Ballin' The Jack

"Ballin' the Jack"
Sheet music cover, 1913
Song
Published	1913
Writer(s)	Composer: Chris Smith Lyricist: Jim Burris

"Ballin' the Jack" (sometimes misspelled "Balling the Jack") is a popular song from 1913, written by Jim Burris with music by Chris Smith. It introduced a popular dance of the same name with "Folks in Georgia's 'bout to go insane." It became a ragtime, pop, and trad jazz standard, and has been recorded hundreds of times by many prominent artists. Around the same time the song came out, the expression "ballin' the jack" was used by railroad workers to mean "going at full speed." It is not clear whether the dance or railroad reference came first.

The song and dance were performed in For Me and My Gal, the 1942 movie starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly. It was also performed by Danny Kaye in the 1951 movie On the Riviera, and Dean Martin in the 1951 movie That's My Boy. It also featured as the After Dinner song sung in the mock-horror 1986 movie Haunted Honeymoon performed by Gilda Radner and Dom DeLuise. Jimmy Jewel playing Cannonball Lee performed the song in the 1990 film The Krays.

The lyrics describe the dance:

First you put your two knees close up tight
Then you sway 'em to the left, then you sway 'em to the right
Step around the floor kind of nice and light
Then you twis' around and twis' around with all your might
Stretch your lovin' arms straight out in space
Then do the Eagle Rock with style and grace
Swing your foot way 'round then bring it back
Now that's what I call "Ballin' the Jack."