He started his career as a gospel singer touring Texas with The Spiritual Five in the 1950's but started gigging solo in Dallas in local R&B clubs with the bands of Big Bo Thomas and Frank Shelton. By the mid 60's he was recording soulful rock n roll with an emphasis on bluesy balladry. Z.Z Hill's style is somewhat reminiscent of other southern blues & soul singers like Percy Sledge, Bobby Bland and his biggest influence B.B King, which is supposedly where he got the idea to shorten his name to Z.Z.
He started hitting his commercial stride with early 70's hits including Chokin' Kind, Don't Make Me Pay For His Mistakes, and Faithful and True. While signed to Columbia, "Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It," spent 18 weeks on the Billboard R&B chart in the summer of 1977. Cheatin' In The Next Room was released in early 1982 and broke into the top 20 nationally, spending a total of 20 weeks on the charts.
His song Down Home Blues helped propel a 1982 album of the same name to stay on the Billboard soul album chart for nearly two years. Songs like "Someone Else Is Steppin In" and "Open House" have become R&B/Southern soul standards. During his career his songs were generally produced, arranged and/or provided by other talented writers and R&B legends including Lamont Dozier, Swamp Dogg, Dan Penn, Gary U.S Bonds, Denise LaSalle and Allen Toussaint.
Z. Z Hill's career was cut short when he died suddenly of a heart attack, after a road accident in 1984[ at the age of 48.
Everybody Knows About My Good Thing
Z.Z. Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he mentioned your name
Seems like everybody
Knows about my good thing
Call the plumber, darling
There must be a leak in my drain
Seems like everybody
I was talking to my neighbor
About the way you wear your hair
They say you must have a lot of children
Because the milk man is always there
Call the plumber, darling
There must be a leak in my drain
Seems like everybody
Knows about my good thing
I was talking to the butcher
He said you always look neat
I guess that′s why my box
Always filled with meat
Call the plumber darling
There must be a leak in my drain
Seems like everybody
Knows about my good thing
Everybody knows about my good thing
Lord they just won't leave my baby alone
Everybody knows about my good thing
Lord I′m talking about my baby
They just won't leave my baby alone
It makes me wanna shout sometimes
It makes me wanna scream sometimes
The song, "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing" by Z.Z. Hill, is a bluesy and soulful ballad that reflects a sense of frustration and heartache. The opening verse features the singer talking to the postman, who mentions the name of his lover, indicating how everyone knows about the good thing he has. In the following verses, the singer talks to his neighbor and butcher, who also seem to be aware of his lover's presence where she shouldn't be. Throughout the song, the singer repeatedly speculates that there must be a leak in his drain, indicating that something is wrong with his relationship, and everyone knows about it except him.
The lyrics of the song suggest a sense of betrayal and being left out in the dark, which is emphasized by the repeated lines, "Seems like everybody knows about my good thing." The verses about the milkman and the butcher suggest that the singer's lover has been unfaithful to him, and the whole neighborhood seems to know except him. The repeated lines, "Call the plumber, darling, there must be a leak in my drain," indicate the singer's frustration that something is wrong, and he cannot put his finger on what it is.
Overall, the song captures the heartache and frustration of a man whose lover has been unfaithful to him, and while everyone else seems to know, he is the last to find out. It portrays a sense of distrust and paranoia that often come with being in a relationship that belies not having trust or faith in one's partner.
Line by Line Meaning
I was talking to the postman
I was having a conversation with the postman
And he mentioned your name
During the conversation, the postman brought up your name
Seems like everybody
It appears that numerous people
Knows about my good thing
Are aware of my significant other
Call the plumber, darling
I need to have a plumber come over
There must be a leak in my drain
I suspect there may be a problem with my plumbing
I was talking to my neighbor
I was conversing with my neighbor
About the way you wear your hair
The conversation centered around how you style your hair
They say you must have a lot of children
According to my neighbor, you might have many kids
Because the milk man is always there
There is speculation that a milk man visits frequently
I was talking to the butcher
During a conversation, I spoke to the butcher
He said you always look neat
The butcher commented that you always look tidy
I guess that's why my box
From the butcher's statement, I assume that is why my package
Always filled with meat
Is consistently packed with meat
Everybody knows about my good thing
Many people are aware of my significant other
Lord they just won't leave my baby alone
Despite this knowledge, people continue to bother my significant other
Lord I'm talking about my baby
I am referring to my significant other
It makes me wanna shout sometimes
The situation can be frustrating to the point of wanting to shout
It makes me wanna scream sometimes
The situation can be overwhelming to the point of wanting to scream
Writer(s): M. Grayson, L. Horton
Contributed by Kayla I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.