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.
You Don't Have to Be in the Army to Fight the War
Mungo Jerry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When your girlfriend asks you 'round to her house and you meet her folks
And they say that your hair's too long and you're not their kind of bloke
They grab you by the collar and they throw you through the door
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war.
Well, you're working very hard to get promotion at your job
The foreman says : 'You're fired, because your punctuality's poor'
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war.
Then you go into a hotel to get put up for the night
And they say that you can't stay there just because your shirt ain't white
You're tired and you hungry and you cannot walk no more
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war.
Ain't no money, ain't no woman, ain't no roof above your head
So you lay down in the park and you wish that you were dead
The fuzz says you are trespassing and kicks you in the jaw
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war.
The fuzz says you are trespassing and kicks you in the jaw
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war
Mungo Jerry’s song “You Don’t Have to Be in the Army to Fight the War” is a protest song that expresses social critique and encourages people to rise up and fight against injustice. The lyrics describe various situations in which individuals are mistreated and oppressed by the establishment. In the first verse, the singer gives an example of meeting his girlfriend’s parents who disapprove of him for having long hair, and he is physically thrown out of the house. The second verse portrays a scenario in which an employee is fired because he is late once, while he works hard. The third verse talks about how hotels discriminate and refuse to admit people because of the color of their shirt. The final verse discusses the extreme poverty and homelessness that some people face, where the police are brutal and hostile towards homeless people. The recurring line “You don’t have to be in the army to fight in the war” is a call to action for people to stand up and fight against the injustices they face, even if they are not soldiers in a war.
The song was released in 1971 and was written during the Vietnam War era, where young people were being conscripted and sent to fight in a war that they did not believe in. The song’s message is one of resistance and rebellion against oppressive power structures. Mungo Jerry uses the metaphor of war to show that people are fighting for their rights and freedom against a system that oppresses them. The song was an anthem for the anti-war movement and became popular among activists and students. Today, the song remains relevant as it speaks to issues of social and economic inequality, discrimination, and police brutality.
Line by Line Meaning
When your girlfriend asks you 'round to her house and you meet her folks
When you visit your girlfriend's house and meet her parents
And they say that your hair's too long and you're not their kind of bloke
And they comment on your appearance not meeting their standards
They grab you by the collar and they throw you through the door
They physically remove you from their property
Well, you're working very hard to get promotion at your job
You are putting in a lot of effort at work to get ahead
But arrive late on morning just because you missed the bus
But are late one morning due to reasons beyond your control
The foreman says : 'You're fired, because your punctuality's poor'
Your boss fires you for being late despite your hard work
Then you go into a hotel to get put up for the night
You try to find temporary accommodation in a hotel
And they say that you can't stay there just because your shirt ain't white
And they refuse to let you stay because of your clothing
You're tired and you hungry and you cannot walk no more
You are exhausted, hungry, and too tired to continue walking
Ain't no money, ain't no woman, ain't no roof above your head
You have no money, no romantic partner, and no place to stay
So you lay down in the park and you wish that you were dead
You resort to sleeping in a park and feeling hopeless
The fuzz says you are trespassing and kicks you in the jaw
The police accuse you of trespassing and physically harm you
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war
You can fight against societal injustices and discrimination without joining the military
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war
You can stand up for yourself and fight against oppression even if you are not a soldier
You don't have to be in the army to fight in the war
You can resist against institutionalized discrimination and inequality without military involvement
Contributed by Dominic K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gabor Paczolay
REAL MUSIC! One of the best bands of the time, with unique, one of kind sound, encorporating instruments not very common among other bands.
Kevin Baird
I am 52, this band was a permanent sound in my house in the 70's, amazing memories, still relevant today.
EddieMc1
Superb, loved this back in the day, cheers :-)
Blake Kerr
absolutely love this...
Phil Turner
Ohh, the memories this track - and the associated album - brings back!
TheKraut59
50 Years ago this great song came out
m
Amazing.Not heard this in years.Thanks.
Rene G.
True!
Joseph Stevenson
The excellent mungo Jerry...saw them locally when baby jump was number one...and although this track made only about number 13... remember.....it was number one to the people that bought it... Oh yeah
Long John Silver
War 1974 mein absolutes Lieblingsstück,bis ein Unfall uns trennte - nun sind wir endlich wieder vereint! :):):)