Jailhouse Rock
The Teenagers & Frankie Lymon Lyrics
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The prison band was there and they began to wail.
The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing.
You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing.
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.
Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone.
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang,
The whole rhythm section was the purple gang.
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.
Number forty-seven said to number three:
You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
I sure would be delighted with your company,
Come on and do the jailhouse rock with me.
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.
The sad sack was a sittin' on a block of stone
Way over in the corner weepin' all alone.
The warden said, hey, buddy, don't you be no square.
If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair.
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.
Shifty Henry said to bugs, for heavens sake,
No ones lookin', now's our chance to make a break.
Bugsy turned to shifty and he said, nix nix,
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks.
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.
The Teenagers & Frankie Lymon's song Jailhouse Rock is a lively and upbeat song that talks about prisoners who are having a great time in jail. The warden throws a party and invites the prison band, causing the band to start playing and the prisoners to begin singing and dancing along. The lyrics describe the different instruments in the band, such as Spider Murphy playing the tenor saxophone and Little Joe playing the slide trombone. The song also includes a love interest, as Number forty-seven tells Number three that she is the cutest jailbird he has ever seen, and asks her to dance the jailhouse rock with him. In the end, even the sad sack in the corner is encouraged to dance with a wooden chair, and Shifty Henry and Bugsy contemplate making a break for it but decide to stick around and have some fun.
Line by Line Meaning
The warden threw a party in the county jail.
The prison warden organized a celebration inside the prison
The prison band was there and they began to wail.
The jail's musical band was playing loud music
The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing.
The band's music was so good that the whole place was moving with joy
You should've heard those knocked out jailbirds sing.
Everyone could hear the prisoners singing perfectly
Lets rock, everybody, lets rock.
Rock and roll music is on, and everyone is invited to dance
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone,
One of the band members played the tenor saxophone with the name Spider Murphy
Little Joe was blowin' on the slide trombone.
Another member was playing the slide trombone with the name Little Joe
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang,
The percussionist was making loud sounds with his drums
The whole rhythm section was the purple gang.
The entire group of musicians were called the purple gang
Number forty-seven said to number three:
A prisoner addressed another prisoner by their numbers since that's how they were identified
You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see.
The former prisoner appreciates the appearance of another prisoner
I sure would be delighted with your company,
The previous prisoner would be very happy to have the other prisoner's company
Come on and do the jailhouse rock with me.
Let's both dance together
The sad sack was a sittin' on a block of stone
A depressed prisoner was sitting on a rock
Way over in the corner weepin' all alone.
The prisoner was crying in solitude, far away from everyone else
The warden said, hey, buddy, don't you be no square.
The warden encouraged the prisoner to join the rest of the inmates and be social
If you can't find a partner use a wooden chair.
The warden suggested that the prisoner use a wooden chair as their dance partner
Shifty Henry said to bugs, for heavens sake,
Shifty Henry begged Bugs to take advantage of the moment
No ones lookin', now's our chance to make a break.
Since no one was watching this was the perfect moment to escape
Bugsy turned to shifty and he said, nix nix,
Bugsy declined Shifty's offer to escape
I wanna stick around a while and get my kicks.
Bugsy preferred to stay and have fun with the dancing and music
Everybody in the whole cell block Was dancin' to the jailhouse rock.
All prisoners were dancing to the music in the jailhouse
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind