Warren, and they toured around Louisiana in the latter half of the 1940s.

Warren relocated to Chicago by the early 1950s and joined Otis Rush‘s band. He later played alongside Freddie King and Jimmy Reed, plus he also backed Morris Pejoe, when Pejoe recorded tracks for Chess Records.

Warren formed the House Rockers back in Arkansas in 1959, and by the early 1970s had moved to Detroit to work and record with Bobo Jenkins. From 1974 to 1976 he was also a featured performer, along with Baby Boy Warren (no relation), with the Progressive Blues Band, a popular blues band that played in many of Detroit’s best blues venues. When Baby Boy died in 1977, Wille D. Warren took up the band’s frontman duties.

In 1977, Warren finally recorded his debut solo album, which was released on Jenkins’ Big Star label. In addition, Warren turned songwriter, penning the lyrics to two songs (“Door Lock Blues” and “Detroit Jump”) that Jenkins himself recorded for his own Detroit All Purpose Blues album. Warren’s own work then appeared on a small number of compilation albums. His live album, Live, for the No Cover Productions label, was not released until after Warren’s death. His then backing band, Mystery Train, included his old friend Jim McCarty.

Warren died in Detroit, in December 2000, at the age of 76. He left one son, Willie Hairston, of Detroit, Michigan.

In The Dark
Willie D. Warren Lyrics

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In the Dark, as we get older, the air gets colder, we'll be allright.
In the night, there out to get me, but they won't let me, stay inside.
cnd then I'll walk, toward the living, the unforgiving, stay out of sight.
Cause what they know, will make you suffer, go undercover, of human might.
I can feel myself getting stronger.
I'm not hiding any longer
c light will shine, yeah you will see.
That I will always count on me.

Cause I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts on me.
cnd your wrong. cnd I will show you, and I will prove you, That I'm strong.
Just count on me, just count forever, forever ever, until I'm whole.
I can feel myself getting stronger.
I'm not hiding any longer
c light will shine, yeah you will see.
That I will always count on me.
I can feel myself getting stronger.
I'm not hiding any longer
c light will shine, yeah you will see.
That I will always count on me.
Cause I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts on me.
Cause I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts yeah, Can you count it, one two three.
I can feel myself getting stronger.
I'm not hiding any longer
c light will shine, yeah you will see.
That I will always count on me.
I can feel myself getting stronger.
I'm not hiding any longer
c light will shine, yeah you will see.
That I will always count on me.

Cause I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts on me.
Cause I'm the one who counts yeah, I'm the one who counts yeah, Can you count it, one two three.

Overall Meaning

The song “In The Dark” by Willie D. Warren is a reflection on the harsh realities of life and the importance of inner strength. The lyrics describe a sense of isolation and disconnection from the world, where the singer asks for nothing from anyone and prefers to remain in his own head. The opening lines suggest a weariness with the demands of other people, and a sense of disillusionment with the pursuit of ambitious dreams. He is lamenting the fact that he has been so focused on the future that he has become blind to reality. The repetition of the line “All I ask from anyone is that they ask nothing from me” emphasizes the self-sufficiency of the singer and the desire for solitude.

The message of the song is that one must rely on their own inner strength to navigate life's challenges. The line, “Only chance you got when you hear those war dogs bark is to be one up on your brother like a blind man in the dark”, suggests that in the face of adversity, one must fight their own battles and rely on their own intuition to make it through. The lyrics caution against relying on others for help, hinting that betrayal and disappointment are just as likely. The song encourages listeners to stand on their own two feet and not to give up in the face of hardship.

Line by Line Meaning

All I ask from anyone
I don't want anything from anyone

Is that they ask nothing from me
Please don't expect anything from me

Stared so long at the future
I've been focusing so much on what's ahead

That I'm blind to reality
That I'm not seeing the present clearly

Come a time will watch our lives
There will be a time when we'll see our lives

Slip into the sea
Fade away, disappear

Dreams fly by like a thousand railroad trains
Dreams come and go quickly, like trains passing by

Egos steadfast like mountains in our brains
Our egos are so strong, they're like mountains in our minds

Those of us who let go will be swallowed
Those who can let go of their ego will survive

Left here to die
Those who can't let go will be left to fail

Do not look to the sky
Don't expect miracles