

People believe that “Jack” came from the name “Yellow Jack” and the song was the Yellow Fever itself. The lit candle placed close to the person’s bed was believed to draw the infection out. To get rid of the fever, which is one of the symptoms of the disease one should light a fire in the room of the ill person. During the time where this disease was common, its treatment was mostly based on superstition and presumptions. While the story of Black Jack and the candle leaping tradition are convincing origins of “Jack Be Nimble,” some people associate it to Yellow Fever, an acute viral hemorrhagic disease also known as Yellow Jack. In the song, there’s a line that says, “Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick.” This line suggests that one has to be nimble like Jack to achieve good luck and success in life. It was said to bring good luck and success to the player’s life. The player should jump over the candlestick without extinguishing or smothering the flame. Candle leaping was a traditional sport in England which was done by jumping over a candlestick. Apparently, the Jack in the song portrays Black Jack, the pirate who was always “nimble.”Īnother way to interpret the meaning of the song is in terms of the English tradition associated with it called ‘candle leaping’. He was one of the most popular pirates in the Caribbean because of his ability to always escape from authorities. Black Jack lived in Jamaica and was a very quick and smart pirate. The song is believed to be inspired by an English pirate named Black Jack Smatt. Jack Be Nimble has always been an interesting nursery song, not only for kids but also for adults because of its historical origin. It was one of the kids’ songs to complete James Orchard Halliwell’s English Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales collection which was published in the mid-nineteenth century. This traditional nursery song has been popular since 1815 when it was published in an old manuscript.

Jack Be Nimble is a famous English kids’ song which is often used as a skipping rhyme. Wabash Cannonball Guitar Chords Sing-a-long Video for ‘Wabash Cannonball’Ĭheck out this awesome video for ‘Wabash Cannonball’ from vintagemusictv on YouTube. This site features many tools to make learning and playing the guitar fun, including an auto-scroll tool for hands-free guitar chords/lyrics advancing, and a transpose tool in case the music isn’t in the right key for your voice. has guitar chords for ‘Wabash Cannonball’. Wabash Cannonball for Beginner Piano Solo
#Lyrics jack be nimble jack be quick rock song pdf#
The arrangement is available to print in PDF format.

There’s an mp3 on the site that piano students can listen to as they practice this piece. Here’s an awesome arrangement of ‘Wabash Cannonball’ for beginner piano solo. The most famous renditions were the ones from Roy Acuff, Bing Crosby, and Johnny Cash. Over the years, there have been many versions of the song, but they all retain more or less the same chorus. The song is considered to be the oldest in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Roff, to whom the song has been historically credited.

Don't you wait, or hesitate, or take too long, or someone will take your place!The American folk song popularly known as Wabash Cannonball was originally written as The Great Rock Island Route on the earliest sheet music found for the song which was composed by J.A. If you're plannin' on makin' a move, and giving your heart away. And love that was lost can be found again. But, in your heart you've just got to believe that what went away can come someday, and walk back in. 'Cause while you're fumblin' with somethin' to say, another fellow steps in and takes her away. When you see her passing by, boy, you better let her know that she's caught your eye. And I've never seen a little boy do such a trick.
