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.

Wild Love
Mungo Jerry Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, she knows how to rock it, knows how to groove
Rock and roll ya, move your groove
Well, she make you feel great, make you feel crazy
Hazy days in crazy ways

Wild, give me wild love
Wild, give me wild love

Well, she makes you feel beat, makes you feel booty
Hits you so high, don't know what you're doing
She's a cat, she's a kitten, woman, she's a child
Lifts you up high, higher and higher

Wild, give me wild love
Wild, give me wild love

By the dark of the day, by the light of the night
By the sound in the silence, the noise in the quiet
She comes in so swift, with the halo of rainbow
With the sunlight, that thing is fable

She's wild, she's wild, she's wild, she's an angel child
Wild, give me wild love
Wild, give me wild love

Tickie, dom dom, hey
Tickie, dom dom, hey
Wild, wild, wild, wild

Tickie, dom dom, hey
Tickie, dom dom, hey
Wild, wild, wild, wild

If she is believing she walks like a tiger
Sounds like a lion, roars like a wildcat
Hits you like thunder, crabs you like lightning
Truly like morrow, she is like Monroe

She's wild, she wild, she wild, she's an angel child
She wild, she wild, she wild, she's an angel child
She's so wild, she's an angel child
She's so wild, she's an angel child

Wild, give me wild love
Wild, give me wild love

Wild, wild, give me wild love
Wild, wild, give me wild love

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Wild Love" by Mungo Jerry are about a woman who is wild and exciting, and the singer only wants to be with her because of her magnetic personality. The song describes how this woman has the ability to make the singer feel great and crazy, and she is like a kitten, a child, and a woman all at once. She has a unique way of lifting the singer's spirits high and making them feel as though they are flying higher and higher.

The song also alludes to the dichotomy between day and night, silence and noise, and light and dark, which the woman inhabits in her unique way. The mention of a halo of rainbow and fable-like sunlight paints a vivid image of this wild woman who is like a force of nature. The lyrics suggest that she is so wild, she's like an angel child, and the singer wants her wild love.

In essence, the song is a call for an adventure with this wild, fascinating woman who is like no other. She is like a mythological creature, beautiful and dangerous at once, and the singer is drawn to her magnetic pull. The song's upbeat music and the singer's enthusiastic delivery complement the spirit of wildness and adventure.

Line by Line Meaning

Well, she knows how to rock it, knows how to groove
She's great at dancing to rock and roll music

Rock and roll ya, move your groove
Dance to some rock and roll music

Well, she make you feel great, make you feel crazy
She can make you feel really good, almost like you're losing your mind

Hazy days in crazy ways
Feeling disoriented and wild

Wild, give me wild love
I want a passionate, intense love

Well, she makes you feel beat, makes you feel booty
She can make your heart beat quickly and your body feel energized

Hits you so high, don't know what you're doing
She gives you such a strong feeling of euphoria that you might feel a bit out of control

She's a cat, she's a kitten, woman, she's a child
She's playful, sensual, and youthful

Lifts you up high, higher and higher
She makes you feel really good, and that feeling just keeps getting better and better

By the dark of the day, by the light of the night
She's there for you always, during both the good and the bad times

By the sound in the silence, the noise in the quiet
She can make an impact in any situation, even when it seems unlikely

She comes in so swift, with the halo of rainbow
She brings color and vibrancy to your life, and her presence is swift and impactful

With the sunlight, that thing is fable
Just like a fantastical tale, her light and warmth can seem almost magical

She's wild, she's wild, she's wild, she's an angel child
She's free-spirited and fun-loving like a child, but also has an angelic quality to her

Tickie, dom dom, hey
A nonsensical vocalization that adds to the rhythm of the song

Wild, wild, wild, wild
Repeating the desire for intense, passionate love

If she is believing she walks like a tiger
When she's confident, she exudes strength and power

Sounds like a lion, roars like a wildcat
Her voice is strong, bold, and sometimes even ferocious

Hits you like thunder, crabs you like lightning
Her impact on you is sudden and powerful

Truly like morrow, she is like Monroe
She's timeless and classic, just like Marilyn Monroe

She's so wild, she's an angel child
She's wild and free-spirited, but also has a pure and innocent quality to her

Wild, wild, give me wild love
Repeating the desire for intense, passionate love

Writer(s): Ray Dorset Copyright: Chrysalis Music Ltd.

Contributed by Julian V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

GunProof Grandad

Well she knows how to rock it, knows how to groove
Rock an roll ya, move your groove
Well, she make you feel great, make you feel crazy
Hazy days in crazy waisy.

Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love...

Well, she makes you feel beat, makes you feel moody
Hits you so high, don't know what you're doin'
She's a cat, she's a kitten, woman she's a child
Lifts you up high, higher and higher.

Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love

By the dark of the day, by the light of the night
By the sound in the silence, the noise in the quiet
She comes in so swift, with the halo of rainbow
With the sunlight, that thing is fable.

She's wild, she's wild, she's wild, she's an angel child.
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Tickie dom-dom - hey
Tickie dom-dom - hey

Wi-ild wi-ild wi-ild wi-ild.
Tickie dom-dom - hey
Tickie dom-dom - hey
Wi-ild wi-ild wi-ild wi-ild.

If she is believing she walks like a tiger
Sounds like a lion, roars like a wildcat
Hits you like thunder, grabs you like lightning
Truly like morrow, she is like Monroe.

She's wild, she wild, she wild, she's an angel child
She wild, she wild, she wild, she's an angel child
She's so wild, she's an angel child
She's so wild, she's an angel child.

Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wi-ild - give me wild love
Wild wild - give me wild love
Wild wild - give me wild love
Wild wild - give me wild love
Wild wild - give me wild love..

All comments from YouTube:

GothicMod

3y↑2

Another of those who was deserving of more success; Great track, the real essence of the 70's...;)

alwayshair1

4y↑3

I'm making my way thru the MJ singles as they keep playing In the Summertime on Now 70's (UK) and as much as I like the song, it's being overplayed. This Wild Love sounds good.