Willie Dixon (born July 1, 1915, Vicksburg, Miss., U.S.-died Jan. 29, 1992,… Read Full Bio ↴Willie Dixon (born July 1, 1915, Vicksburg, Miss., U.S.-died Jan. 29, 1992, Burbank, Calif.) was a U.S. musician who influenced the emergence of electric blues and rock music. In 1936 Dixon moved from his native Mississippi to Chicago, won an Illinois Golden Gloves boxing championship, and began selling his songs. He played double bass in several bands before joining Chess Records. His lively compositions, which he sold for as little as $30, included “Little Red Rooster,” “You Shook Me,” and “Back Door Man”; many were later recorded by Muddy Waters, Elvis Presley, and the Rolling Stones. Dixon toured widely throughout the U.S. and Europe.

extensive subsequent covers, include:

"29 Ways" – Marc Cohn, Willie Dixon, The Blues Band
"300 Pounds Of Joy" – Howlin' Wolf, Tom Jones & Jools Holland
"After Five Long Years" – Willie Dixon
"As Long as I Have You" – Led Zeppelin
"Back Door Man"[9] – Howlin' Wolf, The Doors, Grateful Dead, Shadows of Knight, Bob Weir
"Big Boss Man" – Jimmy Reed, Elvis Presley, The Animals, The Grateful Dead
"Bring It on Home" – Sonny Boy Williamson II, Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, Dread Zeppelin, Johnny Thunders
"Built for Comfort" – Howlin' Wolf, Canned Heat, UFO
"Crazy For My Baby" – Little Walter, Charlie Musselwhite, Willie Dixon
"Crazy Love" – Buddy Guy
"Crazy Mixed Up World" – Little Walter
"Close to You" – Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Doors
"Dead Presidents" – Little Walter, The J. Geils Band
"Diddy Wah Diddy" – Bo Diddley, Captain Beefheart, The Blues Band
"Do Me Right" – Lowell Fulson
"Do the Do" – Howlin' Wolf
"Don't Go No Farther" – Muddy Waters
"Don't Tell Me Nothin´" – Willie Dixon – used in the movie The Color of Money
"Down in the Bottom" – Howlin' Wolf, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
"Earthquake and Hurricane" – Willie Dixon
"Eternity" – Grateful Dead
"Everybody Needs Something" – Little Walter
"Everything But You" – Jimmy Witherspoon
"Everything's Got a Time" – Willie Dixon
"Evil" – Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart, Monster Magnet, Derek and the Dominos, Gary Moore, Cactus, The Faces, Steve Miller, Koko Taylor
"Flamin' Mamie" – Willie Dixon
"Help Me" – Sonny Boy Williamson II
"Gone Daddy Gone" - the Violent Femmes' Gordon Gano incorporated elements of "I Just Want To Make Love To You" into his track; the former was later covered by Gnarls Barkley
"Grave Digger Blues" – Willie Dixon
"Groanin' the Blues" – Willie Dixon, Eric Clapton
"Hidden Charms" – Howlin' Wolf, Link Wray
"Hoochie Coochie Man"[6] – Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Shadows of Knight, Eric Burdon, The Nashville Teens, Dion, The Allman Brothers Band, Alexis Korner, Steppenwolf, Chuck Berry, Motörhead, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Healey, Manfred Mann
"Howlin' For My Baby" – Howlin' Wolf, George Thorogood
"I Ain't Superstitious" – Howlin' Wolf, The Yardbirds, Grateful Dead, Megadeth, The Jeff Beck Group, Chris Spedding
"I Can't Quit You Baby" – Little Milton, Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Led Zeppelin, Gary Moore, Dread Zeppelin, Nine Below Zero
"I Can't Understand" – Los Lobos (co-written with Cesar Rojas)
"I Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace)" – Willie Dixon
"If the Sea Was Whiskey" – Chris Thile
"I Got What It Takes" – Koko Taylor
"I Just Want To Make Love To You"[6] – Muddy Waters, The Animals, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Shadows of Knight, Mungo Jerry, Grateful Dead, Foghat, The Rolling Stones, Etta James, Van Morrison, Paul Rodgers, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, April Wine, Robben Ford, Meat Puppets, Cold Blood
"I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love" – Muddy Waters, Willie Nelson
"I'm Ready"[6] – Muddy Waters, Humble Pie, Buddy Guy, Aerosmith, Long John Baldry, Eric Burdon, George Thorogood, Albert King
"Insane Asylum" – Koko Taylor, Kathy McDonald and Sly Stone, Diamanda Galás, Asylum Street Spankers, The Detroit Cobras, Oxbow feat. Marianne Faithful
"I Don't Play" – Robben Ford
"I Got My Brand on You" – Muddy Waters
"It Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace)" – Styx
"I Want To Be Loved" – Muddy Waters, The Rolling Stones
"Let Me Love You Baby" – Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Muddy Waters, B. B. King
"Little Baby" – Howlin' Wolf, The Rolling Stones
"Little Red Rooster"[6] – Howlin' Wolf, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Luther Allison, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Big Mama Thornton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
"Love, Life & Money" – Johnny Winter
"Mellow Down Easy" – Little Walter & His Jukes, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Black Crowes, Carey Bell, ZZ Top, Jimmy Reed, Holly Golightly
"Million Dollar Baby" – Dizzy Gillespie
"My Babe"[6] – Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Elvis Presley, The Everly Brothers, Spencer Davis Group, John P. Hammond, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Othar Turner & The Rising Star Fire and Drum Band
"My Baby's Sweeter" – Little Walter, Fleetwood Mac
"My Captain" – Muddy Waters
"My John the Conqueror Root" – Muddy Waters
"Nervous" – Willie Dixon
"Oh Baby" – Little Walter
"One More Chance With You" – Little Walter
"Pain In My Heart" – Willie Dixon, The Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, Grateful Dead
"Pie in the Sky" – Willie Dixon
"Pretty Thing" – Bo Diddley, Pretty Things, Canned Heat
"Seventh Son" – Willie Mabon, Mose Allison, Bill Haley, Johnny Rivers, Sting, Climax Blues Band, Long John Baldry
"Same Thing" – The Band
"Sin And City" – Buddy Guy
"Shake For Me" – Stevie Ray Vaughan
"Sit and Cry (The Blues)" – Buddy Guy (co-written with Buddy Guy)
"Spoonful"[6] – Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Shadows of Knight, Dion, Paul Butterfield, Cream, Canned Heat, Grateful Dead, Ten Years After, The Who, Etta James Salty Dog
"Study War No More" – Willie Dixon
"The Same Thing" – Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, George Thorogood, The Allman Brothers Band, Sue Foley, Marc Ford, Grateful Dead
"The Seventh Son" – Willie Dixon
"Study No More" – Willie Dixon
"Third Degree" – Eddie Boyd, Willie Dixon, Eric Clapton, Leslie West
"Tollin' Bells" – Lowell Fulson, Savoy Brown Blues Band, Robert Cray
"Too Late" – Little Milton, Little Walter
"Too Many Cooks" – Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Mick Jagger
"Violent Love" – Otis Rush, The Big Three, Oingo Boingo, Dr. Feelgood
"Walkin' The Blues" – Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, John Kay
"Wang Dang Doodle"[6] – Koko Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, Grateful Dead, Savoy Brown, Box Tops, PJ Harvey, Rufus Thomas, The Pointer Sisters, The Blues Band, Widespread Panic
"Weak Brain, Narrow Mind" – Willie Dixon, Widespread Panic
"When My Left Eye Jumps" – Buddy Guy
"When The Lights Go Out" – Jimmy Witherspoon, Kim Wilson
"Who" – Little Walter
"Wigglin' Worm" – Willie Dixon
"You Can't Judge A Book By Looking At Its Cover" – Bo Diddley, Shadows of Knight, Cactus, The Yardbirds, Beat Farmers, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Tim Hardin, The Merseybeats, Elliott Murphy, Long John Baldry, The Monkees, Eric Clapton, Roy Buchanan.
"You Don't Love Me" – Booker T. & the M.G.s, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills
"You Know My Love" – Otis Rush, Gary Moore
"You'll Be Mine" – Howlin' Wolf, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dr. Feelgood
"You Need Love" – Muddy Waters, Mick Clark Band
"Whole Lotta Love" – Led Zeppelin. Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" was appropriated, without credit, from Dixon's "You Need Love". Although the main guitar riff was composed by Jimmy Page himself, Robert Plant based the lyrics on Dixon's song. Dixon and his music publisher received credit and royalties, after a 1985 lawsuit was settled out of court.
"You Need Loving" recorded by The Small Faces in 1965, is another uncredited loose version of the song
"You Shook Me"[9] – Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Jeff Beck Group, Led Zeppelin, Dread Zeppelin
"Young Fashioned Ways" – Muddy Waters
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

You may also see Willie Dixon & The Allstars and Chicago Blues Allstars on Last.fm.

The Same Thing
Willie Dixon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

What makes you men go crazy when the woman wear her dress so tight
What makes you men go crazy when the woman wear her dress so tight
Must be the same old thing that makes the tomcats fight all night

Why do all these men try to run these big-legged women down
Why do all these men try to run these big-legged women down
Must be the same old thing that makes the bulldog pit the hound

Why that same thing
Why that same thing
Now tell me who's to blame
The whole world's fightin' 'bout the same thing

Why do we feel so good when our woman wear her evenin' gown
Why do I feel so good when my baby get her evening gown
Must be the same old thing that makes the preacher throw his bible down

Why that same thing
Why that same thing
Now tell me who's to blame
The whole world's fightin' 'bout the same thing

What makes you men go crazy when the woman wear her dress so tight
What makes you men go crazy when the woman wear her dress so tight
Must be the same old thing that makes the tomcats fight all night

Why that same thing
Why that same thing
Now tell me who's to blame
The whole world's fightin' 'bout the same thing

Why that same thing
Why that same thing
Now tell me who's to blame
The whole world's fightin' 'bout the same thing

The whole world fightin' 'bout the same thing

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Willie Dixon's song 'The Same Thing' are an insightful commentary on human behavior, particularly when it comes to men's attraction to women. Dixon asks, "What makes you men go crazy when the woman wear her dress so tight?" suggesting that this attraction is universal and hard to resist. He goes on to say that this same drive is what causes men to race after "big-legged women" and fight like "bulldog pit the hound." But Dixon doesn't present this as a positive thing. He seems to be asking why we're all so obsessed with sex, and whether we can move beyond it.

The refrain "Why that same thing/ Now tell me who's to blame/ The whole world's fightin' 'bout the same thing" suggests that this impulse is not necessarily something that we choose, but rather an innate drive that we all share. It's not about right or wrong, but rather about human nature. The final line, "The whole world fightin' 'bout the same thing," could be seen as Dixon's commentary on the universal appeal of sex and romantic love. No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you believe, this is an experience that we all share.

Line by Line Meaning

What makes you men go crazy when the woman wear her dress so tight
Why do men lose control when women wear form-fitting dresses? It's got to be the same primal urge that drives tomcats to fight over mates all night long.

Why do all these men try to run these big-legged women down
Why are men so obsessed with chasing after women with shapely legs? It's that same animalistic drive that pits bulldogs against hounds in a contest of wills.

Why that same thing
Why is it always the same basic instinct that seems to drive us all forward?

Now tell me who's to blame
Who is responsible for this universal longing and the chaos it causes?

The whole world's fightin' 'bout the same thing
It seems that every person on this planet is consumed by the same fundamental desire, which causes tension and conflict between us all.

Why do we feel so good when our woman wear her evenin' gown
Why does it feel so right when our partners dress up in elegant evening wear? It's likely the same surge of passion that can drive preachers to abandon their holy books.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: WILLIE DIXON

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