Son, she said, have I got a little story for you
What you thought was your daddy was nothin’ but a…
While you were sittin’ home alone at age thirteen
Your real daddy was dyin’, sorry you didn’t see him,
All right stop, collaborate and listen
3 Likes
Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner
But he knew it couldn’t last
Jojo left his home in Tucson, Arizona
For some California grass
Trailer’s for sale or rent
Rooms to let, 50 cents
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain’t got no cigarettes
When I get high, I get high on speed
Top fuel funny car’s a drug for me
My heart, my heart
Kickstart my heart
Oh wow, yeah it’s on there. “It’s about time everybody understood” line.
1 Like
Yeah, that’s the one. Interesting… either it’s on the source, or it was deliberately mixed that way.
I walk 47 miles of barbed wire
I use a cobra snake for a necktie
I got a brand new house on the roadside
Made from rattlesnake hide
2 Likes
Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
1 Like
Slow reveal of the greatest opening lines beginning now, each of these with 4 votes…
The screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Standing at the limit of an endless ocean
Stranded like a runaway lost at sea
I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola
C-O-L-A, Cola
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What’s the better line, cherry or Coca?
Cherry has the more boutique feeling of the song, like choosing aktavite over milo
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The bbc made them change it from Coca Cola because they wouldn’t support advertising
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Coming in at 3rd with 5 votes, featuring the popular “count in” before the main lyric:
One, two!
I was born in a crossfire hurricane
The lyrics are opaque- who is jumpin’ jack flash? Someone born in the blitz? Brian Jones? Any number of Biblical characters? It doesn’t hurt that (Brian excepted, Bill accented) the band is absolutely on fire.
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According to my extensive Rolling Stones archives, it was a reference made by Keith Richards about an elderly, somewhat slow-moving chap who did the gardening at his Redlands estate.
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Correct as far as the initial Jumping Jack name goes, but
I was born in a crossfire hurricane
And I howled at (the morning/my ma in the) drivin’ rain…
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back…
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread
I was crowned with a spike right through my head
then maybe
yeah, by a girl
not the typical groundskeeper. Interesting that Brian has the gardening fork and is front and centre on the cover- the lyrics could be referring to his addiction taking hold.
My tinfoil hat theory is for John (Jack) the Baptist the “burning and shining light” (Flash) of Jn 5:35, jumping in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary came to visit. A voice howling out in the wilderness, with an elderly mother, wearing a leather strap, baptising until arrested, then beheaded on the request of Herodias’ daughter.
A bit from Wiki:
Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards’ country house, when they were awoken one morning by the clumping footsteps of his gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. Surprised, Jagger asked what it was, and Richards responded: “Oh, that’s Jack – that’s jumpin’ Jack.” The lyrics evolved from there.
Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone that the song arose "out of all the acid of Satanic Majesties. It’s about having a hard time and getting out. Just a metaphor for getting out of all the acid things. And in a 1968 interview, Brian Jones described it as “getting back to … the funky, essential essence” following the psychedelia of Their Satanic Majesties Request
In his autobiography Stone Alone, Bill Wyman has said that he came up with the song’s distinctive main guitar riff, working on it with Brian Jones and Charlie Watts before it was ultimately credited to Jagger and Richards.[13] In Rolling with the Stones, Wyman credits Jagger with vocals, Richards with guitar and bass guitar, Jones with guitar, Watts with drums and himself with organ on the track with producer Jimmy Miller adding backing vocals.
According to the book Keith Richards: The Biography by Victor Bockris, the line “I was born in a crossfire hurricane”, was written by Richards, and refers to his being born amid the bombing and air raid sirens of Dartford, England, in 1943 during World War II.
2 Likes
Coming in at number 2 with 6 votes
You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge
Dre’s welcome to Eazy, Ren and Ice Cube’s local Council promo- a place where people take their second amendment rights seriously, display a civic pride and encourage self-confidence in public and romantic dealings. Again the explosive musical backing propels “street knowledge” to the world. Think local, sell global.
2 Likes
Some say also a reference to a Hawker Hurricane defending the skies.
I know they say it’s a gardener or a bad trip, but they’re quite specific lyrics in parts, aren’t they? Sure it might just be words strung together, but I prefer joining the dots over staring at them.
1 Like
Eight votes and a clear winner,
Hello darkness my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Clean tight start straight into the action.
They look so happy and clean cut and groovey on the cover don’t they? Yet behind the smiles they were lamenting the failure to communicate, their growing rivalry and the shortage of quality stools. A haunting beginning, I prefer the electric version. The Disturbed cover is hard work. There is a touch of Spinal Tap about S&G (folk to electric to stadium) but I always liked Paul Simon’s rare willingness to make fun of Bob Dylan. Paul can sure write a tune, while Art can hold one (some of Art’s solo albums are angelic).
Thanks for playing.
3 Likes