Louie Louie
55. The Kingsmen Lyrics

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Louie Louie, oh no, you take me to where ya gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby
Louie Louie, oh baby, take me to where ya gotta go

A fine little girl, she waits for me
Me catch a ship across the sea
Me sailed that ship all alone
Me never think I'll make it home

Louie Louie, oh no no no, take me to where ya gotta go, oh no
Louie Louie, oh baby, take me to where ya gotta go

Fuck

Three nights and days I sailed the sea
Me think of girl constantly
On that ship, I dream she there
I smell the rose in her hair

Louie Louie, oh no, take me to where ya gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby
Louie Louie, oh baby, take me to where ya gotta go
Okay, let's give it to 'em right now

Me see

Me see Jamaica, the moon above
It won't be long me see me love
Me take her in my arms and then
I tell her I'll never leave again

Louie Louie, oh no, take me to where ya gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby
Louie Louie, oh baby, take me to where ya gotta go
I said me gotta go now

Let's hustle on out of here
Let's go

Overall Meaning

The Kingsmen's song "Louie Louie" has been widely covered and enjoyed since its release in 1963. However, the song's lyrics have caused much controversy and confusion since its initial release. The song is a love song about a man named Louie who is asking a girl to take him to where she needs to be. The singer of the song is also reminiscing about a girl that he met and fell in love with on a ship while he was traveling across the sea. He dreams of being reunited with her and smelling the roses in her hair once again.

The most controversial part of the song is the garbled lyrics in the third verse. Despite accusations of obscenity, the lyrics are actually harmless. Lead singer Jack Ely claims that he garbled the words because he was nervous and didn't know the lyrics very well. The song has since become known as one of the most misheard lyrics in music history.

Another interesting fact about the song is that it was recorded in one take. The band originally recorded the song as a backup track, but their instruments and amplifiers were not set up properly. As a result, the sound quality was not up to par, and the final recording was almost impossible to understand.

Line by Line Meaning

Louie Louie, oh no, you take me to where ya gotta go, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, baby
Oh Louie Louie, take me to where we have to go, my dear! Let's go, let's go!

Louie Louie, oh baby, take me to where ya gotta go
Oh Louie Louie, take me to where we have to go, my dear!

A fine little girl, she waits for me
There's a nice girl waiting for me.

Me catch a ship across the sea
I'm getting on a ship to cross the sea.

Me sailed that ship all alone
I sailed that boat all by myself.

Me never think I'll make it home
I never think I will make it home.

Fuck
This line has no real, coherent meaning within the context of the song.

Three nights and days I sailed the sea
I spent three days and nights crossing the sea.

Me think of girl constantly
I constantly think of the girl.

On that ship, I dream she there
On that ship, I dream that she is there.

I smell the rose in her hair
I smell the rose in her hair.

Me see Jamaica, the moon above
I see Jamaica with the moon hanging above it.

It won't be long me see me love
It won't be long before I see my love.