He was born in Spring Gulley, SC, USA, and raised in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended South Philadelphia High School with Frankie Avalon and Fabian. The wife of American Bandstand's host Dick Clark suggested the name "Chubby Checker" to Evans as a take-off on then-popular singer Fats Domino. In 1964, he married Catharina Lodders, a Dutch girl who had been Miss World in 1962.
His material during his 1960s heyday was recorded for Cameo-Parkway Records and along with the label's other material, became unavailable after the early 1970s because of the company's internal legal disputes. For decades, almost all compilations of Checker's hits consisted of re-recordings.
Dance the Mess Around
Chubby Checker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baby dig what I'm puttin' down
You can pony with Tony
Twist with Mr. Lee
But if you're gonna mess around
Mess around with me
Hucklebuck with Dee
But if you're gonna mess around
You better mess around with me
All the other dances you are free
But you better save, the last dance for me
You can cha cha with Charlie
Stroll with Stagger Lee
But if you're gonna mess around
Mess around with me
You can pony with Tony
Come on now
Hey the twist with Mr. Lee
Hey one more time
Round and round and around hey
But if you're gonna mess around
You better mess around with me
All the other dances you are free
But you better save the last dance for me
Hully gully with Harry
Slop with ???
But if you're gonna mess around
Hear me mess around with me
Do the birdland with Furdie
Do the chicken with ???
Watusi with Susie
Twist with my little sis
The song "Dance the Mess Around" by Chubby Checker has a fun and energetic vibe that is perfect for dancing, which is evident in its lyrics. The song is all about the various dances that people enjoy, but the singer encourages the listener to save the last dance for him. He boasts that while others may be good at other dances like the pony or the twist, if you're going to mess around, you better mess around with him.
Throughout the song, he lists off various dances and dance partners, urging the listener to dance with them and have fun, but reminding them that when it's all said and done, they should come back to him for the final dance. There's a sense of playful competition in the lyrics, with the singer positioning himself as the best dance partner and encouraging the listener to choose him over anyone else.
Overall, the song is a lighthearted and infectious celebration of dance, and the singer's confidence and charm make for a fun and engaging listen.
Line by Line Meaning
'Bout this dance called the mess around
Let me tell you about this dance called the mess around
Baby dig what I'm puttin' down
Listen carefully to what I'm saying
You can pony with Tony
You can dance the pony with Tony
Twist with Mr. Lee
You can dance the twist with Mr. Lee
But if you're gonna mess around
If you're going to dance the mess around
Mess around with me
You should dance the mess around with me
Do the shimmy with Timmy
You can do the shimmy with Timmy
Hucklebuck with Dee
You can do the hucklebuck with Dee
But if you're gonna mess around
If you're going to dance the mess around
You better mess around with me
You should dance the mess around with me
All the other dances you are free
You can dance any other style you like
But you better save, the last dance for me
But make sure you save the last dance for me
You can cha cha with Charlie
You can dance the cha cha with Charlie
Stroll with Stagger Lee
You can dance the stroll with Stagger Lee
But if you're gonna mess around
If you're going to dance the mess around
Mess around with me
You should dance the mess around with me
You can pony with Tony
You can dance the pony with Tony
Come on now
Let's dance
Hey the twist with Mr. Lee
Hey, let's dance the twist with Mr. Lee
Hey one more time
Let's dance it one more time
Round and round and around hey
Let's dance in circles
But if you're gonna mess around
If you're going to dance the mess around
You better mess around with me
You should dance the mess around with me
All the other dances you are free
You can dance any other style you like
But you better save the last dance for me
But make sure you save the last dance for me
Hully gully with Harry
You can dance the hully gully with Harry
Slop with ???
You can dance the slop with someone (name unknown)
But if you're gonna mess around
If you're going to dance the mess around
Hear me mess around with me
You should dance the mess around with me
Do the birdland with Furdie
You can dance the birdland with Furdie
Do the chicken with ???
You can dance the chicken with someone (name unknown)
Watusi with Susie
You can dance the Watusi with Susie
Twist with my little sis
You can dance the twist with my little sister
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group
Written by: DAVID APPEL, KAL MANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind