jumping jack flash

Miledgol · Post by **Miledgol** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 5:28 pm

Hello, everyone!
Could anyone help me with the phrase "jumping jack flash"? It's the title of the famous song of the Rolling Stones. For years my husband (who is the admirer of the Stones & continously works on translations of the lyrics into Russian & researches about the band's LPs, etc.) has been searching for a suitable translation of the above mentioned phrase. Different sources give different variants of explanations but no unanimous result. Can someone explain what exactly the whole phrase means, not separate words? It's very desirable to hear from someone who has listened to the song.

Thanks in advance

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 6:59 pm

The whole phrase means the same as the sum of its constituent parts. There is no special meaning.

sita · Post by **sita** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 9:46 pm

ZThe stones

The pretext for change came with student riots.When generational frustrations finally exploded in May 1968, Jagger, making use of his experience as public meddler and bringing the language of the working classes up to date, didn't hesitate to join in. It was the year of Jumping Jack Flash (May) - their first try in the field of belligerent anthems - and of Beggar's Banquet (Decca, 1968), the bluesiest, most socially oriented album of their career.

siân

Miledgol · Post by **Miledgol** » Fri Jan 23, 2004 5:31 pm

Thank you for music information, but unfortunately it doesn't help much with translating

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 11:21 am

I can vaguely remember that back sometime in the 1970's there was an extreemly dangerous firework called "a Jumping Jack". It was designed as is name suggests to jump around in a random manner on the ground.

It was later quite rightly banned.

I don't know if the firework came before or after the song, but I suspect that they are connected.

Andrew Patterson.

Peter · Post by **Peter** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 10:18 am

I suspect that Andrew is on the right line. A 'jumping jack' was indeed a firework that was thrown onto the ground and as each coil exploded jumped, giving off bright flashes of light as it did so. The movement of the firework was completely random, uncontrolled. 'Flash' is also a derogatory term for a person (man) who exhibits 'loud' or otherwise uncouth behaviour, is street-wise, a somewhat dodgy geezer.

The line was 'jumping jack flash it's a gas, gas ,gas!'

I suspect that Mr. Jagger was simply looking for an image - noise, light, randomness, uncontrolled power, exuberance. 'It's a gas, man' - it's fun!

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Wed Feb 18, 2004 4:13 pm

I think closer would be the occasional use of the term Jack Flash as refering to the drug Heroin.

One source:

I may have my facts mixed up, but if what I've heard is correct, "Jumpin' Jack Flash" is actually a term used by junkies to describe a method of shooting up speedball (a mixture of cocaine and heroin) into one's tear ducts. . . . It seems to me that the song is saying, "Hey, my life sucks, but when I'm high it's all good!" At least that's my interpretation, not that I think Mick and Keith were anything less than saints in their youth. --Lindsay Hayden, Madison, Wisconsin

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a960816.html

How the He** is your husband going to translate that?

sita · Post by **sita** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 9:20 am

Hiya!

That sounds like an urban myth LOL

Why should a junky inject anything into his/her tear ducts???

Cocaine numbs....

I would go for the firework version.

Best wishes
Siân

Andrew Patterson · Post by **Andrew Patterson** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 1:16 pm

My guess is that the firework was invented after the song. I've found out that the song was relieced on May 24 1968. Certainly, the song has no allusions to fireworks:

The Rolling Stones
Jumping Jack Flash

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 I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru 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!

Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash

Another possibility that spring to mind is that it might have sth to do with Harry Flashman who appeared in Tom Hughes' 1857 novel, Tom Brown's Schooldays and later spurned a series of novel by George MacDonald Fraser.

Andrew Patterson

Peter · Post by **Peter** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 5:36 pm

Sorry - but I remember the jumping jack long before The Stones released their song. I'm about the same age as Sir Mick, so it is very likely that he would have been aware of the firework - and would certainly have let them off on Novenber 5th.

sita · Post by **sita** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 6:09 pm

Hi Peter!

Thank you so much!

That members of the band took drugs is a fact.

No druggie would inject his/her tear ducts LOL

Best wishes

Siân

Miledgol · Post by **Miledgol** » Thu Feb 19, 2004 6:57 pm

First, thanks to all who replied to my question (special thanks to metal56 for the link). The question was raised not because we (my husband & me) wanted by all means to figure out the meaning of the 'jumping jack flash'. And not because we needed some details about the Stones (this information is available on the net & not only). When you try to render the meaning of this or that in a different language, i.e. translate, the thing of excess importance is how the native speakers percept the original.
Several years ago I happened to ask an American woman the same question. She said she didn't understand anything in their songs. It was all Greek to her. But the negative result is nevertheless valuable. It was clear that the song speaks not to all categories of people, their educational & social position is to be regarded. That means that the translation should be addressed & be clear not to everyone. either. While translating we don't translate words, we translate notions.
As James Hector put it in his book referring to Richards' & Jagger's own words -- actually, not the text but listeners fill a song with its true sense.
Thus, it's curious to learn how YOU understand the phrase 'under study'.
Best wishes to everyone
Thanks again

Peter · Post by **Peter** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:05 am

An interesting point.

By reduction, then, translation is unnecessary - since each listener will impose their own meaning on the lyrics!

sita · Post by **sita** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:46 am

Hi!

I would disagree with that. The American woman obviously had no clue about the group, the time the song was written and not the foggiest notion about Britain.

She may have interpreted it as a song for aerobic jumping up and down...

ROFL

Just my 2 cents

Siân

Miledgol · Post by **Miledgol** » Fri Feb 20, 2004 10:38 pm

2 sita:By the way in Russian we say 'my five copics'

The last post only proves the idea of understanding & translation. One can argue a lot, but if everyone understood this or that phrase completely in their own way, the communicative message of the language would vanish. Am I not right?

Nevertheless there are 'some' common root ideas which make people comprehend each other by the means of the language. I.e., you can have in your mind several ideas while reading 'big fish'. What I mean is direct & indirect meanings. But all the same we inevitably imagine 'fish', not bird or kangaroo exactly (although by these words we can mean an important or powerful person in a group or organization (Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms). What I wanted to state by all this wordy story is that every word in the language has some sort of unique meaning notwithstanding the allusions of any personal comprehension. All the rest is shades, hues, etc.
Sorry if I sounded too academic

or dull
Best wishes