Chubby Checker is the stage name of Ernest Evans (born 3 October 1941), an … Read Full Bio ↴Chubby Checker is the stage name of Ernest Evans (born 3 October 1941), an American singer-songwriter best known for popularizing the dance The Twist with his 1960 song "The Twist". In September 2008, "The Twist" topped Billboard's list of the most popular singles to have appeared in the Hot 100 since its debut in 1958.

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.

The Mess Around
Chubby Checker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Bout this dance called the mess around
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

Do the Shimmy with Timmy
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

Overall Meaning

The Mess Around is a popular dance that Chubby Checker wants to get people moving to in this song. He encourages listeners to try other dances with different partners, but if they want to do the Mess Around, they should do it with him. The song is a playful way to get people dancing and having fun. The lyrics mention other dances like the Pony, Twist, Shimmy, Hucklebuck, Cha Cha, Stroll, Hully Gully, Slop, Birdland, Chicken, and Watusi, but the focus is on the Mess Around. Chubby Checker is confident that he can get people dancing and having a good time with this dance, and he wants to be the one to lead them.

There's a sense of competition in the lyrics, as if Chubby Checker is challenging others to try the Mess Around with him instead of settling for other dances with other partners. He wants to be the one people come to for this specific dance, and he's made it clear that if you're going to Mess Around, you better Mess Around with him. The ending of the song emphasizes this point, telling listeners that while they're free to try other dances, they better save the last dance for him. The Mess Around is Chubby Checker's domain, and he wants to make sure that people are having a good time with him at the helm.

Line by Line Meaning

Bout this dance called the mess around
Let me talk about this dance called the mess around

Baby dig what I'm puttin' down
Understand what I'm saying, baby

You can Pony with Tony
You can do the Pony dance with Tony

Twist with Mr. Lee
You can do the Twist dance with Mr. Lee

But if you're gonna Mess Around
If you want to do the Mess Around dance

Mess Around with me
Then do it with me

Do the Shimmy with Timmy
You can do the Shimmy dance with Timmy

Hucklebuck with Dee
You can do the Hucklebuck dance with Dee

All the other dances you are free
You can choose to do any other dance you want

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 do the Cha Cha dance with Charlie