“It Don't Make Sense”: Willie Dixon, The Blues, War, and Peace

Abstract

Drawing its inspiration from blues “poet‐philosopher” Willie Dixon, this article highlights an overlooked stream of expressive protest on U.S. war and peace in African American blues tradition from the 1940s to the 1970s. Dixon, the author of more than five hundred compositions, was also a rebel for peace and social justice. In the 1980s, Dixon wrote “It Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace).” The song exemplified what Dixon argued was the deep wisdom of the blues; it is only one among many blues, by multiple artists, addressing the absurdities and contradictions of modern war from World War II to Vietnam. In the 1960s, blues crossed over to mainstream popularity. Unfortunately, African American blues songs on war went off the radar. This article argues that blues has been underappreciated as part of a global movement for peace.