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.
On the Summertime
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh
In the summertime when the weather is hot
When the weather's fine
You got women, you got women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
Go out and see what you can find
If her daddy's rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor just do what you feel
Speed along the lane
Do a turn or return the twenty-five
When the sun goes down
You can make it, make it good and really fine
We're not bad people
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we do as we please
When the weather's fine
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for livin' yeah, that's our philosophy
Sing along with us
Dee dee dee-dee dee
Dah dah dah-dah dah
Yeah we're hap-happy
Dah dah-dah
Dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
Dah-do-dah-dah-dah
Dah-dah-dah do-dah-dah
Alright ah
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh
When the winter's here, yeah it's party time
Bring your bottle, wear your bright clothes
It'll soon be summertime
And we'll sing again
We'll go drivin' or maybe we'll settle down
If she's rich, if she's nice
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh
In the summertime when the weather is hot
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather's fine
You got women, you got women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
Go out and see what you can find
If her daddy's rich take her out for a meal
If her daddy's poor just do what you feel
Speed along the lane
Do a turn or return the twenty-five
When the sun goes down
You can make it, make it good and really fine
We're not bad people
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we do as we please
When the weather's fine
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for livin' yeah, that's our philosophy
Sing along with us
Dee dee dee-dee dee
Dah dah dah-dah dah
Yeah we're hap-happy
Dah dah-dah
Dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
Dah-do-dah-dah-dah
Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" is a song that reflects the importance of living life to the fullest and finding joy in simple things during summertime. The song presents the positive experience of summertime, which is conveyed through its upbeat tune and the lyrics. The song begins with a chant-like rhythm, which is repetitive and establishes the rhythm for the entire song. The lyrics describe the freedom of summertime, such as being able to stretch up and touch the sky when the weather is hot. The singer emphasizes the importance of having fun, spending time with friends, and finding ways to enjoy life when the weather is good.
The singer also mentions the excitement of going out and seeing what you can find, whether it's going for a drive or finding love. The song does have a slight controversial aspect, mentioning going out for a drink and a drive which is not recommended. Nevertheless, the song goes on to describe how to treat the person you are with depending on their social position, and to top it off, ending the night with making it good and really fine. Overall, the song is a celebration of the laid-back spirit of summer and the desire to live life without restrictions or limitations.
Line by Line Meaning
Chh chh-chh, uh, chh chh-chh, uh
Introductory sound effects
In the summertime when the weather is hot
The song is talking about the summertime, specifically when the weather is hot
You can stretch right up and touch the sky
When the weather is good, you feel like you can reach for the sky
When the weather's fine
A reference to when the weather is good
You got women, you got women on your mind
When you're feeling good, you might have women on your mind
Have a drink, have a drive
When you're having a good time, you might have a drink and go for a drive
Go out and see what you can find
When the weather is good, you might want to go out and explore
If her daddy's rich take her out for a meal
If you're with someone who has wealthy parents, take them out for a nice meal
If her daddy's poor just do what you feel
If you're with someone whose parents are not wealthy, do whatever makes you happy
Speed along the lane
Drive faster on the road
Do a turn or return the twenty-five
Make a turn or come back past the same spot you started from
When the sun goes down
A reference to the end of the day
You can make it, make it good and really fine
Make the most of your time and make it really enjoyable
We're not bad people
We are not bad people
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We are not unclean or cruel
We love everybody but we do as we please
We have a philosophy of loving all, but also living according to our own desires
When the weather's fine
A reference to good weather
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
During good weather, we like to go fishing or swimming
We're always happy
We are always content and cheerful
Life's for livin' yeah, that's our philosophy
Our philosophy is to live life to the fullest
Sing along with us
Join in singing with us
Dee dee dee-dee dee
Singing sound effect
Dah dah dah-dah dah
Singing sound effect
Yeah we're hap-happy
We are happy
Dah dah-dah
Singing sound effect
Dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
Singing sound effect
Dah-do-dah-dah-dah
Singing sound effect
Dah-dah-dah do-dah-dah
Singing sound effect
Alright ah
Satisfaction with the situation
When the winter's here, yeah it's party time
When the winter season arrives, it's time for parties
Bring your bottle, wear your bright clothes
Bring your own drink and wear bright clothes
It'll soon be summertime
Winter will eventually give way to summer
And we'll sing again
We will be happy again
We'll go drivin' or maybe we'll settle down
We might go for a drive or maybe stay put
If she's rich, if she's nice
If she has money and is kind
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town
Bring your friends and we'll all go into town together
Lyrics © editionPlus Verlags GmbH, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: RAY DORSET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@carepackage2214
I'm illegally watching this in the winter
@Christian-wu8lq
Same
@steezgawdextraswa6906
Same i hate Winter 😭
@ivaivaiva0
me too. The best song for winter time! :)
@ivyg6178
Me too :(
@RealMiia
same here
@FamiliaPOPA13
Who is listening in 2024? ❤
@allenwatkins4972
I am.
@FamiliaPOPA13
@@allenwatkins4972 👍
@MrCome4numb
me. dee dee dee dee dee