Twist And Shout
The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well, shake it up baby now
Twist and shout
Come on baby now
Come on and work it on out
Well work it on out, honey
You know you look so good
You know you got me goin' now
Just like I know you would

Well, shake it up baby now
Twist and shout
Come on, come on, come, come on baby now
Come on and work it on out
You know you twist, little girl
You know you twist so fine
Come on and twist a little closer now
And let me know that you're mine, woo

Ah, ah, ah, ah
Yeah, shake it up baby now
Twist and shout, shake it up, work it on out




Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby
Ooh

Overall Meaning

The Isleys's song Twist And Shout is a cheerful and energetic tune about dancing and having fun. The lyrics are inviting the listener to shake it up and twist and shout with the music. The first stanza encourages the listener to dance and work it on out, and the singer compliments the subject's appearance and ability to get him going. The lyrics continue to describe the dance moves and urge the listener to get closer as a way to assert ownership.


The song's upbeat melody and lyrics perfectly capture the essence of 1960s rock and roll. It was a popular dance tune and has since become a classic party song. Twist And Shout was originally written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns and released by The Top Notes in 1961. The Isleys's version, released in 1962, was a huge success and peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.


Line by Line Meaning

Well, shake it up baby now
Encouraging the listener to start moving and dancing


Twist and shout
Suggesting a specific dance move to perform while shouting in excitement


Come on baby now
Inviting the listener to join in on the dance and fun


Come on and work it on out
Encouraging the listener to let loose and express themselves through dance


Well work it on out, honey
Reinforcing the previous instructions to dance freely


You know you look so good
Complimenting the listener's appearance and encouraging them to feel confident


You know you got me goin' now
Expressing the excitement and energy created by the dancing and implied flirting


Just like I know you would
Acknowledging and appreciating the listener's participation and willingness to dance


You know you twist, little girl
Noticing and praising the listener's dancing and specifically referencing the twist dance move


You know you twist so fine
Complimenting the listener's skill and style in performing the twist dance move


Come on and twist a little closer now
Encouraging the listener to dance and move in close physical proximity


And let me know that you're mine, woo
Implying a romantic or sexual interest in the listener and requesting physical confirmation of it


Yeah, shake it up baby now
Repeating the initial encouragement to dance and move


Twist and shout, shake it up, work it on out
Reinforcing the specific dance instructions and encouraging a continuous and energetic performance


Well shake it, shake it, shake it, baby
Excitedly repeating the encouragement to dance with more emphasis and enthusiasm




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: BERT BERNS, PHIL MEDLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@mike8903

@tacticalboi Bert Berns wrote the song and the first recording of it was by "the top notes" produced by Phil Spector. Berns hated Spectors production so Bert produced this version with the Isley Brothers.

@zhou_sei

interesting. and to think, phil was famous for his production style (although now infamous for his insanity)...

thanks for sharing

@cactuspixel

Great tune kids today (Millennials) dont know real music they only like having dreadlocks and not working at all while eating their avacodas,

my wife died in.1981 from gallbladder disease

-Ted Phillips

@zhou_sei

@Keith Sumner sucks about his wife, but ted phillips really sounds like a miserable and out of touch old fart with that there quote.

@cactuspixel

@zhou sei Gravey RRecipe googel

@burtbosma5200

The Top Notes version is appalling, so Berns got that right. This is good, and The Beatles clearly copied the arrangement, but their version makes it so much more exciting as a song, so deserves to be remembered as the standard.

26 More Replies...

@MuhammadFarukh

Can we appreciate both this version and The Beatles version without insulting either one of them?

@2bobaf

+Muhammad Farrukh Of course we can.

@brendanh792

yeah we can

@vashna3799

Well said, Paul McCartney would be embarrassed to read all these comments.

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