Dr. John — Right Place Wrong Time
Album: In The Right PlaceAvg rating:
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Length: 2:48
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I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd of said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I been in the right trip
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a bad place
And I'm wondering what it's good for
I been the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
My head was in a place
But I'm having such a good time
I been running trying to get hung up in my mind
Got to give myself a little talking to this time
Just need a little brain salad surgery
Got to cure this insecurity
I been in the wrong place
But it must have been the right time
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong song
I been in the right vein
But it seems like the wrong arm
I been in the right world
But it seems wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
Slipping, dodging ,sneaking
Creeping hiding out down the street
See me life shaking with every who I meet
Refried confusion is making itself clear
Wonder which way do I go to get on out of here
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd have said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I'd a took the right road
But I must have took a wrong turn
Would have made the right move
But I made it at the wrong time
I been on the right road
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a good place
And I wonder what it's bad for
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd of said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I been in the right trip
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a bad place
And I'm wondering what it's good for
I been the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
My head was in a place
But I'm having such a good time
I been running trying to get hung up in my mind
Got to give myself a little talking to this time
Just need a little brain salad surgery
Got to cure this insecurity
I been in the wrong place
But it must have been the right time
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong song
I been in the right vein
But it seems like the wrong arm
I been in the right world
But it seems wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong
Slipping, dodging ,sneaking
Creeping hiding out down the street
See me life shaking with every who I meet
Refried confusion is making itself clear
Wonder which way do I go to get on out of here
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd have said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I'd a took the right road
But I must have took a wrong turn
Would have made the right move
But I made it at the wrong time
I been on the right road
But I must have used the wrong car
My head was in a good place
And I wonder what it's bad for
Comments (105)add comment
Make of it what you will.
"brain salad surgery' I like to thin that's an ELP nod
I have been for many years now an occasional listner to Paradise but you have to stop.
Finances have held me back from being a financial supporter but the time has come to buck my ideas up and make a stand .
Many of the artists I have never heard of but for the past 3 hours have been sheer bliss for me laying in my hospital bed having had my knee repaired.
I don't know when Paradise started but to recall such greats from my youth. I.e. Sonny Terry, no Acker Bilk, Chris Barber, Sister Rosetta Tharp, we saw them all I the late'50s , Sonny Terry and Browny Mcgee .
oh the list is endless.
Memories fertilize fondness: Listening to Right Place - early Navy days - sitting in Terry's MGB or was it Steve's Porsche 911 - driving from Miami to Key West - stoned with music on that long bridge while laughing while melting into the sun. Oh, how music from that time resonates - Just Call Me Angel, Dock of the Bay..., but, we were in the Right Place at the Right Time and Jamie was waiting on Bakers Lane.
memoryboxer wrote:
Sorry, no cigar on the comparison. What ya smokin?
A little brain salad surgery... a year before Emerson Lake and Palmer's album. Curious.
Sorry, no cigar on the comparison. What ya smokin?
joejennings wrote:
Still sounds great with decent headphones driven by my cell phone with a hi-end DAC.
And I surely need to visit NOLA - one of my musical bucket list locations - and hear this type of music live. Long Live RP!!
Classic & Iconic! First time I ever heard it in FLAC w/ great phones, amp & DAC! Thanx RP!
Still sounds great with decent headphones driven by my cell phone with a hi-end DAC.
And I surely need to visit NOLA - one of my musical bucket list locations - and hear this type of music live. Long Live RP!!
Classic & Iconic! First time I ever heard it in FLAC w/ great phones, amp & DAC! Thanx RP!
Great song that suffers from its own success. This must be the most-played song on every "adult album alternative" station. Not the song's fault. It's a good song. But I'm tired of hearing it.
memoryboxer wrote:
Yes, I noticed the same thing.
Wiki says the ELP album title was probably borrowed from the Dr. John song.
A little brain salad surgery... a year before Emerson Lake and Palmer's album. Curious.
Yes, I noticed the same thing.
Wiki says the ELP album title was probably borrowed from the Dr. John song.
So glad I got to see him live at the Keswick Theater some years ago. Great show and worth the trek after a snowstorm.
met him once when I worked at the FBO. Was a nice guy to me. RIP
radiotoe wrote:
RIP Dr John!
with his passing, are these stories now tellable? LLRP!!
One of my wife's best friends was born and raised in New Orleans, and her mother was a singer in NOLA during the ~60's - 70's. The mom and Dr. John were buds, and my wife's friend tells some fun stories from her childhood about Dr. John dropping by the house on occasion for a visit. As one might imagine, he was an interesting character! 
RIP Dr John!
with his passing, are these stories now tellable? LLRP!!
A little brain salad surgery... a year before Emerson Lake and Palmer's album. Curious.
Good bye Mac. You left us some great music.
One of my wife's best friends was born and raised in New Orleans, and her mother was a singer in NOLA during the ~60's - 70's. The mom and Dr. John were buds, and my wife's friend tells some fun stories from her childhood about Dr. John dropping by the house on occasion for a visit. As one might imagine, he was an interesting character!
This was my first LP from Dr. John - and is still the best . Regards from Switzerland (Schweiz)
Funkalicious!
Proclivities wrote:
Wow, he had a much different look back then!
I've always liked this tune. It enabled him to no longer have to model for the Sears catalog as well.
Wow, he had a much different look back then!
magic music imo (shake it teenage Judy shake it!!! : )
So thankful this hit the top 40 of my youth
I've always liked this tune. It enabled him to no longer have to model for the Sears catalog as well.
still funky
8 >>>>>>>> 9
need more gris-gris, man lay some night tripper on us, Bill. get totally funkified.....
or we put the snake eggs an goofy dust on ya !
or we put the snake eggs an goofy dust on ya !First heard this song on a 1975 compilation release called, "Heavy Metal". Not the 1981 movie soundtrack. This cut was alongside the MC5, Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath. Yes' "Starship Trooper" was on there too. Odd mixture, but I loved it at age 10.
a_genuine_find wrote:
Great List!
I'm wallowing in nostalgia.
I think its great that this made the 1973 Billboard Top 40 to #9
Some other gems from 1973 . . .
Some other gems from 1973 . . .
Great List!
I'm wallowing in nostalgia.
I remember Don Cornelious had the Dr. on Soul Train and the man had on the full voodoo regalia and sparkles on his face
funny cool
funny cool
It's always the right time to hear this classic... marvelous...
Never knew this was Dr. John, haven't heard it in, oh, I don't know...15 years....NICE!
martinc wrote:
indeed!
this is one of those songs that randomly drops in on my brain every few years.
it's kinda funny, don't think of Dr John as a funk guy
Hasn't everyone had this song pop up in their mind at least once in theif life as the you were just in that kind of predicament?
indeed!
this is one of those songs that randomly drops in on my brain every few years.
it's kinda funny, don't think of Dr John as a funk guy
Im not drunk or stoned. I can do without this song.
This song just seems to pop up at the right time.
First heard this song when I was 10 years old, 1975, on this compilation album called, "Heavy Metal". Seriously. It had classic stuff from Sabbath, Alice, MC5 etc. Not sure where Dr. John fit into the mix, but I loved the song. Anyone know where I could find a copy of this double compilation would be a hero of mine.
Story of my life,LOL
Hasn't everyone had this song pop up in their mind at least once in theif life as the you were just in that kind of predicament?
Who'd have thought I needed a doctor and I didn't even know it. Whoops just talked myself into my own theme and may have to drop out and play Remedy (Black Crowes) next.
gratefulgator wrote:
Arguably Matthew McConaughey's best performance on film! Love that movie... and the soundtrack just makes it even greater.
"Dazed and Confused"...such a great movie. Really captured the era.
Arguably Matthew McConaughey's best performance on film! Love that movie... and the soundtrack just makes it even greater.
"Dazed and Confused"...such a great movie. Really captured the era.
camatcba wrote:
tired - old
KILL IT
Dr. John, mmmm right song, right time...saw him in concert last year. He's a cool dude and has a voodoo cane. 
NO frickin way!
camatcba wrote:
tired - old
Mac did just celebrate his 70th (on December 7), but he's never been old and tired. Walks with a cane just so he can shake it over his head. tired - old
I listen to RP to discover new bands and obscure artist. If I wanted this, I could listen to any old FM radio station.
Love this tune, especially the guitar solo.
Jeff09 wrote:
Always takes me back to the eight months I lived in New Orleans, working at Nick's Bar and pretending to be a writer.
Sounds as if he's singing about New Orleans circa Katrina, in the style of Frank Zappa
Always takes me back to the eight months I lived in New Orleans, working at Nick's Bar and pretending to be a writer.
boober wrote:
Should be the anthem for Bourbon St
More likely the Marigny side of Decatur. Bourbon already has Fools on Parade. Should be the anthem for Bourbon St
HokieRider wrote:
Arguably Matthew McConaughey's best performance on film! Love that movie... and the soundtrack just makes it even greater.
Arguably Matthew McConaughey's best performance on film! Love that movie... and the soundtrack just makes it even greater.
Lots o' chair-dancin' here!
helgigermany wrote:
Ditto - great walk through the past.
Hey, nice to find a person, that spends so much time to search for this! Thanks for that!
Ditto - great walk through the past.
Haven't heard this in years. It's still my theme song!
"...re-fried confusion is making itself clear..."
a_genuine_find wrote:
I think its great that this made the 1973 Billboard Top 40 to #9
Some other gems from 1973
Conversely, 1973 also brought us
Hey, nice to find a person, that spends so much time to search for this! Thanks for that!Some other gems from 1973
- Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001) - Deodato (#2) (instrumental)
- The Cisco Kid - War (#2)
- D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin (#20)
- Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group (#1) (instrumental)
- Free Ride - Edgar Winter Group (#14)
- Give It to Me - J. Geils Band (#30)
- Hocus Pocus - Focus (#9) (instrumental)
- I Got Ants in My Pants (and I Want to Dance) (Part 1) - James Brown (#27)
- I'm Just A Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band) - The Moody Blues (#12)
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan (#12)
- Kodachrome - Paul Simon (#2)
- Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye (#1)
- Living for the City - Stevie Wonder (#8)
- Money - Pink Floyd (#13)
- No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper (#25)
- Reeling in the Years - Steely Dan (#11)
- Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John (#9)
- Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh (#23)
- Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting - Elt on John (#12)
- Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple (#4)
- Space Oddity - David Bowie (#15)
- That Lady (Part 1) - The Isley Brothers (#6)
- Uneasy Rider - Charlie Daniels Band (#9)
- Walk On the Wild Side - Lou Reed (#16)
- Will It Go 'Round in Circles - Billy Preston (#1)
- The World Is a Ghetto - War (#7)
- You Are the Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder (#1)
Conversely, 1973 also brought us
- Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Donny Osmond (#14)
- Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce (#1)
- Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - Bette Midler (#8)
- Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy (#1)
- Diamond Girl - Seals & Crofts (#6)
- Funny Face - Donna Fargo (#5)
- Get Down - Gilbert O'Sullivan (#7)
- Half-Breed - Cher (#1)
- I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby - Barry White (#3)
- Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang (#4)
- Let Me Be There - Olivia Newton-John (#6)
- Little Willy - Sweet (#3)
- Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (#10)
- The Morning After - Maureen McGovern (#1)
- Ooh Baby - Gilbert O'Sullivan (#25)
- Out Of the Question - Gilbert O'Sullivan (#17)
- Rocky Mountain High - John Denver (#9)
- Spiders and Snakes - Jim Stafford (#3)
- Super Fly Meets Shaft - John & Ernest (#31)
- Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree - Dawn featuring Tony Orlando (#1)
- Touch Me In the Morning - Diana Ross (#1)
- The Twelfth of Never - Donny Osmond (#8)
- Yesterday Once More - Carpenters (#2)
- Young Love - Donny Osmond (#25)
AAAaaaaawwww yaaaaaahh...
Love the guitar solo on this tune!
RP is bringing out the Great!! Thanks for that!!
I think its great that this made the 1973 Billboard Top 40 to #9
Some other gems from 1973
Conversely, 1973 also brought us
Some other gems from 1973
- Also Sprach Zarathustra (Theme from 2001) - Deodato (#2) (instrumental)
- The Cisco Kid - War (#2)
- D'yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin (#20)
- Frankenstein - Edgar Winter Group (#1) (instrumental)
- Free Ride - Edgar Winter Group (#14)
- Give It to Me - J. Geils Band (#30)
- Hocus Pocus - Focus (#9) (instrumental)
- I Got Ants in My Pants (and I Want to Dance) (Part 1) - James Brown (#27)
- I'm Just A Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band) - The Moody Blues (#12)
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan (#12)
- Kodachrome - Paul Simon (#2)
- Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye (#1)
- Living for the City - Stevie Wonder (#8)
- Money - Pink Floyd (#13)
- No More Mr. Nice Guy - Alice Cooper (#25)
- Reeling in the Years - Steely Dan (#11)
- Right Place, Wrong Time - Dr. John (#9)
- Rocky Mountain Way - Joe Walsh (#23)
- Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting - Elt on John (#12)
- Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple (#4)
- Space Oddity - David Bowie (#15)
- That Lady (Part 1) - The Isley Brothers (#6)
- Uneasy Rider - Charlie Daniels Band (#9)
- Walk On the Wild Side - Lou Reed (#16)
- Will It Go 'Round in Circles - Billy Preston (#1)
- The World Is a Ghetto - War (#7)
- You Are the Sunshine Of My Life - Stevie Wonder (#1)
Conversely, 1973 also brought us
- Are You Lonesome Tonight? - Donny Osmond (#14)
- Bad, Bad Leroy Brown - Jim Croce (#1)
- Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy - Bette Midler (#8)
- Delta Dawn - Helen Reddy (#1)
- Diamond Girl - Seals & Crofts (#6)
- Funny Face - Donna Fargo (#5)
- Get Down - Gilbert O'Sullivan (#7)
- Half-Breed - Cher (#1)
- I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby - Barry White (#3)
- Jungle Boogie - Kool & The Gang (#4)
- Let Me Be There - Olivia Newton-John (#6)
- Little Willy - Sweet (#3)
- Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers (#10)
- The Morning After - Maureen McGovern (#1)
- Ooh Baby - Gilbert O'Sullivan (#25)
- Out Of the Question - Gilbert O'Sullivan (#17)
- Rocky Mountain High - John Denver (#9)
- Spiders and Snakes - Jim Stafford (#3)
- Super Fly Meets Shaft - John & Ernest (#31)
- Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree - Dawn featuring Tony Orlando (#1)
- Touch Me In the Morning - Diana Ross (#1)
- The Twelfth of Never - Donny Osmond (#8)
- Yesterday Once More - Carpenters (#2)
- Young Love - Donny Osmond (#25)
Another song I love! Just saw Dr. John at Red Rocks. He played guitar in addition to keyboards. Love him!
10
Oh YES!!
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion does a pretty good cover of this one btw, check out the Acme Plus album.
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion does a pretty good cover of this one btw, check out the Acme Plus album.
One of the most deceptive intros; I'm always ready to turn it off, but then I recognize Dr. John's wonderful bluesy "essay" on the human condition.
dewhead wrote:
"Where to this week Mr. Peabody? Fire up the WABAC machine!"
dewhead, Ramble on brother!
Wow! We've really climbed into the wayback machine now! This brings back some great memories. My folks listened exclusively to country & western music. When we'd go to a county park to swim we got to hear rock-n-roll. A lot of my earliest memories of "popular" music are from those summer days swimming at Roane County Park.... not that anybody cares about that but rambling is one of the few privileges of age!
"Where to this week Mr. Peabody? Fire up the WABAC machine!"
dewhead, Ramble on brother!
Wow! We've really climbed into the wayback machine now! This brings back some great memories. My folks listened exclusively to country & western music. When we'd go to a county park to swim we got to hear rock-n-roll. A lot of my earliest memories of "popular" music are from those summer days swimming at Roane County Park.... not that anybody cares about that but rambling is one of the few privileges of age!
Yeah, I know it was a "hit" back in `73 or so...but without it, this 11 year old wouldn't have ever been exposed to the N'awlins sound.
And that's a crime, since both my parents are from Louisiana. 
This song kicks plenty of ass.
"Love them highschool girls. I get older, they stay the same age"
- Wooderson
(click here)
For a minute there I thought this was going to feature Captain Beefheart! Great to hear...
I think I'm in the right place and the right time 'cause I'm hearing Dr. John! Wonderful tune.
an American badass anthem.
Awesome! 
The Doctor is always IN .
Please play his version of "Tipitina" sometime. Hot piano!
I never understood this when I first heard it, but I sure liked hearing it.
More Mack! This song is superb! Rockin'on.........
His mention of "Brain Salad Surgery" was prior to Emerson, Lake & Palmer stealing it for their album title.
Slipping dodging sneaking creeping hiding out down the street
See me life shaking with every ho' I meet
Refried confusion is making itself clear
Wonder which way do I go to get on out of here
. . . sounds like he had some bad Gumbo. (love the song, tho)
"I was in the right road... but I must have used the wrong car..."
Party at the moon tower!
One of the coolest top-40 hits ever.
I hate this song. I live in New Orleans and it was played multiple times every day on the radio when I was a kid.
Arggh!
CD
I'm having a happy senior moment...
rgj13 wrote:
At the tender age of thirteen, some thirty-one years ago (whoa, 13 & 31) me and my pal David Capuccio talked our parents into letting us buy $3 tickets to see the good Doctor open for (hold your breath, you may want to sit down) King Crimson with Robert Fripp and Procol Harum with Robin Trower. Of course, we had no idea. During King Crimson, I wondered why they wouldn't bring the guitar player a new strap, his had obviously broken because he was sitting down. Then we actually got irritated by the near-constant shouts of "Whiskey Train" during Procol Harum's set. Then they played it.
Anyway, Dr. John was amazing. Resplendent in rainbow-colored Creole robes, sprinkling gris-gris all over the first few rows three or four times during his set, he got us all going before we even knew it. We were willing zombies, we paid for the privilege of being transported to where his hit single had promised, and we were not disappointed.
God, this guy (these guys) is so much fun to listen to; I wonder why he doesn't get a little more play here and elsewhere, or even just more attention? Maybe he's just too hard to slot into some narrow marketing niche. A shame, to be sure.
Props to RP!
I think the rare airplay this and other Dr. John songs have is mainly due to its vintage nature--I don't think Dr. John has recorded anything new for a decade or so.
At the tender age of thirteen, some thirty-one years ago (whoa, 13 & 31) me and my pal David Capuccio talked our parents into letting us buy $3 tickets to see the good Doctor open for (hold your breath, you may want to sit down) King Crimson with Robert Fripp and Procol Harum with Robin Trower. Of course, we had no idea. During King Crimson, I wondered why they wouldn't bring the guitar player a new strap, his had obviously broken because he was sitting down. Then we actually got irritated by the near-constant shouts of "Whiskey Train" during Procol Harum's set. Then they played it.
Anyway, Dr. John was amazing. Resplendent in rainbow-colored Creole robes, sprinkling gris-gris all over the first few rows three or four times during his set, he got us all going before we even knew it. We were willing zombies, we paid for the privilege of being transported to where his hit single had promised, and we were not disappointed.
Now you\'ve got me moving!
(pimp) :D (pimp) :D 
:D (pimp) (pimp)
:D (pimp) (pimp) Originally Posted by sweet_william:
"right vein....wrong arm" 
Really?, hmmm.
Anyone got that gorgeous version of \"Makin\' Whoopie\" he made with Rickie Lee Jones?
Yes! The Doctor is definitely IN!
Yes, more by Dr. Jazzy Swampblues! (Walking on gilded splinters) Gris-gris is the best!
More by the Dr.! (\"such a night\")
\"right vein....wrong arm\"
Originally Posted by miamizsun:
my theme song.
a major flashback. (pimp)
a major flashback. (pimp)
YES!! (pimp)
my theme song.
a major flashback.
a major flashback.God, this guy (these guys) is so much fun to listen to; I wonder why he doesn\'t get a little more play here and elsewhere, or even just more attention? Maybe he\'s just too hard to slot into some narrow marketing niche. A shame, to be sure.
Props to RP!
"brain salad surgery' I like to thin that's an ELP nod
That came out after this, so.....