Jan Berry and Dean Torrence began singing together after football practice … Read Full Bio ↴Jan Berry and Dean Torrence began singing together after football practice at University High School in Los Angeles in the late 1950s. Primitive recording sessions followed soon after in a makeshift studio in Jan's garage. They first performed on stage as The Barons at a high school dance. Then they were known as Jan & Arnie. After Dean returned from a stint in the army reserves, the duo began to make music as Jan & Dean in 1958.

Jan Berry and Brian Wilson collaborated on roughly a dozen hits and album cuts for Jan & Dean, including the number one national hit, "Surf City" (1963). Subsequent Top-10 hits for Jan & Dean included "Honolulu Lulu," "Drag City," "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena," and "Dead Man's Curve" -- which became eerily portentous when Berry received severe head injuries in an automobile accident just a short distance from Dead Man's Curve in April 1966.

This accident marked the end of their commercial peak, during which they'd scored an impressive total of 26 chart hits over eight years. The group finally stopped performing after Jan Berry died in March 2004.

Louie Louie
Jan & Dean Lyrics

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[Chorus]
Louie Louie, oh no
Me gotta go
Aye-yi-yi-yi, I said
Louie Louie, oh baby
Me gotta go

Fine little girl waits for me

Catch a ship across the sea
Sail that ship about, all alone
Never know if I make it home

[Chorus]

Three nights and days I sail the sea
Think of girl, constantly
On that ship, I dream she's there
I smell the rose in her hair.

[Chorus]

Okay, let's give it to 'em, right now!

See Jamaica, the moon above
It won't be long, me see me love
Take her in my arms again
Tell her I'll never leave again

[Chorus]

Let's take it on outta here now
Let's go!!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jan & Dean's "Louie Louie" tell the story of a man who is leaving behind his love to travel across the sea. The song's chorus features the refrain "Louie Louie, oh no, me gotta go," which expresses the singer's sense of urgency to depart. The verses describe his journey, as he dreams of the girl waiting for him back home. The bridge of the song introduces a new location, Jamaica, and sets the scene for the singer's eventual reunion with his girlfriend. By the end of the song, he triumphantly declares that he will never leave her again.

The lyrics of "Louie Louie" are deceptively simple, but they have often been the subject of scrutiny and interpretation. For example, some people have suggested that the song's nonsensical lyrics could be interpreted as veiled references to sex or drug use. In fact, the FBI even investigated the song in the 1960s, suspecting that it contained obscene or subversive messages.

Louie LouieJan & Dean Lyrics

Louie Louie
Jan & Dean Lyrics