“Wooly Bully” is a 1965 garage rock song by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs about two women, a strange creature, and an encouragement to get up and dance.
Below is a section-by-section breakdown of the lyrics in “Wooly Bully.”
- Song: Wooly Bully
- Artist: Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
- Songwriter: Domingo Samudio
- Released: 1965
- Album: Wooly Bully
- Genre: Garage rock, Rock and roll
What Is “Wooly Bully” About?
Intro: Watch It Now
Uno, dos…
One, two, tres, cuatro
Vocalist/songwriter Domingo Samudio counted off in Tex-Mex for fun during a recording session.
He actually wanted it removed from the record, but the label kept it, and it became one of the most recognizable song openings of the decade.
Ay! Wooly Bully!
Watch it now, watch it, here it come, here it come!
Watch it now, he git ya
“Wooly Bully” came from a Memphis expression meaning something like “good for you” or “big deal,” used to acknowledge someone doing well.
The warning to “watch out” sets up a mood of excitement and mild chaos before the song has even started properly.
Verse 1: Mattie Saw Something
Mattie told Hattie
About a thing she saw
Two women, one story, no context.
Mattie has seen something worth reporting, and Hattie is the first person she told.
Had two big horns
And a wooly jaw
What Mattie saw was almost certainly a bison.
The song does not explain why a bison sighting leads to the next verse about dancing.
Chorus: Wooly Bully!
The chorus is one repeated phrase, shouted with enthusiasm.
There’s nothing to analyze here, but it is a pretty cool name for a dance. Plus, it’s a distinct, memorable name.
Verse 2: Don’t Be an L-7
Hattie told Mattie,
“Let’s don’t take no chance”
Hattie’s response to the bison situation is to take action, though not the action you might expect.
She’s not saying they should leave. She’s suggesting they dance.
“Let’s not be L-7
Come and learn to dance”
L-7 was slang for a square, someone boring and unhip.
Make an L with one hand and a 7 with the other and you get a rough square shape.
Hattie argues that life is short, there’s a creature out there somewhere, and standing around doing nothing is not the answer.
Verse 3: Pull the Wool
Mattie told Hattie
“It’s the thing to do”
Mattie’s on board. The bison has apparently been forgotten.
“Get you someone really
Pull the wool with you”
“Pull the wool” usually means to deceive someone, but here it seems to mean something closer to getting loose and having fun.
The message is the same as verse two: find someone, get on the floor, and dance.
“Wooly Bully” Song Meaning: Stop Standing Around and Dance
“Wooly Bully” is essentially a call to stop being boring and start moving. Mattie sees something wild, Hattie takes it as a sign to live a little, and by the end of the song, they’ve both decided dancing is the answer to whatever question the bison raised.
The topics are never connected, and Samudio never tried to connect them. The lyrics were constructed just loosely enough to get people moving without overthinking it.
It worked. Billboard named it the number one song of 1965, and it became the first American record to sell a million copies during the British Invasion.
Songs Like “Wooly Bully”
Here are some songs with the same spirit of pure, uncomplicated fun:
1. “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles
The Beatles’ cover of this classic track is simply about getting up and dancing with someone you want to be close to.
Related: Best Songs with Dances
2. “Land of 1000 Dances” by Wilson Pickett
Pickett’s 1966 track runs through every dance craze of the era and demands you know them all.
3. “Shake a Tail Feather” by The Five Du-Tones
“Shake a Tail Feather” is built entirely around the idea that you should be dancing right now instead of whatever else you’re doing.
Conclusion: A Bison, Two Women, and Billboard’s Song of the Year
“Wooly Bully” is a song about a bison that somehow became a song about dancing, and somehow became the biggest song of 1965.
Samudio recorded it in one take, counted off in two languages, and named it after a local expression. None of that stopped it from selling millions of copies and becoming a classic party track.
Check out more 1960s Song Meanings!
