"We're Movin On Up" (Theme From The Jeffersons') examples, lyrics & information

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcase the song "We're Movin On Up" from the American television comedy series The Jeffersons.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE JEFFERSONS & THE SONG "WE'RE MOVIN ON UP"
From
"The Jeffersons was a spinoff of All in the Family in which the Bunkers' black next-door neighbors moved to a "deluxe apartment in the sky." This gospel-tinged song described their progression "on up." The show ran 1975-1985 and starred Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford. Roxie Roker, who played their neighbor Helen Willis, is the mother of Lenny Kravitz.

The Gospel choir consisted of 35 black churchgoers. Despite the choir, the song is often covered by garage bands.

Ja'net Dubois wrote this song with the legendary songwriter Jeff Barry, who also sang backup vocals. Barry and his wife, Ellie Greenwich, composed several popular songs such as "Why Do Lovers Break Each Other's Hearts?," "Da Doo Ron Ron," "Then He Kissed Me," "Baby I Love You", "Be My Baby," "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget," "I Can Hear Music," and "River Deep, Mountain High."

Dubois said of this song: "I know about black folks movin' up. I've been there."*

DuBois played the role of Willona Woods on another black sitcom, Good Times. Good Times was a spinoff of Maude, which like The Jeffersons, was a spinoff of All in the Family.

The Jeffersons featured TV's first mixed-married couple, a white husband and a black wife"...

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LYRICS - WE'RE MOVIN ON UP
(Composed by Ja'net Dubois & Jeff Barry)

Well we're movin on up,*
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie. **

Fish don't fry in the kitchen;
Beans don't burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin',
Just to get up that hill.
Now we're up in the big leagues,
Gettin' our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it's you and me baby,
There ain't nothin wrong with that.

Well we're movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.
-snip-
*In the context of this song "movin on up" means to "move to a better, more prestigious neighborhood".

**In the context of this song, the line "We've finally got a piece of the pie" means "we finally are able to partake of the good fortune that is found in this nation".

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: The Jeffersons Theme Song



Munkster Funkster, Uploaded on Sep 28, 2011

couldn't find it anywhere here that had a clean crisp copy. so, here it is. :D

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Example #2:
The Jeffersons - MOVIN' ON UP - Closing Theme (Full)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjVtKsSZwE4

AlternateMix, Uploaded on Apr 24, 2011

Jeff Barry Ja'net Dubois
"The Jeffersons"

Embedding disabled upon request.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the composers of this song. Thanks also to vocalists, the authors of the quoted excerpt, and the transcriber of the lyrics. My thanks also to the publishers of these sound files on YouTube.

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