Jailhouse Rock

Track 5 on If I Can Dream: The Very Best of Elvis

Producer

“Jailhouse Rock” is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was released as a 45rpm single on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the release of… Read More

Sep. 24, 19571 viewer348.1K views

Jailhouse Rock Lyrics

[Verse 1]
The warden threw a party in the county jail
The prison band was there, they began to wail
The band was jumping, and the joint began to swing
You shoulda heard those locked-out jailbirds sing

[Chorus]
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock

[Verse 2]
Spider Murphy played the tenor saxophone
Little Joe was blowing on the slide trombone
The drummer boy from Illinois went crash, boom, bang
The whole rhythm section was the Purple Gang

[Chorus]
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock

[Verse 3]
Number forty-seven said to number three
"You the cutest jailbird I ever did see
I sure would be delighted with your company
Come on and do the Jailhouse Rock with me"

[Chorus]
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Rock, rock, rock

[Guitar Solo]

[Verse 4]
Sad Sack was sitting on a block of stone
Way over in the corner weeping all alone
The warden said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square
You can't find a partner, use a wooden chair"

[Chorus]
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock

[Verse 5]
Shifty Henry said to Bugs, "For Heaven's sake
No one's looking, 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."

[Chorus]
Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancing to the Jailhouse Rock

[Outro]
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock

Embed

About

Genius Annotation

“Jailhouse Rock” is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was released as a 45rpm single on September 24, 1957, to coincide with the release of Presley’s motion picture, Jailhouse Rock.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Elvis Presley say about "Jailhouse Rock"?

Genius Answer

Mike Stoller told Mojo in 2009:

We flew into New York from L.A., and we had a hotel suite. We had a piano put in, in case the muse struck us, and Jean Aberbach … handed us a script for a movie. We threw it in the corner with the tourist magazines that you get in hotels. We were having a ball in New York, going to the theater, going to jazz clubs to hear Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, doing a lot of drinking. On a Saturday morning … Jean knocked on the door and said in a very Viennese accent, ‘Vell boys, you vill haf my songs for the movie.’ Jerry said, ‘Don’t worry, Jean, you’ll have them. Jean said, 'I know,’ and he pushed a big chair in front of the door and said, ‘I’m going to take a nap and I’m not leaving until you have my songs.’ So we wrote four songs in about five hours and then were free to go out.

why did Elvis write this song?

Genius Answer

He did not write it. See details below.

How did this song come about,. Did Elvis write it?

Genius Answer

Please read the song bio and look below for the songwriters!

What inspired Elvis to write such a good song.

Who produced “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley?

When did Elvis Presley release “Jailhouse Rock”?

Who wrote “Jailhouse Rock” by Elvis Presley?