Evil

Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King

About Evil

"Evil", sometimes listed as "Evil (Is Going On)", is a Chicago blues standard written by Willie Dixon. Howlin' Wolf recorded the song for Chess Records in 1954. It was included on the 1959 compilation album Moanin' in the Moonlight. When he re-recorded it for The Howlin' Wolf Album in 1969, "Evil" became Wolf's last charting single, reaching number 43 Billboard R&B chart. The 1954 song features sidemen Hubert Sumlin and Jody Williams on guitars, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on double-bass, and Earl Phillips on drums. Wolf achieves a coarse, emotional performance with his strained singing, lapsing into falsetto. The song, a twelve-bar blues, is punctuated with a syncopated backbeat, brief instrumental improvisations, upper-end piano figures, and intermittent blues harp provided by Wolf. The lyrics caution about the "evil" that takes place in a man's home when he is away, concluding with "you better watch your happy home". The song has been recorded by numerous artists, including: Luther Allison, Canned Heat, Captain Beefheart, Derek and the Dominos, Gary Moore, Cactus, The Faces, Dee Snider (with Widowmaker), Jake E. Lee, Monster Magnet, The Dead Daisies, Steve Miller and Clutch. Koko Taylor's version of the song appeared in the 1987 film Adventures in Babysitting. Tom Jones recorded a version of the song in 2011, produced by Jack White. It includes a snippet of The Doors' "Wild Child". Jace Everett and C. C. Adcock also recorded a version, which was used as the featured song for the third season finale of the HBO series True Blood. Greta Van Fleet also played the song regularly in their concerts in 2017. 


2:53

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If you're a long way from home
Can't sleep at night
Grab your telephone
Something just ain't right

That's evil
Evil is goin' on wrong
I am warnin' ya brother
You better watch your happy home

Well, long way from home and
Can't sleep at all
You know another mule
Is kickin' in your stall

That's evil
Evil is goin' on wrong
I am warnin' ya brother
You better watch your happy home

You better catch him
'Cause somethin' wrong
In your home

Well, if ya call her on the telephone
And she answers awful slow
Grab the first train smokin'
If you have to hobo

That's evil
Evil is goin' on wrong
I am warnin' ya brother
You better watch your happy home

If you make it to your house
Knock on the front door
Run around to the back
You'll catch him just before he go

That's evil
Evil is goin' on
I am warnin' ya brother
You better watch your happy home

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Howlin' Wolf

Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976), known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was born in West Point, Mississippi in an area now known as White Station. more »

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Written by: Willie Dixon

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

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