The title of the 2nd track on Morrissey's fourth studio album, Vauxhall and I, was almost certainly based upon 'Spring-heeled Jack', an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over Great Britain and were especially prevalent in suburban London, the Midlands and Scotland. The last reported sighting is said in most of the secondary literature to have been made in Liverpool in 1904.
There are many theories about the nature and identity of Spring-heeled Jack. This urban legend was very popular in its time due to the tales of his bizarre appearance and ability to make extraordinary leaps, to the point that he became the topic of several works of fiction. Spring-heeled Jack was widely considered not to be a supernatural creature, but rather one or more persons with a macabre sense of humor. This idea matches the contents of a letter, which accused a group of young aristocrats as the culprits after an irresponsible wager. A popular rumor circulating as early as 1840 pointed to an Irish nobleman, the Marquess of Waterford1, as the main suspect.
It is suggested this may have been due to the Marquess having previously had bad experiences with women and police officers.
Morrissey's song contains bits of dialogue from We Are the Lambeth Boys, a 1959 documentary by Karel Reisz about the daily activities of members of the Alford House Youth Club, Lambeth (incidentally, only about two blocks away from Vauxhall street!) in late 1950s London.
These young men are a gang of young south London teddy boys who seek to dispel the perception that they’re violent and delinquent youths. The dialogue excerpted from the documentary is from two conversations; one about a fight between two groups of young men, and another about the abolition of the death penalty. These snippets of dialogue pop up in the track until its last seconds, finishing with “…and they catch ‘im and they say ‘e’s mental”.
Morrissey's special (and enduring) affinity for British cinema is well known given its presence in his work as well as that of the Smiths. Morrissey's use of dialogue from We Are the Lambeth Boys in particular seamlessly fits this paradigm. The film displays the 'us-against-them' gang mentality that Morrissey instilled in the Smiths. And there are the rock ‘n roll reference points; the haircuts, the clothes, the attitudes, and the good-looking male protagonists. Not to put too fine a point on the matter, but virtually any still from We Are the Lambeth Boys could have been used as Smiths album cover art. You can watch the documentary for free here: https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-we-are-the-lambeth-boys-1959-online
‘Spring-Heeled Jim’ was written at the beginning of the recording sessions for the Vauxhall & I studio album, which took place between June and August 1993 at Hook End Manor. The song was recorded with producer Steve Lillywhite. Morrissey’s musicians on the song consisted of Boz Boorer (guitar), Alain Whyte (guitar), Jonny Bridgwood (bass) and Woodie Taylor (drums)2.
Musically, ‘Spring-Heeled Jim’ begins with the sound of foreboding with its heavy bass followed by discordant guitar coupled with the aforementioned snippets of dialogue from We Are the Lambeth Boys…collectively, this mixture envelopes the listener in a not necessarily unpleasant feeling of unease, which pairs quite well with the songs lyrics. Morrissey sings of a ne'er-do-well womanizer whose life passes away in an endless blur of short-lived romantic liaisons. While seemingly reveling in a life of pleasure, the subject eventually finds himself old, tired, and alone. Indeed, like Jim, the listener can almost feel “the chill” as the song closes.
Spring-heeled Jim winks an eye
He'll "do", he'll never be "done to"
He takes on whoever flew through
"Well, it's the normal thing to do"
Spring-heeled Jim lives to love
Now kissing with his mouth full
And his eyes on some other fool
So many women his head should be spinning
Ah, but no!
Ah, but no!
Ah, no!
Ah, no!
Spring-heeled Jim slurs the words:
"There's no need to be so knowing
Take life at five times your average speed, like I do"
Until Jim feels the chill
"Oh, where did all the time go?"
Once always in for the kill
Now it's too cold and he feels too
Old, too old
Old...
Listen to ‘Spring-Heeled Jim’ here:
Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford, KP (1811 – 1859), styled Lord Henry Beresford before 1824 and Earl of Tyrone between 1824 and 1826, was an Irish peer. Referred to as the "Mad Marquis", he is also remembered as an eccentric.
‘Painting The Town Red’
In the early hours of April 6, 1837, Beresford and his friends arrived in Melton Mowbray (a town located in Leicestershire, England) at the Thorpe End tollgate. They had been drinking heavily all day at Croxton races, and understandably the toll keeper asked to be paid before he opened the gate for the rowdy group of drunken men. Some repairs were underway near the tollgate, with ladders, brushes and pots of red paint lying nearby. Instead of paying the toll, Beresford and his friends attacked the toll keeper, painting him and a constable who intervened red. They then nailed up the door of the tollhouse and painted that red before moving into the town carrying the stolen equipment.
Beresford and his friends rampaged throughout the town, painting doors as they passed, pulling on door knockers and knocking over flower pots. At the Red Lion (now part of the Harboro Hotel), they pulled down the sign and threw it into the canal. At the Old Swan Inn Beresford was hoisted onto the shoulder of another man to paint the carved swan inn sign there red (in 1988, when the old Swan Porch fell down, traces of red paint were found on the back of the carved swan when it was removed for restoration). They also vandalized the Post Office and the Leicestershire Bank before trying to overturn a caravan in which a man was fast asleep.
Solitary policemen tried to intervene at times, but were assaulted and painted red for their efforts. Eventually, police reinforcements arrived in numbers and seized one of the men, Edward Raynard, who was incarcerated in the local jail. Beresford and his gang went to the jail and rescued Raynard, beating two constables and threatening to kill them if they did not produce the key to Raynard’s cell.
The following day Beresford finally sobered up, paying for all the damage to people and property. Nevertheless the group were still brought to trial before the Derby Assize Court in July 1838. According to one account, Beresford appeared before the magistrate clad in bear furs. They were found not guilty of riot, but were fined £100 each for common assault, which was a considerable sum of money then. Following the incident, the phrase "paint the town red"
Beresford’s Connection to Spring-Heeled Jack
As early as the 1830’s there were rumors that Beresford was the main suspect behind the "Spring-Heeled Jack" phenomenon. However, as that character's acts continued after the Marquess’ death in 1859, Beresford cannot be solely responsible.
That Beresford had some role has been accepted by several modern authors, who suggest that a humiliating experience with a woman and a police officer could have given him the idea of creating the character as a way of "getting even" with police and women in general.
It is speculated that Beresford could have designed (with the help of friends who were experts in applied mechanics) some sort of apparatus for special spring-heeled boots, and that he may have practiced fire-spitting techniques in order to increase the unnatural appearance of his character. They also note the embroidered coat of arms with a "W" letter observed during one sighting of Spring-Heeled Jack, which is significant given the territorial designation of the Marquess’ title (Marquess of Waterford).
Beresford was frequently in the news in the late 1830’s for drunken brawling, brutal jokes and vandalism, and was said to do anything for a bet; his irregular behavior and his contempt for women earned him the aforementioned moniker "the Mad Marquess". It is also known that he was present in the London area at the time the first Spring-Heeled Jack incidents took place. An 1838 news report referred to "that turbulent piece of aristocracy" and his "nocturnal vagaries in the neighbourhood of Melton", adding that his "name in many quarters is regarded with as much terror as that of Spring-heeled Jack himself".
In 1880 (many years after Beresford’s death), he was identified as being Spring-Heeled Jack by an alleged eyewitness, the Reverend E. C. Brewer, who attested that Beresford "used to amuse himself by springing on travellers unawares, to frighten them, and from time to time others have followed his silly example".
In 1842 the Marquess married and relocated to Ireland, where he reportedly led an exemplary life until he died in a horse-riding accident in 1859.
Spring-Heeled Jack sightings continued to occur for decades after Beresford’s death, which leads the aforementioned modern researchers to the same conclusion as Reverend Brewer's: Henry de la Poer Beresford, 3rd Marquess of Waterford may well have been responsible for the initial Spring-Heeled Jack incidents, but copycats assumed the role from time to time up through the early years of the 20th century.
Stephane at PassionsJustLikeMine.com
I find the movie dialog very annoying in this song, it's a shame it ruins it for me.