Mungo Jerry

We're not grey poeple
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we
Do as we please
When the weather's fine
We go fishing, or go swimming in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for living, yeah, that's our philosophy

When the winter's here
Yeah, it's party time
Bring a bottle, wear your bright clothes
It'll soon be summertime
And we'll sing again
We'll go driving, or maybe we'll settle down
If she's rich, if she's nice
Bring your friends, an' we'll all go into town

I very briefly played in a band with the drummer from the 1980's working mens club version of Mungo Jerry. It didn't last - musical differences and all that.

http://www.mungojerry.com/img/gallery/img-mj7.jpg

And isn't that Norm Phay at the front on the left? And what about the bloke in a blazer next to him - rock and roll!

I fucking LOVE Mungo Jerry!

Terry Dactyl's "Seaside Shuffle" - genius!

Personnel:
MIKE COLE bs A
RAY DORSET gtr, vcls, perc A B D
COLIN EARL piano, vcls A B
PAUL KING banjo, gtr, vcls A B
JOHN GODFREY vcls, gtr, keyb'ds B
JOE RUSH perc C
JON POPE keyb'ds D
TIM REEVES drms D

ALBUMS:
(up to 1976)
1(A) MUNGO JERRY (Dawn DNLS 3008) 1970 13
2(B) ELECTRONICALLY TESTED (Dawn DNLS 3020) 1971 14
3(C) YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE IN THE ARMY (Dawn DNLS 3028) 1971 -
4(D) BOOT POWER (Dawn DNLS 3041) 1972 -
5(-) GREATEST HITS (Compilation) (Dawn DNLS 3045) 1973 -
6( ) LONG LEGGED WOMAN (Dawn DNLS 3501) 1974 -
7(-) GOLDEN HOUR OF... (Compilation) (Pye GH 586) 1974 -
8( ) IMPALA SAGA (Polydor 2383 364) 1976 -

NB: (1) issued on Janus in the US. (1) and (2) reissued on CD as The Summertime by Repertoire (REP 4177) 1991 with extra tracks. (1) reissued on CD (PRT GHCD 4) 1989. (2) reissued on CD (Repertoire REP 4179-WZ) 1991. (3) and (4)reissued on one CD (Beat Goes On BGOCD 292) 1995. The band continued to release albums on Polydor in the late seventies. A Greatest Hits album was released on Alstan (20001) in 1984. Alternatively The Early Years (Dojo EARL D 3) 1992 is a pretty good mid-price CD compilation of their earlier material. Other compilations on CD include:- All The Hits Plus More (Prestige CDPT 602) 1992; Golden Hour Of Mungo Jerry (Knight KGHCD 116) 1990; Summertime (Spectrum SSO 739-2) 1995; and The Best Of Mungo Jerry (Music Club MCCD 292) 1997 which is a budget-priced, well packaged CD set with good sleeve-notes which combines their early seventies hits with a selection of their better album tracks.

45s:
(up to 1976)
1 In The Summertime/Mighty Man (Dawn 7N 2502) 1970 -
2 In The Summertime/Mighty Man/Dust Pneumonia Blues (PS) (Dawn DNX 2502) 1970 1
3 Baby Jump/The Man Behind The Piano (Dawn 7N 2505) 1971 -
4 Baby Jump/Maggie/Midnight Special/Mighty Man/The Man Behind The Piano (PS) (Dawn DNX 2505) 1971 1
5 Lady Rose/Little Louis 1975 (Dawn 7N 2510) 1971 -
6 Lady Rose/Have A Whiff On Me/Milk Cow Blues/Little Louis (PS) (Dawn DNX 2510) 1971 5
7 You Don't Have To Be In The Army/We Shall Be Free (PS) (Dawn 7N 2513) 1971 -
8 You Don't Have To Be In The Army/The Sun Is Shining/O'Reilly/We Shall Be Free (Dawn DNX 2513) 1971 13
9 I Don't Wanna Go Back To School/Going Back Home/Open Up/No Girl Reaction (Dawn DNX 2514) 1972 21
10 My Girl And Me/46 And On/It's A Goodie Boogie Woogie/Summer's Gone (PS) (Dawn DNX 2515) 1972 -
11 Alright, Alright, Alright/Little Miss Hipshake (Dawn DNS 1037) 1973 3
12 Wild Love/Glad I'm A Rocker (Dawn DNS 1051) 1973 32
13 All Dressed Up/Shake 'Til I Break/Too Fast To Live/Burnin' Up (Dawn DNS 1092) 1974
14 Longlegged Woman Dressed In Black/Gonna Bop 'Till I Drop (Dawn DNX 1061) 1974 13
15 Can't Get Over Loving You/Let's Go (Polydor 2058 603) 1975 -
16 Hello Nadine/Bottle Of Beer (Polydor 2058 654) 1975 -
17 Don't Let Go/Give Me Bop (Polydor 2058 759) 1976 -

Reissues:
18 In The Summertime/She Rowed (Dawn DNS 1113) 1975 -
19 In The Summertime/Baby Jump (Pye FBS 7) 1979 -
20 In The Summertime/Mighty Man/Lady Rose/Baby Jump (Pye BD 114) 1977 -
21 Baby Jump/Alright, Alright, Alright (Old Gold OG 9139) 1982 -
22 In The Summertime/Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black (Old Gold OG 9292) 1983 -
23 In The Summertime/Baby Jump/Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black (CD) (Old Gold OGCD 6139) 1989 -

A group of skiffle revivalists within whom Ray Dorset was very much the dominant figure. Line-up (A) were originally known as Good Earth and made a big impression at the Hollywood Festival, Newcastle in 1970. They simply burst onto the scene with their summery ditty In The Summertime, which became a million-seller, topping the Charts here and climbing to No 3 in the US. They enjoyed further hits, most notably with Baby Jump, Lady Rose and Alright, Alright, Alright, but much of their music lacked diversity.

They also appeared back in 1971 playing Somebody Stole My Wife on the Dawn Takeaway Concert compilation, whilst In The Summertime figured on Ronco's 20 Star Tracks, Vol. 1 compilation.

And what the hell is a "lay-by?"

according to Wikipedia:

Mungo Jerry came to prominence in 1970 after their performance at the Hollywood Festival at Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The band grabbed all the headlines in the UK music press as they stole the limelight from the festival headliners, Black Sabbath, Traffic, Ginger Baker's Airforce, Grateful Dead (their first performance in the UK), and Jose Feliciano.

Mungo Fuckin' Jerry

I'm sure I said this on other threads but this song always reminded me of Mungo Jerry:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYF0qU5WSew

If JBR's lyrics from 10 years ago are accurate, I've never heard half of them properly.

I still have a used bin LP from back in high school, title track of which is this whimsical bit of Beatles pastiche:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1vPlC8Gyk#t=77

If her daddie's rich
Take her out for a meal
If her daddie's poor
Just do as you feel

Fuck off, this song.

worst ever

We're not grey poeple
We're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we
Do as we please

just a classic anthem of baby boomer depravity, complete with cultish overtones

ILM of 2026 will have a haughty laugh over these naive posts prior to the days of the great Mungo Jerry critical reappraisal.

jug music will be genre of the year

if her daddy's rich, she may buy you a meal
assuming that she is also rich,
which is, we grant, an assumption
if her daddy's poor, she may also buy you a meal,
you really can't tell much about a person
by how rich their father is or isn't
dah dah-dah
dee-dah-do dee-dah-do dah-do-dah
dah-do-dah-dah-dah
dah-dah-dah do-dah-dah
in the summertime

http://static.fjcdn.com/gifs/Lisa_fc5288_601874.gif

If her daddie's rich
Take her out for a meal
If her daddie's poor
Just do as you feel

Fuck off, this song.

― rhymes with "blondie blast" (cryptosicko), Monday, March 28, 2016 8:30 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yup, it's basically a crusin for rape anthem. I think we may have discussed in another thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYnBNbcU9i4

dude has probably paid his dues though. i feel like there isn't a waking, quiet moment of his life when the song isn't stuck in his head.

http://youtubedoubler.com/?video1=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DoYnBNbcU9i4&start1=&video2=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dy7EpSirtf_E&start2=&authorName=Ayarkhaan+Enemy

mute the mungo jerry video for the full effect. or don't... just do as you feel

You guys should stay clear of Hasil Adkins.

I think they're trying to make words rhyme--my guess is they didn't put a great deal of thought into any deeper meaning, they didn't set out to write a song about rape, and they didn't know about the internet and message boards and 2016.

"just do as you feel" does not mean "rape her as you wish," guys

yup, it's basically a crusin for rape anthem.

what the hell is wrong with you?

If her daddy's rich, she may have been brought up to expect demonstrations of wealth as part of the courting process
If her daddy's poor, she will be suitably impressed with your wit, wooly visage, and fishnet t-shirt

^ probably violates the laws of HAHAHA RAP LYRICS BUT LIKE ALL STODGY AND PROPER ENGLISH AND SHIT

This song definitely suggests drink driving is a good idea.

How ye doing? I'm surviving
I was drinking earlier, now I'm driving

Half past 5 I'm in the pub
Six o'clock it's home for grub
Eight o'clock I'm back to the bar
Sod the walk I'll take the car

Everyone loves a good road beer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr3CfhveC2U

seeing this song as a rape anthem really requires some "sleep, that's where I'm a viking" leaps in logic

He says "you got women on your mind/ have a drink have a drive and go out and see what you can find." In that context "you can do what you feel" at best means "she'll be easy/a slut" and the way it's phrased makes it at least a little "rapey."

If her daddy's rich, she may have been brought up to expect demonstrations of wealth as part of the courting process
If her daddy's poor, she will be suitably impressed with your wit, wooly visage, and fishnet t-shirt

― how's life, Tuesday, 29 March 2016 11:50 (2 hours ago) Permalink

This seems like a naïve reading of a line in a song about getting drunk and crusin for tail ("courting"), but I guess it's possible.

"go out and see what you can find" means go out and have fun

it's possible for a man to go out and have fun — even with women! — without "cruisin for tail"

Don't make this about man alive, how's life. The song is clearly sexist and classist. Working class men who disrespect women in their own communities don't get off the hook bc their dad installed floors.

I am usually the one arguing against having such a high bar of acceptability for old songs. But this song is gross.

discussion isn't about whether it's sexist, it's about whether it's rapey. which is obviously a component of sexism, but not all sexism is rapey

There is a kind of entitlement to his whole attitude. Do you thinj he would respect the boundaries of a girl whose "daddy's poor"? Perhaps, but I wouldn't bet on it.

To reiterate, since I started this whole thing, I was arguing that the song was definitely classist/sexist/entitled, and only possibly rapey.

what's gross about "just do what you feel" isn't that it's "rapey," it's that the total sentiment is "treat your date nicely if you think her father may have money. if not just do whatever, there's no need to treat a person to something unless you think there's some advantage in it for you later"

guys can we not have THIS VERY SERIOUS DISCUSSION ABOUT THE MUNGO JERRY SONG imo, it'd be possible to make our points while still being mindful that this thread is not really a meaningful front in any battle great or small

I just need to make sure that the people who are wrong know that they are wrong

^ new board description

^^^ board descrip lol xp!!!

also aerosmith otm

Have we arrested Mungo Jerry yet?

UK has no Statute of Limitations so arrest is still possible.

New board description, new me description

Yeah, I changed the board description, but I'm retitling this the "thread of not making it good in a lay-by".

hero

*turn on computer*
*mungo jerry - 60 new answers*
http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t52/Brakeweight/blam.gif

Haven't you heard? He just dropped the album of the year.

From SongFacts:

This buoyant tune was written by Ray Dorset, who was the group's lead singer and guitarist. He penned the song in 1968 when he was working for Timex in the UK - his band was just getting started and music was more of a hobby at the time. Dorset says that the famous melody just popped into his head one day, and the next day he wrote the lyrics very quickly.

"It's got no chorus; all it's got is a melody that goes over and over again with a set of lyrics that conjure up a celebration of life," he said. "Especially if you're a young person: it's a great day, you've managed to get a car - preferably with the top off - you're cruising around, and if you're a guy you're picking up girls."

The American appeal of this song can be attributed to the lyrical inspiration: American beach movies that lead singer Ray Dorset grew up watching. "That was the teenage dream," he said. "What more can you want?"

oh when this was all we argued about

Read recently that the band name came from the book that Cats was taken from.
Haven't seen the film so not sure if the cat of that name appears.

Ugly bunch of fuckers

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/mOR3Pv3bi4B4bLl3-Ijps8LRVWTctJbXI_K16Abjud4oIXoxN8K4H4bLihIRm3IqesBebmGFVVmNRCKffdRcJ7J4_QrazF1Gg_a-9GvRa-TDKbbnX8o30f7ZBNAXwWUMiXrVyP1JbfmXoGADx_z6irl7uSyHZrjaIczd

70s ugly though.

In 2016, Dorset said that he had suffered from irritable bowel syndrome for over 45 years, partly blaming the "rock ’n’ roll lifestyle" that he enjoyed after the success of "In the Summertime".

karma

Drink mint tea, fool

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Dorset#Later_disputes

In 2012, Dorset sued his former management company Associated Music International (AMI), run by his former friend and business manager Eliot Cohen, claiming over £2 million in royalties from the song that he believed had been withheld from him. During the course of the proceedings Dorset denied harassing his ex-manager by singing in an "antisemitic" video entitled "Nail that Snail."

https://www.frontlinepress.org/2023/08/in-the-summertime-hitmaker-mungo-jerry-rescued-at-sea-by-rnli/

afaik Ray Dorset was never known as Mungo Jerry, that was the name of the band. Maybe he's given in and let everyone think that's his name now? I expect Ian Anderson to officially change his name to Jethro Tull now too.

When I was selling off a collection a few years back there were approximately 50 MJ & related releases in there, I was stunned that many existed.

Plus points I guess for not being racist about asylum seekers though

Amazing. He had a drink, he had a drive, he went out to see what he could find. Nothing--he got lost.

When the weather's fine, we go fishing or go swimming in the sea

I think this is my least favorite song in the history of the world

It's not good

I mean aside from the lyrical content of the song (which is awful) I hate the sound of the singer and the stupid groove of it

but his sideburns

A couple weeks ago I learned Shaggy recorded a cover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW_MJRscgHE

I will never not love this song. (Not Shaggy.)

todd in the shadows did an episode on this tune for his "one hit wonderland" series:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlguJc9veZo

like any good music commentary, it's a great watch whether you like the subject or not.

and, to be absolutely unclear: i still don't know what to think of this song. it's classic in the sense that everybody knows it. it's very divisive.

i like the gimmicky jug band feel. the polyrhythms are cool. it's really unique for a pop song!

but the... uhh, huh... uhm...

...right, the vocals.

not the best melody, either. memorable through repetition.

maybe this is the wrong way to appreciate music, however i have to say that maybe i ultimately might like this song because it's really good source material. in relentlessly making it the butt of so many jokes for so many years, i had to pay closer attention. and yeah: it's a neat little package of weird whimsical feeling.

all that to say, i still remember the first time i heard it and my initial reaction. i was eight, it was 1989. it was during summer vacation. i was riding in a car with a friend's family and it came on the radio when friend's mom said to friend's dad, "haha, this is a weird song. do you like it?" to which he responded literal LOLNO. very much "that was a good rhetorical question, you rascal!" energy.

and i definitely agreed with him.

The vocals are cool in this song?

Don't listen to Mungo Jerry while driving, kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ma_Xv7rGM

Yeah, that was Ray Dorset "making amends" there.

Long thread!

Not much regarding "Baby Jump", the other No1 hit...

They had a 'hit' with a new song, 'Happy To Be', on Mike Read's Heritage Chart Show (if you know, you know) recently. The video is something to behold - Ray rictus grinning over green screen effects, mixed with the most stock of stock footage. The song itself sounds like something off pre-school kids' tv and the whole package gives outsider art vibes.

A friend of mine got animated to me, fifteen years ago, telling me how this was the worst song. It always seemed too innocuous to hate

i love this song unapologetically

This is the other song I saved when I downloaded their first album many years ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkpDto1SN8c

If you hate "In the Summertime," you will hate that twice as much.

Everybody knows that John's a good looker,
He can get the girls, any one he wants, yeah!

"Looker" just sounds like "liquor"--no need to get agitated. The last line--"Clap your hands, jump and shout, lets have some fun, alright"--is the beginning, middle, and end of their wisdom.

Meant to say, it (and "Summertime") are very much "Cover of the Rolling Stone"/"Dead Skunk" period nonsense.

horrible song, it also evokes that godawful acapella part in “black water” by the doobiee bros. Nightmarish.

"Black Water," of course, the one Doobie Brothers song I like (the one Doobie Brothers song I don't hate, even).

ehh I've always had a strong liking for In the Summertime. I enjoy Terry Dactyl's Sea Side Shuffle more. I enjoy the Mixtures' Pushbike Song less. And there's yer trilogy of early 70s skiffle hits with stop-start endings.

I still hope to bump into the Mungo Jerry s/t with the 3D glasses while doing the charity shop/boot sale rounds. Mungo Jerry are an interesting bunch, ostensibly a bunch of smelly post-blues boom jazz clubbers who kept trying on different n strange bubblegum idioms for size in the pre-glam wilderness.

I knew this song from 4 seconds in a mid-70s K-tel advertisement that played over and over on afternoon UHF, more than hearing it on the radio. Those 4 seconds sounded really cool to me, and prepped me for great delight whenever I did hear the full song out in the wild.

honestly the reason i like this song is because i once had a roommate who would sing it but would replace the word “women” with “chicken” and so i still hear it that way and it makes me laugh my ass off