Has anyone ever noticed how similar the story board of Jumping Jack Flash is to the story of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection,(sic) - albeit literarily a bit tenuous until this line "I was crowned with a spike right thru my head." - nevertheless the basic structures of both stories are same throughout..
bit ironic that considering how much stick they got for their supposed bedevilment in the 60's......unless of course this was an exercise in theological cynicism ??

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 ....

just to avoid confusion....I'm not a religious type.....just know some of the stories...Eddie



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-08 04:19 by EddieByword.

Might be opening up a can of worms here, but yeah, I see what you're saying.

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Edith Grove
Might be opening up a can of worms here, but yeah, I see what you're saying.

Yeah I can see that although that's definitely not the purpose of the thread....it genuinely did strike me..."Hang on a minute ....that's the Jesus story"...I started to wonder about the dynamic that brought the lyrics about...(I understand American schools are quite secular but in England......)..the Jesus thing is pushed in from the age of about four... I figured it must have just churned around in Mick until it blew back out in the form of JJF.......I just wondered if anyone else had noticed and if anyone had a different take on it..............(I did hear once that there are only 9 stories in the whole world and every story you'll ever hear is based on one of them......having said that as I don't even know the 9 stories so I've got no way of verifying the accuracy of that premise...that was something I thought a slightly interesting idea that I just heard someone say in passing)....

"Well I hope we're not too Messianic or a trifle too Satanic, but we love to play the blues" pretty much sums it up for me.

Yes, I noticed it many years ago. Not just the line "I was crowned with a spike right thru my head", but the line "I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled".

Rob

Well, they had just emerged from a period of legal persecution and musical confusion. It sort of somes up where they'd been and now they we're busting through to something new.

Never noticed that, but DID notice how scary Mick looks in the JJF video...So that would make it more the opposite. I agree that they were probably talking about their legal persecutions, like 24FPS says. They don't seem to be followers of christianity in any way, shape, or form to me.

.....Maybe Jumpin' Jack the gardener learnt his trade in The Garden of Eden .....



ROCKMAN

... and how would the cross-fire hurricane and the toothless bearded hag fit in ?

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dead.flowers
... and how would the cross-fire hurricane and the toothless bearded hag fit in ?

The song may have been influenced by other things.

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dead.flowers
... and how would the cross-fire hurricane and the toothless bearded hag fit in ?

Well, as I said in my original post >>>>>>>>>>>>>albeit literarily a bit tenuous until this line "I was crowned with a spike right thru my head." - nevertheless the basic structures of both stories are same throughout..<<<<<<<<<<<<<< ......but....everyone assumes his mother was a pretty little thing but if you think about it...I bet dentistry wasn't up to much then....lol < I don't suppose many had teeth like these............



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-08 13:14 by EddieByword.

the hero archetype doesn't vary that much ... which is why it's called an archetype

... left for dead ...
... crowned with the spikes right through my head ...

These two lines, OK.
(They look intended as a provocation, dressed in blasphemy. Typical Stones attitude at that time, btw.)

But else I don't see further parallels to the story of Jesus in that song.

In the annual Nativity play at school, I don't remember Mary being played as a toothless bearded hag, this is maybe the version that fits the new school curriculum of inclusivity...

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Stargroves
In the annual Nativity play at school, I don't remember Mary being played as a toothless bearded hag, this is maybe the version that fits the new school curriculum of inclusivity...

Yeah, that's right....let the pimply girl with braces have a go...................



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-08 14:38 by EddieByword.

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His Majesty

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dead.flowers
... and how would the cross-fire hurricane and the toothless bearded hag fit in ?

The song may have been influenced by other things.

Yeah, a rhyming dictionary for example

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EddieByword

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Stargroves
In the annual Nativity play at school, I don't remember Mary being played as a toothless bearded hag, this is maybe the version that fits the new school curriculum of inclusivity...

Yeah, that's right....let the pimply girl with braces have a go...................

No, that was me Eddie and I got to play the donkey

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dead.flowers
... left for dead ...
... crowned with the spikes right through my head ...

These two lines, OK.
(They look intended as a provocation, dressed in blasphemy. Typical Stones attitude at that time, btw.)

But else I don't see further parallels to the story of Jesus in that song.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>They look intended as a provocation, dressed in blasphemy.<<<<<<<<<<<<<< yeah..could be ...also as I said in my original post...>>>>>>>>>>>>unless of course this was an exercise in theological cynicism ?? <<<<<<<<<<<<<<....I guess the basic similarity is they're both stories of a triumph over adversity...which I also guess most people like....(Hence the popularity of both stories (Not to mention the great riff...)).......linked in my mind through the "Crown of thorns" parallel of "Crowned with a spike..etc..etc.."



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-08 15:12 by EddieByword.

You'll never make a saint of these guys...

I assumed the crossfire hurricane was World War II. I think the whole point of the song is surviving.

Only if you want it to. I'm sure you could do that with Midnight Rambler or Street Fighting Man or Gimme Shelter or Brown Sugar too.

Of course, it matters zero.

Maybe they were influenced by the Beatles/Lennon's "BALLAD OF JOHN AND YOKO" ("Christ you know it ain't easy/you know how hard it can be/the way things are going/they're gonna crucify me).... Stranger Things Have Happened..... spooky....

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Rocky Dijon
I assumed the crossfire hurricane was World War II. I think the whole point of the song is surviving.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>I assumed the crossfire hurricane was World War II.<<<<<<<<<<<<<< .. Oh yeah, of course...........and the length of the Thames into London including Dartford really was the eye-wall for a long time.......



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-08 19:44 by EddieByword.

...JJF probably won't enter the praise song repertoire. but it would be cool if it did

it does have that little bit of grace in the lyrics...

Very interesting interpretation. I think some of it is spot on! Mick pulls from a lot of literary works so why not the Bible??

Actually the toothless beaded hag and 'schooled with a strap right accross my back" fit in the Jesus reading very well, if you see them as metaphors of Israel dominated by the Roman Empire and thus powerless (toothless) and of the priests that taught in the Synagogues who tried to put an end to Jesus' ministry...

I think this reading works through and through! And indeed with the two obvious references of bleeding feet and crowns of thorns, it's difficult to think it was not intentional, although of course that doesn't make JJF a religious song. Religious ideology always provided a wealth of inspiration for profane works and the Jesus story is, all questions of faith set aside, a powerful one!

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otonneau
Actually the toothless beaded hag and 'schooled with a strap right accross my back" fit in the Jesus reading very well, if you see them as metaphors of Israel dominated by the Roman Empire and thus powerless (toothless) and of the priests that taught in the Synagogues who tried to put an end to Jesus' ministry...

I think this reading works through and through! And indeed with the two obvious references of bleeding feet and crowns of thorns, it's difficult to think it was not intentional, although of course that doesn't make JJF a religious song. Religious ideology always provided a wealth of inspiration for profane works and the Jesus story is, all questions of faith set aside, a powerful one!

I have to admit I hadn't thought of those metaphors....sounds like a very eloquently put QED to me......

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Munichhilton
You'll never make a saint of these guys...

Sadly, true! If they can't handle being persecuted for doing bad, what would happen if they were persecuted for doing good?

I never knew what this song was about, really, even tho it's my favorite Stones song. But now it seems much clearer. I thought Keith or Mick were bemoaning their childhood, but I think it was also about their perceived persecutions with the drug busts, too, which they came thru, so then it was "a gas, gas, gas"! lol

So I think you're right, EddieByWord, that it is "theological cynicism". Very interesting and thought-provoking ideas...

Funny you should mention this as I was noticing the similarities between Short and Curlies and the complete works of Shakespeare. Isn't the line 'She's got you by the balls' from Romeo and Juliet?

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Captain Teague
Funny you should mention this as I was noticing the similarities between Short and Curlies and the complete works of Shakespeare. Isn't the line 'She's got you by the balls' from Romeo and Juliet?

I wouldn't know - although get the joke - but courtesy of Greenlady's knowledge ..who posted the following on another thread today...a verse from Blinded by love is almost certainly lifted straight from Antony & Cleopatra........

The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne,
Burnt on the water. The poop was beaten gold,
Purple the sails, and so perfumèd that
The winds were love-sick with them;
William Shakespeare, Antony And Cleopatra Act 2, scene 2

The queen of the Nile, she laid on her throne
And she was drifting downstream on a barge that was burnished with gold
Royal purple the sails, so sweetly perfumed
And poor Mark Antony's senses were drowned and his future was doomed
Michael Philip Jagger, Blinded By Love



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2011-02-09 23:23 by EddieByword.