Lyrics for Jumpin Jack Flash as interpreted by oofus

Jumpin Jack Flash Lyrics
I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain
But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas

I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back
But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas

I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead
I fell down to my feet and saw they bled
I frowned at the crumbs and a crust of bread
I was crowned with a spike right through my head
But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas
Jumpin' Jack Flash, it's a gas

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KobayashiJT
06-16-2009

Rated 0 
I think the real origin of the song is probably an amalgamation of everything that has been said here. The gardener story is really a nice little story for the fans and the history books, but it is mostly a starting point; the song isn't about the gardener, just started to be about him.

While I don't think that the song is about Jesus (Mick Jagger is rarely ever this subtle when he's getting "religious"), I could see the whole song having a strangely dark spiritual aspect. The end of the song more or less kills Jack, which would send him to some afterlife after a life on this earth of nothing but hardships. Of course, the other side of it could be that in his death he's become a demon of sorts, enjoying messing with people now. The fact that the song's title is a slang term for heroin isn't an accident, but I do buy into it being about some sort of epic character.

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jumpingjackbrad
05-09-2009

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I think this song is based on "All is Quiet on the Western Front". It is a novel based on World War 1 fronlines. The lyrics apply to the novel. In fact the narrator uses the term "gas-gas-gas" when being bombarded by French infantry with mustard gas. The young man was "schooled" by a non-commision officer. I just started reading it so I don't know where jumping jack flash comes into it yet.

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LosersBlues
01-21-2009

Rated 0 
It's actually about a gardener named Jack Dyer, and the band was writing songs in Keith's country house when he pooped up outside the window, and Mick asked who it was, and Keith said, "oh, that's jumping jack".


So there you go, a classic song written about a random gardener. I am not joking.

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NoLoveLost?
08-24-2008

Rated 0 
well put stuffit, i wish people wouldnt pin one meaning on these songs it undermines the stones writing ability in my opinion. There is definetly some influence from Christianity and drugs here and quite possibly it was influenced by the gardner but i really doubt its purely about any of them. I see it more as as a homage to 60s culture, a backlash against his upbringing maybe.

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TheFranzFerdinand
03-22-2008

Rated 0 
They took two characters from slightly similar time periods, Englands "Spring-Heeled Jack" and America's "The Mad Gasser of Mattoon" and combined them.

Spring-Heeled Jack was known to be able to jump all around, scaring women by breathing gas in their face, or fire, or clawing their clothes off. He challenged soldiers and was shot several times, with guns having no effect. He was seen by hundreds of people, too. Some stay he's still around in other parts of the world.

The Mad Gasser was an unknown man or woman who went around and poured gas into people's homes, which made them ill, but wasn't fatal. Nobody has any explanation for why this person did it.

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suede67
01-10-2008

Rated 0 
I don't really understand the meaning, but nonetheless, it's a classic!

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dengeist
10-05-2007

Rated 0 
I always took it to mean, that you can have a rough life, but there are points where it's really good.

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hemlockroad
03-30-2007

Rated 0 
My fave version of this song is on "Rock & Roll Circus" film...Mick looks sooo cool and hip while performing this song...I think this was the first time they unveiled the song to the public...Keith once said that this song saved their career from turning into The BeatLESS parody...it's a great song no matter what it's about...The Stones FOREVER...fuck the BeatLESS!!

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Dan Da Man
01-28-2007

Rated 0 
I guess that proves that songs can mean whatever you want them to. Right on for picking your own meaning of it, man.

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farmer44
01-24-2007

Rated 0 
Actually, the tune is about flatulence. That's what Jumpin Jack Flash is. "Its a gas gas gas" and "crossfire huricane" really bright the truth about it home. "Howled at my ma"- wow, here he's saying he bent over & ripped one at his mother. Pretty wacky. He's happy about finally getting the relief he needs from the intestinal build-up that has been bothering him.

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Dan Da Man
01-13-2007

Rated 0 
The cover of this song on EBA and the original have very different moods. While EBA's is fast and upbeat, the original is decidedly slower. Much slower.

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Friscom99
01-07-2007

Rated 0 
This song is on Elite Beat Agents for the NIntendo DS =P this song kicks butt! and I dont think there is big meaning, its just an upbeat song that just makes anything fun

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sound the horns
12-21-2006

Rated 0 
its about all the pain and suffering he went through...but hes sayings "its all right now" because it made him a betterperson in the end

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stuffit
12-08-2006

Rated 0 
Look (giggle) most musicians are cool with people getting 'their own thing' from a song they wrote. Hell most musicians, ESPECIALLY in the 60's people, are still trying to figure out what they meant themselves. It's a polysemic world baby. Don't know the word? Look it up.

As for my two cents, this song is DEFINITLEY about a drug of some sort. It's was probably aslo inspired in part by a bloody gardiner. Maybe they thought it was cool to incorporate some christianity in their as well.

Looking for ONE meaning only? There are a million orthodox religions out there waiting to serve you one on a platter. As for me, life is ambiguous. Rock on - it's a gas gas gas baby.

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Vizzue
11-04-2006

Rated 0 
I really hope it's not about heroin. I think it's pretty inspirational, actually. If I'm feeling kind of angry, or stuff isn't going my way, I'll put this on, and it kind of gets me fired up. The whole theme is sort of, in my opinion, about a guy who gets through all these obstacles, but it doesn't bother him, but "it's a gas." Awesome song.

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Mojo Working
08-01-2006

Rated 0 
I don't really see the 'Gardner Thing'.

Quite right hipshot, "I was born in a crossfire hurricane" refers to Micks birthplace, Dartford Kent during the height of the blitz. "Dartford was very much in the front line during the Second World War. The town and surrounding countryside was a target for air raids by German bombers. German planes which could not reach central London often deposited their bomb loads on Dartford before returning home. Local armaments factories were also a target for bombers.

Unmanned flying bombs aimed at London sometimes fell short of their intended target and landed in and around the borough. Over 13,000 houses in the Dartford area were damaged as a result of the bombing. The number of bombs recorded by local ARP officials included 6,000 high explosive bombs, twenty-three land mines, 200 oil bombs, seventy-three phosphorous bombs and an estimated 200,000 incendiary bombs. 150 local people were killed in the air raids and another 700 injured." read more at http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/20th_century/military_ww2.shtml

The whole song is a prett strait forward autobiograhy in my opinion, I'm not sure if "I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag" refers to his mother or a school teacher but corporal punishment at home and school was very common until the 80's explaining "I was schooled with a strap right across my back".

The 60s for Micks generation created an escape from the misery of the post war years and a liberation from the rules and views of their parents generation, thats why mick sings with such conviction even to this day, "But it's all right now, in fact it's a gas
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash
It's a gas, gas, gas"

I think the best version of this has to be seen as well as heard on the Voodoo Lounge Video. You can really see how much it means to Ron Wood to also be a Rolling Stone.

p.s. if anybody wants more great Rolling Stone info visit http://www.keno.org/

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Zoltan Pandemonium
07-29-2006

Rated 0 
I definitely believe that this song could have been inspired by a gardner, at least if his name was Jumpin' Jack. If they'd been up all night maybe they already had the "crossfire hurricane" line or something about their own youth and didn't really know where to go with it and they just thought; that's a cool name...
Awesome song!
Happy Birthday Mick!

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green_heaven
07-25-2006

Rated 0 
doesnt this song just wanna make you pick up a guitar and wear tose big fly like goggles , paint your face, and go crazy!!! OH YEAH :P

btw HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE JAGGER FOR TOMORROW... hes 63.... "what a drag it is getting old???"

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alfiebaby
05-20-2006

Rated 0 
Spikes through the head sounds like Jesus

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heyjude55
05-14-2006

Rated 0 
awesome song. the lyrics are somewhat confusing but the music rocks, so this hit is great

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heyjude55
04-28-2006

Rated 0 
in fact it's a gas
cool!

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hipshot
01-20-2006

Rated 0 
From a British perspective, the stuff about the gardener may be true, but also Jagger Richards were born during the Luftwaffes Blitz of London with incendiary bombs which caused firestorms (Crossfire hurricane) and a common mythical figure in 20th century britain was 'spring healed Jack', a kind of imp or devil that used to jump from roof to roof (like the US bogeyman. My interpretation of the song is its an amalgam of different meanings, but mostly about the 60s generation having a gas after the austerity of 40s & 50s London.

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Burtonite
12-30-2005

Rated 0 
The motorhead cover is exellent

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Big Worm
12-20-2005

Rated 0 
Gas = meaning:

That song was a real gas! means it was wild etc etc.

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1730DTLA
09-18-2005

Rated 0 
I'm an artist and I've pulled a few fat ones off in my time quite by accident. So I can accept that the most mundane crap can be stuck together to make an accidental hit at times, but "Gardener"?

The hurricane and howling at a mom all day doesn't say, "lawnmower man" to me. Sorry. Unless Lucifer did their lawn? Maybe that was it! Was the B-Side to this single, "Satan Is My Grounds Keeper"? In fact, I could stomach the lot of them shooting up heroin with Legion before I could take "Gardener". "Getting High With Satan" was probably the track's original name, based on what I hear about Keith Richards and his outworldly drug repertoire at that time. I've been told Keith did more drugs than there WERE in the 60s.

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