Mungo Jerry is an English folk/classic rock group from Ashford, Englandwhos… Read Full Bio ↴Mungo Jerry is an English folk/classic rock group from Ashford, Englandwhose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit "In the Summertime". It remains their most successful and most instantly recognisable song. Their name was inspired by the poem Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer, from T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. According to Joseph Murrell's "The Book of Golden Discs" (1978), 'Mungomania' was possibly the most startling and unpredicted pop phenomenon to hit Britain since The Beatles.

Dorset and Colin Earl had previously been members of The Good Earth. Soon after recruiting Paul King and Mike Cole, they made their national debut at the Hollywood Festival at Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire in May 1970, the week their first single, "In the Summertime" was released. They stole the show and the record topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks, made number one in almost every other country around the world, and to date has sold around 23 million copies. After John Godfrey replaced Cole, their second single "Baby Jump" also topped the UK chart in March 1971. A third hit, "Lady Rose" (also in 1971), gave the group the image as a band for producing summertime based hits.

In time Dorset found the group's good-time blues and jug band repertoire a little restricting, and in 1972 he released a solo album Cold Blue Excursion, with his songs backed by strings and brass and, in one instance, a jazz band. His intention to broaden the group's appeal by recruiting a drummer led to King and Earl trying to sack him, but the management, regarding Dorset as inseparable in the public eye from Mungo Jerry, fired them both instead. Dorset and Godfrey, the bassist, recruited new members and presented a new sound, heard on the fourth album Boot Power. King and Earl went on to form the King Earl Boogie Band.

Mungo Jerry's hits continued through to 1976 with "Open Up" (Top Twenty in Europe and number one in Brazil); "Alright Alright Alright" (a rewrite of an old French hit for Jacques Dutronc, and again a major hit worldwide reaching the Top 3 in the UK); "Wild Love"; "Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black"; "Hello Nadine" (European hit and Top Five in Canada); and "It's a Secret" (European hit).

In 1975 Earl, who had played piano with Foghat in between, returned to play keyboards, and percussion player Joe Rush, part-time member of the band in earlier days, also came back for a while.

The group's line-up has changed constantly over the years. Among those who have played with them are bassist Bob Daisley, drummers Dave Bidwell, Paul Hancox and Boris Williams, guitarist Dick Middleton and keyboard/accordion player Steve Jones. They have remained particularly popular throughout Europe. Mungo Jerry was the first western band who had live TV gigs, in all countries behind the Iron Curtain. Their famous "Golden Orpheus" gig in Bulgaria, also gave them a lot of new fans.

In 1980 another Dorset song, "Feels Like I'm in Love", originally written for Elvis Presley, and recorded by the band as a B side of a single, became a British number one hit for Kelly Marie. They remained successful with overseas hits like "On A Night Like This", "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and "Sunshine Reggae" (British version by Mungo Jerry & Horizon). But Dorset had to wait until 1995 for a real comeback, when "In the Summertime" was recorded by reggae vocalist Shaggy, who topped the charts worldwide. The last UK chart entry for Mungo Jerry was "Toon Army", a song for Newcastle United F.C. in 1999.

In 1983 "Mungo Jerry" Ray Dorset was part of the blues supergroup Katmandu, which recorded A Case For The Blues, with guitarist Peter Green, formerly of Fleetwood Mac, and keyboard player Vincent Crane, formerly of Atomic Rooster and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.

In 2003, with German musicians, Dorset recorded Adults Only album under the name Mungo Jerry Blues Band, widely acclaimed as one of the best of his career. 2005 saw him performing with three Mungo Jerry line-ups: The British Mungo Jerry Band (pop/rock), the German Mungo Jerry Blues Band (blues/rock) and Mungo Jerry & the Goodtime Gamblers (jug/blues/skiffle).

Also in June 2005, Ray Dorset had a gig again as a duo with Mike Cole - the original double bass player from the early Mungo days - as a highlight of the "35 Years Of Mungo Jerry" event in both Newcastle and Stoke.

In March 2006 Mungo Jerry released their new single "Mr Midnight" from Phantom of the Opera on Ice (http://www.plazarecords.co.uk); produced by Roberto Danova - who had mixed in the past the old continental Mungo Jerry hits "Lana" and "It's a Secret" - and is well-known for his work with rock and pop music, in combination with big orchestras.

Have a Whiff On Me
Mungo Jerry Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Boitha maro boitha maro re. .
Boitha maro boitha maro re. .
O baichhar bhaiya re
Are jaariya boitha mariya jaaiyo re
Boitha maro boitha maro re. .
Chhar bhaiya re
Are jaariya boit ha mariya jaaiyo
In ladk e ne baichhar bhaiya re. .

O in ladke ne baichhar bhaiya re. .
Aauka aauka pahuchaai re
Are jaariya boitha mariya jaaiyo
Mune gaathe woh nauka re
Hey mune gaathe re woh nauka re
Nauka popon gaachhe boitha re
Are jaariya boitha mariya jaaiyo

O mart i nanino re. .
Joiya baith gaaiyo re.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Mungo Jerry's song "Have a Whiff on Me" are in Hindi and describe a person's experience with marijuana. The singer speaks about a group of people smoking and passing around a joint, referred to as boitha. They sing in joyous tones about being high, with the repeated lyrics of Boitha maro boitha maro re serving as a sort of mantra to the experience. The singer also speaks about a boat, which they refer to as "nauka," sailing down the river as they smoke.

The song's lyrics are very blunt and direct when it comes to describing the use of marijuana. They make no attempt to hide the fact that the group is smoking, and they speak about it in a celebratory manner. At the same time, there is a sense of camaraderie and shared experience among the people smoking, which is conveyed in the song's tone. The singer seems to be enjoying the high and is encouraging others to do the same.

Overall, "Have a Whiff on Me" is a song that celebrates the use of marijuana and the sense of connection that it can bring among people who use it. However, at the same time, there is a sense of humor that pervades the song, and it doesn't take itself too seriously, which is in line with many of Mungo Jerry's other works.

Line by Line Meaning

Boitha maro boitha maro re. .
Come on, let's go, let's go.

O baichhar bhaiya re
Oh, foolish brother.

Are jaariya boitha mariya jaaiyo re
Let's go for a ride in the boat.

Boitha maro boitha maro re. .
Come on, let's go, let's go.

Chhar bhaiya re
Brother with flatulence.

Are jaariya boit ha mariya jaaiyo
Let's go for a ride in the boat.

In ladk e ne baichhar bhaiya re. .
These boys are foolish, brother.

O in ladke ne baichhar bhaiya re. .
Oh, these boys are foolish, brother.

Aauka aauka pahuchaai re
Slowly, gently, we are moving.

Are jaariya boitha mariya jaaiyo
Let's go for a ride in the boat.

Mune gaathe woh nauka re
The boat is tied up at the pier.