Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering African-Ame… Read Full Bio ↴Louis Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering African-American jazz and rhythm & blues musician and songwriter who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era.

Jordan was one of the first black recording artists whose popularity crossed over into the mainstream white audience and who scored hits on both the "race" charts and the mainstream white pop charts. He is now acknowledged as one of the most successful African-American musicians of the 20th century, ranking fifth in the list of the all-time most successful black recording artists.

Jordan scored at least four million-selling hits during his career, regularly topping the "race" charts, as well as scoring simultaneous Top Ten hits on the white pop charts on several occasions. Many of the songs he wrote or co-wrote have become 20th century popular music classics.

With his dynamic Tympany Five bands (which also pioneered the use of electric guitar and electric organ) Jordan largely mapped out the main parameters of the classic R&B, urban blues and early rock'n'roll genres with a series of hugely influential 78 rpm discs for the Decca label that presaged virtually all of the dominant black music styles of the 1950s and 1960s and which exerted a huge influence on many leading performers in these genres.

Got My Mojo Working
Louis Jordan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you
Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you
I wanna love you so bad till I don't know what to do

Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working

Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you

I'm going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand
I'm going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand
I'm gonna have all you women right here at my command

Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you

I got a gypsy woman giving me advice(Repeat x2)
She got some red hot tips I'm keepin' them on ice.

Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working

Got my mojo working
Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you

Overall Meaning

Louis Jordan's song "Got My Mojo Working" is a song that showcases the singer's frustration at being unable to charm the object of his desire. He sings that he has his mojo working, but that it just won't work on the woman he wants. The singer expresses his desire to love the woman so strongly that he doesn't know what to do.

The chorus of the song reiterates the point that the singer's mojo is not working on the woman he wants. He wants to have a hold over her, but his charm is not working. In the second verse, the singer says he is going down to Louisiana to get a mojo hand, which is a spell or charm to attract love, luck or money. He believes that possessing a mojo hand will enable him to have all the women at his command; however, he is only interested in the one he desires.

In the last verse, the singer mentions a gypsy woman giving him some red-hot tips, which he is keeping on ice. This could be interpreted as the singer being open to other ways to charm the woman he desires, but he is keeping his options open.

Overall, the song delves into the idea of using charm or magic to win the heart of someone. The singer acknowledges that his charm isn't working on the one he wants, but he is willing to go the extra mile to find other ways to charm her.

Line by Line Meaning

Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you
I've got all the magic I need to impress you, but for some reason it's just not working.

I wanna love you so bad till I don't know what to do
I want to love you so much that I'm at a loss for words.

I'm going down to Louisiana to get me a mojo hand
I'm traveling to Louisiana to purchase a magical mojo hand.

I'm gonna have all you women right here at my command
With my newly acquired mojo hand, I'll have all the women under my control.

I got a gypsy woman giving me advice
A gypsy woman is providing me with guidance.

She got some red hot tips I'm keepin' them on ice.
She has some excellent advice that I'm holding onto until the perfect moment.

Got my mojo working
I have my magical powers at my disposal.

Got my mojo working, but it just won't work on you
Despite my best efforts, my magical powers just aren't effective on you.

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., DARE MUSIC, INC.
Written by: PRESTON FOSTER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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