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.

I Just Wanna Make Love to You
Mungo Jerry Lyrics

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I don't want you, cook my bread,
I don't want you, make my bed,
I don't want your money too,
I just wanna make love to you.

I don't want you, be no slave,
I don't want you, work all day,
I don't want you to be sad and blue,

I just wanna make love to you.

I can tell by the way that you baby talk,
I can see by the way that you switch and walk,
I can tell by the way that you treat your man,
But I could love you baby, it's a cryin' shame.

I don't want you, wash my clothes,
I don't want you, keep a home,
I don't want you to be true,
I just wanna make love to you.

I don't want you, be no slave,
I don't want you, work all day,
I don't want you to be true,
I just wanna make love to you.

I don't want you, keep a home,
I don't want you, wash my clothes,

I don't want you to be true,
I just wanna make love

Overall Meaning

to you.

The lyrics of Mungo Jerry's "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" may appear to be straightforward at first glance, but upon closer examination, they reveal layers of meaning and societal commentary. The song's verses reject traditional gender roles and societal expectations placed on women by men. The singer states that they don't want the woman to cook their bread, make their bed, wash their clothes, and keep a home. These tasks are usually considered a woman's responsibility in a romantic relationship. However, the singer is rejecting these stereotypes and asserting that they value the woman's companionship and sexual availability above all else.

The chorus reinforces this idea by repeating the assertion that the singer doesn't want the woman to be a slave to their domestic needs. The repetition of this refrain highlights the widespread expectation of women to be subservient to men's domestic and sexual desires. The singer is rejecting this expectation and advocating for a more equal relationship based on mutual desire rather than traditional gender roles.

The final verse of the song adds another layer to this societal critique. The singer can tell by the way the woman talks, walks, and treats her man that she is not valued as an equal partner in her current relationship. The singer sees potential in her and wants to love her, but it's a "cryin' shame" that she is not being treated with the respect and equality she deserves.

Overall, "I Just Wanna Make Love to You" is a song that rejects societal expectations and advocates for a more equal and consensual approach to romantic relationships.

Line by Line Meaning

I don't want you, cook my bread,
I don't need you to fill a conventional housewife role like cooking bread.

I don't want you, make my bed,
I don't need you to fill a conventional housewife role like making the bed.

I don't want your money too,
I don't care about your wealth or financial status.

I just wanna make love to you.
All I want to do is have sexual intercourse with you.

I don't want you, be no slave,
I don't want you to be my servant or constantly obey me.

I don't want you, work all day,
I don't want you to have to exert yourself for work or other obligations.

I don't want you to be sad and blue,
I don't want you to be unhappy, down or depressed.

I just wanna make love to you.
All I want to do is have sexual intercourse with you.

I can tell by the way that you baby talk,
I can judge from the way you speak in a childish and submissive voice.

I can see by the way that you switch and walk,
I can observe by the way you strut or move that suggests sexual appeal.

I can tell by the way that you treat your man,
I can deduce from the way you treat your partner that you might be willing to have sex with me.

But I could love you baby, it's a cryin' shame.
I could grow to love you romantically, which is regretful if our relationship is only driven by sex.

I don't want you, wash my clothes,
I don't want you to do my laundry or other menial housework tasks.

I don't want you, keep a home,
I don't want you to maintain a perfect home or keep it tidy.

I don't want you to be true,
I don't want you to be loyal or committed to me like in a romantic relationship.