Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dorsey was a childhood friend of Fats Domino before moving to Portland, Oregon when he was ten years old. He served in the United States Navy in World War II and then began a career in prizefighting. Boxing as a lightweight in Portland in the early 1950s, he fought under the name Kid Chocolate and was reasonably successful. He retired from boxing in 1955 and returned to New Orleans, where he opened an auto repair business as well as singing in clubs at night.
His first recording was "Lottie Mo", for the small Valiant label in 1958, and he also recorded for the Rex label. These efforts were unsuccessful, but around 1960 he was discovered by A&R man Marshall Sehorn, who secured him a contract with Fury Records, owned by Bobby Robinson. After meeting songwriter and record producer Allen Toussaint at a party, he recorded "Ya Ya", a song inspired by a group of children chanting nursery rhymes. It went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Although the follow-up "Do-Re-Mi" also made the charts, later releases on Fury were not successful. Dorsey returned to running his repair business, but also released singles on the small Smash and Constellation labels in 1963 and 1964.
He was then approached again by Toussaint, and recorded Toussaint's song "Ride Your Pony" for the Amy label, a subsidiary of Bell Records. The song reached no.7 on the R&B chart in late 1965, and he followed it up with "Get Out Of My Life, Woman", "Working in the Coal Mine" – his biggest pop hit – and "Holy Cow", all of which made the pop charts in both the US and the UK. Dorsey toured internationally, and also recorded an album with Toussaint, The New Lee Dorsey in 1966. In 1970 Dorsey and Toussaint collaborated on the album Yes We Can; the title song was Dorsey's last entry in the US singles chart. It was later a hit for the Pointer Sisters under the title, "Yes We Can Can". With declining sales, Dorsey then returned to his auto repair business.
In 1976 Dorsey appeared on the album I Don't Want to Go Home by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, which led to more recordings on his own with ABC Records, including the album Night People. In 1980, he opened for English punk band The Clash on their US concert tour, and also toured in support of James Brown and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Dorsey contracted emphysema and died on December 2, 1986, in New Orleans, at the age of 61.
Dorsey's songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Petula Clark ("Ya Ya Twist," a 1962 French version of "Ya Ya") and Devo ("Working in the Coal Mine"). "Ya Ya" was also covered on John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album. His version of the Allen Toussaint song "Everything I Do Gonh Be Funky (From Now On)" is referenced in the Beastie Boys' song lyrics for "Sure Shot" - "...everything I do is funky like Lee Dorsey." "Ya Ya" was spoken by Cheech Marin in Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, as he was waiting for his girlfriend.
Discography
Albums
Ya Ya (1962)
Ride Your Pony (1966)
The New Lee Dorsey (1966)
Working in the Coalmine (1967)
Yes We Can (1970)
Night People (1978)
Chart singles
"Ya Ya" U.S. Pop #7/R&B #1 (1961)
"Do-Re-Mi" U.S. #27/#22 (1962)
"Ride Your Pony" U.S. #28/#7 (1965)
"Get Out Of My Life, Woman" U.S. #44/#5/ UK #22 (1966)
"Confusion" UK #38 (1966)
"Working in the Coal Mine" U.S. #8/#5/UK #8 (1966)
"Holy Cow" U.S. #23/#10/UK #6 (1966)
"My Old Car" U.S. #97 (1967)
"Go-Go Girl" U.S. #62/#31 (1967)
"Everything I Do Gonna Be Funky (From Now On)" U.S. #95/#33 (1969)
"Yes We Can - Part 1" --/#46 (1970)
"Night People" --/#93 (1978)
Get out of My Life Woman
Lee Dorsey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
Get out my eyes, teardrops; I gotta see my way around
Get out my eyes, teardrops; I gotta see my way around
Get out my life, heartache; nothin' but heartache by the pound
Get off the ladder, woman; I've got to climb up to the top
Get off the ladder, woman; I've got to climb up to the top
Get off the ladder, woman; there is nothin' gonna make me stop
Get out my way, woman; I gotta be movin' on
Get out the way, woman; I gotta be movin' on
Get out the way, woman; I gotta be movin' on
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
Lee Dorsey's "Get out of My Life Woman" is a classic soulful breakup song where the singer addresses his love interest and pleads with her to leave him alone. The repetition of the phrase "Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more" is an indication of the finality of the breakup and the singer's desperation to move on from the relationship. The following line, "Get out my eyes, teardrops; I gotta see my way around," is particularly poignant as it suggests that the singer can no longer dwell on the past and shed tears of regret but must instead look towards the future in order to heal.
The next verse, "Get off the ladder, woman; I've got to climb up to the top," is a metaphor for how the woman has been hindering his progress and he needs to get rid of her in order to reach his goals. The line "there is nothin' gonna make me stop" emphasizes his determination and strength of character, indicating that the relationship has made him even more resolute in his pursuit of success.
Finally, the singer declares "Get out my way, woman; I gotta be movin' on," acknowledging that he needs to completely remove the woman from his life, including any remnants of the relationship or memories, to move on successfully. The repetition of the chorus at the end drives home the message that he is done with the relationship and the woman in question.
Line by Line Meaning
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
I want you to leave my life because you no longer have any love for me
Get out my eyes, teardrops; I gotta see my way around
My tears are clouding my vision and preventing me from moving forward
Get out my life, heartache; nothin' but heartache by the pound
The pain you caused me is weighing me down and bringing me nothing but more pain
Get off the ladder, woman; I've got to climb up to the top
I need you to step down and get out of my way so I can achieve success
Get out my way, woman; I gotta be movin' on
I need you to clear the path for me as I move forward and continue with my life
Get out my life, woman; you don't love me no more
I am reiterating my desire for you to leave my life due to your lack of love for me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: RONNIE SELF, DUB ALLBRITTEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind