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.
Saturday Night Fish Fry
Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now if you've ever been down to new orleans
Then you can understand just what i mean
All thru the week it's quiet as a mouse
But on saturday night they go from house to house
You don't have to pay the usual admission
If you're a cook, a waiter or a good musician
Stop in at the saturday night fish fry
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin'
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin'
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
Now my buddy and me was on the main stem
Foolin' around just me and him
We decided we could use a little something to eat
So we went to a house on rampart street
We knocked on the door and it opened up with ease
And a lush little miss said, "come in, please"
And before we could even bat an eye
We were right in the middle of a big fish fry
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin'
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin'
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
Now the folks was havin' the time of their life
And sam was jivin' jimmie's wife
Over in the corner was a beat up grand
Being played by a big fat piano man
Some of the chicks wore expensive frocks
Some of them had on bobbie socks
But everybody was nice and high
At this particular saturday night fish fry
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin'
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
It was rockin', it was rockin'
You never seen such scufflin'
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
Now the women were screamin' and jumpin' and yellin'
Saturday Night Fish Fry by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five is a classic rhythm and blues song that was released in 1949. The song is about the Saturday night tradition of fish fry in the city of New Orleans. The lyrics describe how the city is usually quiet all week but comes alive on Saturday night when people go from house to house for fish fry parties. The singer invites the listener to join in on the fun, saying that if they are a good musician, cook or waiter, they don't have to pay the usual admission fee.
The main part of the song paints a vivid picture of a specific fish fry that the singer attends with his buddy. They knock on a door on Rampart Street and are greeted by a "lush little miss" who invites them in. The house is filled with people having a great time, with a big fat piano man playing on a beat-up grand in the corner. The singer describes some of the women at the party, some wearing expensive frocks and others wearing bobbie socks, but they are all nice and high on this particular night. The song concludes with a description of the women screaming, jumping and yelling, indicating that the party is still going strong.
Line by Line Meaning
Now if you've ever been down to new orleans
If you have visited New Orleans before
Then you can understand just what i mean
You would know what I'm talking about
All thru the week it's quiet as a mouse
During the weekdays, the city is very calm
But on saturday night they go from house to house
On a Saturday night, people party from one house to another
You don't have to pay the usual admission
The party is open for everyone and does not require payment
If you're a cook, a waiter or a good musician
Particular professions are welcomed in the party, including cooks, waiters, and good musicians
So if you happen to be just passin' by
If you are in the area and not necessarily invited
Stop in at the saturday night fish fry
You should come to the Saturday night party
It was rockin', it was rockin'
The party was exciting
You never seen such scufflin'
There was a lot of dancing and movement
And shufflin' 'till the break of dawn
People partied until sunrise
Now my buddy and me was on the main stem
My friend and I were on the main street
Foolin' around just me and him
We were not doing anything important
We decided we could use a little something to eat
We wanted to get some food
So we went to a house on rampart street
We went to a house located on Rampart Street
We knocked on the door and it opened up with ease
Our knock was quickly answered
And a lush little miss said, "come in, please"
A beautiful young lady invited us to come into the party
And before we could even bat an eye
Before we had the chance to react
We were right in the middle of a big fish fry
We found ourselves in the party surrounded by people enjoying fish and dancing
Now the folks was havin' the time of their life
The people were having the best time of their lives
And sam was jivin' jimmie's wife
Sam was dancing with Jimmie's wife in a fun, non-threatening way
Over in the corner was a beat up grand
In the corner of the room was a worn-out grand piano
Being played by a big fat piano man
The piano was being played by a large man
Some of the chicks wore expensive frocks
Some women were wearing fancy dresses
Some of them had on bobbie socks
Some women were wearing bobby socks
But everybody was nice and high
Everyone was happy and enjoying themselves
At this particular saturday night fish fry
At this specific party on a Saturday night
Now the women were screamin' and jumpin' and yellin'
Women were yelling and jumping in excitement
Contributed by Jacob R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
lotusbandicoot
I hate that I've been a jazz/big band/boogie/blues fan for years and never heard of Louis Jordan until last month. I love his lengthy story songs, they're pretty much the definition of feel-good music
ali kamal
How can anyone possibly dislike this!!!? I pity them ...
Miguel Osvaldo Flores Dominguez
Amazing song! I love that guitar work! And awesome rocking piano too!
Trina Simon
My mom had this record so I remember it in the early 50s, always loved him. I missed the movie on TCM with him in it
Shelly Goldstein
Louis! The best. The only man Chuck Berry credited (besides himself) for the creation of Rock & Roll!
John Fisher
What a masterpiece!
John Aquillo
Fantastic! This should be FAR better known. It being over 5 mins is also quite unusual - and great! :-)
Gwiyomi Kim
Wow! Almost 5-1/2 minutes of uncontrollable toe-tapping. Great recording!👍🏼
daneff follower
Absolutely WOW!
A.K.
A 5 minute song from the 40s, refreshing