Mott the Hoople formed when Silence, a not-too-successful group from the Welsh borders, was joined by session pianist and rock and roll hopeful Ian Hunter along with musicians Mick Ralphs, Verden Allen, Pete Overend Watts, and Dale Griffin . They developed from Dylan obsessives to their own character over the course of four albums for Island. They were a very popular live act but only achieved brief commercial success.
In 1971, the band was close to splitting up but continued to record track "All the Young Dudes", a song written for them by up and coming pop star and fan David Bowie. Three more albums and several pop hits later, the group fell apart after Ian Hunter left in 1974. The remaining members mutated into Mott, an 'also-ran' band which released two albums before disbanding in 1976. Original guitarist Ralphs had a massive boost in his fortunes as a member of rockers Bad Company.
Griffin died in his sleep on 17 January 2016 at the age of 67 and Watts died, almost exactly a year later, on 22 January 2017, from throat cancer.
Good Times
Mott the Hoople Lyrics
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Everybody groove
Everybody shake
Mary, Mary, you're on my mind
The folks are gone and the place'll be mine
Mary, Mary, wanna be with you
I'm gonna put a call to you
'Cause I feel good tonight
And everything's gonna be right, right, right
I'm gonna have a good time tonight
Rock and roll music gonna play all night
Come on, baby, it won't take long
Only take a minute just to sing my song
Boney Moroney's gonna be with him
I said, Long Tall Sally's gonna be with Slim
And Short Fat Fanny's gonna, she's gonna be there too
And this is what I'm gonna do
Well, I've got to put a call to you
'Cause I feel good tonight
And everything's gonna be right, right, right
I'm gonna have a good time tonight
Rock and roll music gonna play all night
Come on, baby, it won't take long
Only take a minute just to sing my song
Boney Moroney's gonna be with Jimmy
Long Tall Sally's gonna be with him
And Short Fat Fanny's gonna be there too
And this is what I'm gonna do
I've got to put the call to you
'Cause I feel good tonight
And everything's gonna be right, right, right
I'm gonna have a good time tonight
Rock and roll music gonna play all night
Come on, baby, it won't take long
Only take a minute just to sing my song
The lyrics to Mott the Hoople's "Good Times" are all about letting loose and having a good time. The song starts off by instructing everyone to shake and groove, setting the upbeat and energetic tone for the rest of the song. Then, the singer expresses his desire to be with Mary and make a call to her, indicating that he intends to invite her over to enjoy the evening with him.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I'm gonna have a good time tonight" several times, emphasizing the theme of the song. The singer mentions various rock and roll legends like Boney Moroney, Long Tall Sally, and Short Fat Fanny, indicating that their music will be playing all night long. The lyrics are meant to convey a sense of carefree enjoyment and excitement, urging listeners to join in and have a good time with the singer.
Overall, the lyrics to "Good Times" are simple and straightforward, but perfectly capture the carefree spirit of rock and roll music. The song encourages listeners to let loose and enjoy the moment, emphasizing that nothing else matters as long as they're having a good time.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody shake
Encouragement to all to shake and groove to the music
Everybody groove
Encouragement to all to groove to the music
Everybody shake
Encouragement to all to shake and groove to the music
Mary, Mary, you're on my mind
The singer is thinking about Mary
The folks are gone and the place'll be mine
The singer is alone at home
Mary, Mary, wanna be with you
The singer wants to be with Mary
And this is what I'm gonna do
The singer has a plan
I'm gonna put a call to you
The singer will call Mary
'Cause I feel good tonight
The singer is having a good night
And everything's gonna be right, right, right
The singer is confident that everything will go well
I'm gonna have a good time tonight
The singer plans to have a fun night
Rock and roll music gonna play all night
The singer will listen to rock and roll music all night
Come on, baby, it won't take long
The singer invites Mary to come over quickly
Only take a minute just to sing my song
The singer promises the song won't take long
Boney Moroney's gonna be with him
Boney Moroney will be with Jimmy
I said, Long Tall Sally's gonna be with Slim
Long Tall Sally will be with Slim
And Short Fat Fanny's gonna, she's gonna be there too
Short Fat Fanny will also be there
And this is what I'm gonna do
The singer is describing their plan
Well, I've got to put a call to you
The singer needs to call Mary again
'Cause I feel good tonight
The singer is still feeling good
And everything's gonna be right, right, right
The singer is confident that everything will go well
I'm gonna have a good time tonight
The singer is excited to have a fun night
Rock and roll music gonna play all night
The singer will listen to rock and roll music all night
Come on, baby, it won't take long
The singer invites Mary to come over quickly
Only take a minute just to sing my song
The singer promises the song won't take long
Boney Moroney's gonna be with Jimmy
Boney Moroney will be with Jimmy
Long Tall Sally's gonna be with him
Long Tall Sally will be with Jimmy
And Short Fat Fanny's gonna be there too
Short Fat Fanny will also be there
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: RED ROC, JIN HO LEE, WON OK JAE, SU JANG YOUNG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind