Lee Dorsey - "Working In The Coal Mine" (1966)

Born Irving Lee Dorsey in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dorsey moved to Portland, Oregon when he was ten years old. He served in the United States Navy and began a career in prizefighting. Boxing as a light heavyweight in Portland in the early 1950s, he fought under the name "Kid Chocolate" and was quite successful.

Dorsey met songwriter/producer Allen Toussaint at a party in the early 1960s, and was signed to the Fury record label. The song that launched his career was inspired by a group of children chanting nursery rhymes - "Ya Ya" went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961. He recorded other songs for Fury before the label folded, and Dorsey went back to his car repair business.

Toussaint later came back on the Amy label and began to work with Dorsey once again. From 1965 to 1969 Dorsey put seven songs in the Hot 100, the most successful of which was "Working in the Coal Mine" in 1966. It was to be his second and last Top Ten song. In 1970 Dorsey and Toussaint collaborated on an album entitled Yes We Can; the title song was Dorsey's last entry in the singles chart. It was later a hit for the Pointer Sisters under the title, "Yes We Can Can".

Dorsey appeared on an album with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, which led to more recordings on his own with ABC Records in the late 1970s. In 1980, Dorsey opened for English punk band The Clash on their U.S. tour.

Dorsey contracted emphysema and died in New Orleans in 1986, at the age of 61.

Dorsey's songs have been covered by artists as diverse as Petula Clark ("Ya Ya Twist," a 1962 French version of "Ya Ya") and Devo ("Working in the Coal Mine").

Artist - Lee Dorsey
Song - Working In The Coal Mine

(Lyrics)
Working in the coal mine
Going down down down
Working in the coal mine
Whoops I wanna sit down

refrain

Five o'clock in the morning
I'm already up and gone
Lord I'm so tired
How long can this go on
refrain
refrain

Cause I work every morning
Hauling coal by the ton,
But when saturday rolls around
I'm too tired to have any fun
refrain
refrain

Spoken:Lord, I'm so tired. How long can this go on?

• Category

  Music

[theguy944]

Wasn't this song from 1962?

[TheBacmaster]

The 45 was released in 1966. The album was released in 1967. The album title "Ya Ya" was released in 1962, however "Working In The Coal Mine" was not one of them.

[BajanInce]

I really like your videos. I have an original mp3 that I would like to have set to video...Would u like to take a listen and tell me the cost to set it to video? email me at pprtfolio@yahoo.com

[TheBacmaster]

Just for the record, I do this as a full time hobby and will help anyone at no charge. With that said, I will now proceed to contact you as requested. Thank you.

~Joe~

[DiscoDuckBowler]

My minecraft theme.

[Glorified Truth]

Persevere, friend. You will prevail in the end.

[Mohammed Abidi]

Thumbs up if you heard this on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

[Shaheed Kamanzi]

Look at how many blueberries your muffin has

[Marjo Wielinga]

Awesome song.

[Msthetenth]

This is the theme song for my life in grad school. I get up at 5. I make a little money. When Saturday rolls around, I am indeed too tired for having fun...but it's worth it.

[Judith Nagle]

The m.f.'s won't let me like this video, say that "the action not 'lowed". What's the "action"? Least The Honourable Nelson Mandela never going to die for a "pig"and he lived to tell - in actual mysterious ways. :)

[LoboOddball]

He is.

[SuBSoniCSykO]

i think he is singing, whoops, about to slip down

[ArchangelUriel2]

I'm beginning to suspect damn near all of us are doing it, and just assumed we were the only ones...

[theguy944]

I wondered because they always play this song in sirius 50's on 5. And i thought this was from the early 60's:-/