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)
Ya
Lee Dorsey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
It may sound funny
But I don't believe she's comin'
Baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
You know that I love you
Oh, how I love you
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
It may sound funny
But I don't believe she's comin'
Uh huh, uh huh
Baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
You know how I love you
Oh, how I love you
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
I'm sittin' here, la, la
Waiting for my ya ya
Uh huh, uh huh
It may sound funny
But I don't believe she's comin'
Uh huh, uh huh
Baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh
Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
Uh huh, uh huh
The lyrics to Lee Dorsey's song Ya Ya conveys the message of a man sitting and waiting for his lover to arrive. The repetition of "sittin' here, la, la" and "waiting for my ya ya" emphasize the man's anticipation and eagerness to see his lover. Despite his love for her, he expresses doubt that she will actually show up. This doubt can be seen in the line "it may sound funny, but I don't believe she's comin'."
The chorus of the song is a plea for his lover to hurry and not make him worry. This is evidence that the man has been waiting for a long time and is growing increasingly anxious about his lover's arrival. The repetition of "uh huh, uh huh" adds to the playful and upbeat tone of the song.
Overall, Ya Ya is a fun and catchy song with a message that is relatable to anyone who has ever eagerly waited for someone else. The playful rhythm and bright instrumentation add to the lightheartedness of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, well, I'm sittin' here, la, la
The singer is currently sitting and waiting for someone
Waiting for my ya ya
He's eagerly waiting for his friend or lover, the 'ya ya'
Uh huh, uh huh
He's saying 'yes' in agreement with himself or the situation
It may sound funny
The situation might seem amusing to others
But I don't believe she's comin'
He's unsure if the 'ya ya' will actually show up or not
Baby hurry don't make me worry
He's asking the 'ya ya' to hurry up and come so he won't worry anymore
You know that I love you
He's expressing his love for the 'ya ya'
Oh, how I love you
He's emphasizing how deeply he loves the 'ya ya'
I'm sittin' here, la, la
He's still waiting impatiently
Baby hurry don't make me worry
He's repeating his earlier plea for the 'ya ya' to come
Yeah, baby hurry don't make me worry
He's again urging her to come quickly
It may sound funny
He's still aware that the situation might seem humorous to others
But I don't believe she's comin'
He's repeating his earlier doubts about whether or not she will come
Uh huh, uh huh
He's still agreeing with himself despite his worries
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Clarence L Lewis, Lee Dorsey, Morris Levy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sherrydawson6253
Lost my husband of 50 yrs 9mo 10 days last Sept. He loved this song! I was his Angel on earth he's my Angel in Heaven. Love u honney! 😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😭
@satamuto4111
50 yrs of marriage😯 that is amazing
@markmcgrath8051
Did he like The Wanderers film girl? X
@garyponsford9826
Respect
@gerry1620
Very sorry for your loss. May you be together again in heaven!
@arlettasloan6453
I'm sorry you lost him. I'm glad he had time to listen to this song good and proper.
@valiantj3113
I'm only 51, and I wasn't even a twinkle in mom and dad's eyes yet.. but they used to love playing the music that they grew up with. I remember this tune well along with many others that I have now compiled so that I can enjoy listening and remembering better times 🎵🎶
@postatility9703
Reading all the reminiscences of all those now gone,and the memories this great classic brought to their loved ones,has brought me to tears.The power of music!
@Jas-cn3hl
My son has been running around saying "ya ya" so I decided to look it up and I'm glad I did. This song made me feel good. I was having a pretty rough day and now I feel way better.
@ravenentrekin7377
My son calls his great grandmother YaYa and she sent me this song it’s so cute