Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 2, 1986) was an American rhythm & … Read Full Bio ↴Lee Dorsey (December 24, 1924 – December 2, 1986) was an American rhythm & blues singer. His biggest hits were "Ya Ya" (1961) and "Working in the Coal Mine" (1966). Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.

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)

Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further
Lee Dorsey Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We may seem happy like everything's alright
But from the outside looking in
Everything's uptight
But deep down inside we're covering up the pain

It's an old thing
It's a soul thing
But it's a real thing

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
One another

There's old dude standing on the corner
Waiting for a fox to pass
The only thing he's got to go by
Is this is where he saw her last
And there's old John, two dollars in his pocket
Talking loud and thinks he's rich
And look for little fool, too cool to go to school
Get a job, in two days he quits

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
One another

Mama get up early, early in the morning
Papa's already gone
Going out a-working for half of what he's worth now
You know that it's wrong
What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?
It must have dinged wrong
It didn't ding long

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right

Mama get up early, early in the morning
Papa's already gone
Working two jobs for half of what he's worth now
You know that it's wrong
What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?
It must have dinged wrong
It didn't ding long

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?

One another
Yeah, you're right

Overall Meaning

The song "Who's Gonna Help Brother Get Further" by Lee Dorsey deals with the struggles and challenges that individuals face in society. The lyrics describe how individuals may appear to be happy and content on the outside, but are actually struggling and hiding their pain. The song also acknowledges the existence of societal issues and inequalities that prevent people from achieving their dreams and moving forward in life.

The lyrics also touch on the theme of solidarity and the importance of helping each other. It questions who will provide support and assistance to those who are facing hardships and difficulties, and emphasizes the need for individuals to come together and help each other overcome these challenges.

The song also makes reference to specific incidents and situations that highlight these societal issues, such as an old man who is waiting for something that might never come, and individuals who are unable to find employment or are stuck in jobs that do not pay them their worth. These references help to give the song a concrete, relatable quality that resonates with many listeners.

Line by Line Meaning

We may seem happy like everything's alright
Though we may appear content on the surface

But from the outside looking in
But from another's perspective

Everything's uptight
Things are actually quite tense and uneasy

But deep down inside we're covering up the pain
We are hiding our true feelings of hurt and sorrow inside

It's an old thing
These struggles we face are not new

It's a soul thing
But they're intimately connected with the human experience

But it's a real thing
And we cannot ignore or dismiss them

Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
What will befall our fellow human beings?

Who's gonna help him get further
Who will support and uplift them?

One another
We must rely on each other for aid and solidarity

One another
And this duty falls on all of us equally

There's old dude standing on the corner
We see an elderly man lingering on the street

Waiting for a fox to pass
Hoping for any opportunity to present itself

The only thing he's got to go by
He has very little guidance or support

Is this is where he saw her last
Except for the memory of a fox he once saw in this location

And there's old John, two dollars in his pocket
There's another elderly man, John, who is barely scraping by

Talking loud and thinks he's rich
Pretending to be wealthy when the truth is far from that

And look for little fool, too cool to go to school
We observe a young person who is uneducated and uninterested

Get a job, in two days he quits
Making little effort to gain employment and quickly abandoning any job he does take

Mama get up early, early in the morning
Mother is an early riser

Papa's already gone
Though Father has already left home to work

Going out a-working for half of what he's worth now
He is laboring for a wage below his true value

You know that it's wrong
This is truly unjust and unfair

What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
What became of the symbol of our nation's freedom?

Did it really ding-dong?
Did it genuinely ring with liberty's announcement?

It must have dinged wrong
Perhaps it didn't make the right sound

It didn't ding long
Or perhaps it simply wasn't enough

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALLEN TOUSSAINT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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LYRIC

We may seem happy like everything's alright
But from the outside looking in
Everything's uptight
But deep down inside we're covering up the pain
It's an old thing
It's a soul thing
But it's a real thing
Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
One another
There's old dude standing on the corner
Waiting for a fox to pass
The only thing he's got to go by
Is this is where he saw her last
And there's old John, two dollars in his pocket
Talking loud and thinks he's rich
And look for little fool, too cool to go to school
Get a job, in two days he quits
Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
One another
Mama get up early, early in the morning
Papa's already gone
Going out a-working for half of what he's worth now
You know that it's wrong
What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?
It must have dinged wrong
It didn't ding long
Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right
Mama get up early, early in the morning
Papa's already gone
Working two jobs for half of what he's worth now
You know that it's wrong
What happen to the Liberty Bell I heard so much about?
Did it really ding-dong?
It must have dinged wrong
It didn't ding long
Pray tell what's gonna happen to brother
Who's gonna help him get further
One another
Is that the truth?
One another
Yeah, you're right