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.
It Ain't Safe
Z.Z. Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Want another little drink, huh?
Ha, can I get you a little old, you know
Drink or something?
Yeah, ha, put you a little ice in it, yeah
Ha oh, just a little bit of that, yeah
A little ice, make it cool, baby
Yeah, baby, just fix you up
Try that, baby, yeah, that'll be alright
Yeah, okay
Hey mama, girl, that's outta sight
Look out, girl, now, get on back now
Look here, baby, you better not keep that up
You gon' fool around and get yourself
In a whole lotta trouble, ha ha
Get on back, girl, I can't take it
Woo-wee, ha ha, my gosh, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm
Mmm yeah, ha ha ha, woo-wee
Yeah, baby, ooh-woo, my gosh
Door knock Who is it? I'll bet that's Ethel
It's Ethel who's Ethel?
Ha ha, baby, that's, uh
Don't worry about that just go ahеad
On and drink your drink don't
Worry about a thing i mean, I'll take care
Of it, you know what you want, woman?
Opеn this damn door, I wanna talk to you
No, uh uh, baby
I wanna explain something to you
No, go 'head on now ain't no sense
In tryna explain nothing to me
Let me explain to you, baby
I got me somebody else now, go 'head on now
Woman i wanna talk to you
Uh uh, baby, go 'head on now
I didn't mean it, I didn't mean
Nothing bad i wanna tell you, i love you
I got me somebody, baby, go 'head on now
Now it ain't no use for you to cry
You might as well dry your eyes
You hurt me so now I want you to know
It ain't no use it ain't no use
There was a time you were my pride and joy
Woman, I love you like a child loves his toy
You've done me wrong
You wanna come back home it ain't no use
It ain't no use
I wanted you you wanted someone else
You went away and left me left me all by my
Left me all by my left me all by myself
Now it's your turn to cry
Pay for your mistakes i want you to know
It's just too late
You've done me wrong
You wanna come back home but it's too late
Oh, it's too late you've done me wrong
You wanna come back home but it's too late
It's too late you've done me wrong
Now you wanna come back home
But it's too late
Can't you see it's too late
You've done me wrong
You wanna come back home but it's too late
It's too late you've done me wrong
You wanna come back home but it's too late
Ah, it's too late
The lyrics of Z.Z. Hill's song "It Ain't Safe" describe the situation where the singer is trying to convince a woman to drink more and get drunk so that he can take advantage of her. He tries to lure her with another drink but also warns her to be careful as she might get into trouble. He also tries to distract her from someone knocking on the door, telling her not to worry about it and that he'll take care of it. The person turns out to be someone he's cheating on her with, and the woman he's with tries to shoo him away. The song ends with the woman telling him that it's too late, that he's done her wrong, and that she won't take him back.
The song's lyrics provide a glimpse into the predatory behavior of some men towards women. The singer in the song is using alcohol to impair the woman's judgment and take advantage of her. The woman, however, is not oblivious to what's going on, and she eventually stands up for herself and tells him that it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, baby look here, honey, you
Hey, sweetheart, do you want a drink?
Want another little drink, huh?
Would you like another drink?
Ha, can I get you a little old, you know
Can I get you a small something to drink?
Drink or something?
Would you like a drink or something else?
Yeah, ha, put you a little ice in it, yeah
Sure, let me put some ice in it for you.
Ha oh, just a little bit of that, yeah
Just a tad, okay?
A little ice, make it cool, baby
Putting ice in the drink will make it cooler.
Yeah, baby, just fix you up
Let me fix you up.
A little old drink, that's alright
A little drink is okay.
Try that, baby, yeah, that'll be alright
Give it a try, it'll be okay.
Yeah, okay
Yes, okay.
Hey mama, girl, that's outta sight
Hey girl, you are looking amazing.
Look out, girl, now, get on back now
Be careful, girl, go back over there.
Look here, baby, you better not keep that up
Sweetheart, you shouldn't continue that behavior.
You gon' fool around and get yourself
If you persist, you will cause yourself trouble.
In a whole lotta trouble, ha ha
In a lot of trouble, ha ha.
Get on back, girl, I can't take it
Go back over there, I can't deal with it.
Woo-wee, ha ha, my gosh, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm
Wow, ha ha, oh my goodness, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm.
Mmm yeah, ha ha ha, woo-wee
Mm-hmm, ha ha ha, wow.
Yeah, baby, ooh-woo, my gosh
Yes, my goodness, ooh-woo.
Door knock Who is it? I'll bet that's Ethel
Someone's knocking, I bet it's Ethel.
It's Ethel who's Ethel?
It's Ethel, you know who that is.
Ha ha, baby, that's, uh
Ha ha, sweetheart, that's someone you don't need to worry about.
Don't worry about that just go ahеad
Don't worry about it, just go ahead.
On and drink your drink don't
Drink your drink and don't.
Worry about a thing i mean, I'll take care
Don't worry about a thing, I'll take care of it.
Of it, you know what you want, woman?
Do you know what you want to drink, woman?
Open this damn door, I wanna talk to you
Open this door, I want to talk to you.
No, uh uh, baby
No, sorry, not going to happen.
I wanna explain something to you
I want to tell you something.
No, go 'head on now ain't no sense
No, go ahead and leave, there's no point.
In tryna explain nothing to me
Trying to explain won't make any difference.
Let me explain to you, baby
Let me tell you, sweetheart.
I got me somebody else now, go 'head on now
I have found someone else, so please leave now.
Woman i wanna talk to you
Woman, I need to talk to you.
Uh uh, baby, go 'head on now
No, I'm sorry, you need to leave now.
I didn't mean it, I didn't mean
I didn't mean to hurt you, I truly didn't.
Nothing bad i wanna tell you, i love you
I have nothing bad to say, I just want to tell you that I love you.
Now it ain't no use for you to cry
There's no point in crying now.
You might as well dry your eyes
You might as well stop crying.
You hurt me so now I want you to know
You hurt me a lot, and I want you to realize that.
It ain't no use it ain't no use
It's no use, it's too late.
There was a time you were my pride and joy
At one point, you were everything to me.
Woman, I love you like a child loves his toy
Woman, I loved you like a child loves their favorite toy.
You've done me wrong
You've hurt me and betrayed me.
You wanna come back home it ain't no use
You want to come back, but it's too late.
It ain't no use
It's too late, there's no point.
I wanted you you wanted someone else
I wanted you, but you wanted someone else.
You went away and left me left me all by my
You left me all alone and by myself.
Left me all by my left me all by my left me all by myself
You left me completely alone and by myself.
Now it's your turn to cry
Now it's your turn to feel the pain.
Pay for your mistakes i want you to know
You need to face the consequences of your actions.
It's just too late
It's too late to fix things now.
Oh, it's too late you've done me wrong
It's too late, you've hurt me beyond repair.
Now you wanna come back home
Now you want to come back to me.
But it's too late
But it's too late for that now.
Can't you see it's too late
Can't you see that it's too late to make things right?
Ah, it's too late
Ah, it's too late now.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind