"Jailhouse Rock" lyrics

"Jailhouse Rock"

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

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

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

Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancing 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"

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

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"

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

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."

Let's rock, everybody, let's rock
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was 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
Dancing to the Jailhouse Rock


Thanks to William Tarnstrom, Peter Moller for correcting these lyrics.
Writer(s): Mike Stoller, Jerry Leiber
This song was released as a single, accompanying the release of Elvis Presley's motion picture, "Jailhouse Rock", on the 24th of September 1957.
The film was originally titled "Ghost of a Chance", but eventually got its name from this song because it became apparent after recording that it would be a hit.
"The Purple Gang" from these lyrics is a reference to the Sugar House Gang, a group of bootleggers and hijackers, which operated out of Detroit, Michigan, in the 1920s.
Ben "Bugsy" Siegel is mentioned in this song as "Bugs". He was one of the gangsters in Las Vegas in the 1920s.
Mike Stoller, one of the co-writers of this song, played piano on this track.
This single topped the US pop, country and R&B charts. It also entered the UK charts at number one. To commemorate Elvis Presley's 70th birthday, his record label re-released this song in the UK in 2005, and it went straight to number one, making it the oldest recording ever to top the UK charts.
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