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Background on how this scene came about:
Susan Thomas writes, "I saw Allison Janney on the Rosie O'Donnell show one afternoon recently and she stated that during her down time on the set she listens to music in her trailer and learns the words. She said that one afternoon she was "performing" her version of the Jackal for Richard Schiff (I believe) and Aaron Sorkin saw it and decided to use it in the next episode. She also said that she had to do it a little differently because CJ wouldn't have given the same type of performance Allison Janney would have. Apparently the only reason that CJ knew the song and did her performance on the show was because Janney knew the words and Sorkin liked it." (Ms Thomas writes that the show was "either on the 18th or 19th of September.")
Tami Hendrickson also confirmed there was something on the "Rosie ODonnell show. . . about the actress who plays CJ was doing the skit during some down time on the set, and Aaron Sorkin saw her and decided to put it into the show." |
From "Six Meetings Before Lunch" when C.J. lip syncs to the song "The Jackal" from the album, here are the words that are clear (the following was done by the Jen Pelcheck of Jen Pelcheck's Community to The West Wing --- by the way that site has a great deal of additional information as well as chat rooms, photos, an episode guide, transcripts, fan fiction, etc.):
- "Did I ever tell you about the man who changed my life? The one I thought, ohhh. Lord, when I saw him walkin' back in that bar, all tall and lean with them broad shoulders, sweeeet lips, I knew that I had died and gone to. . . Chocolate Heaven. . . He had a real deep voice, white pearly teeth, his shoe was always shiny. Long slender fingers manicured perfectly. The man wore 800-dollar Italian suit, straight from, I dunno, what would they call it, Milan or Rome or someplace like that? I knew it wasn't local. I said, I got to get next to that. I haven't seen him in a long time. The man was so fine, he could get any good girl into trouble. . . Can you guess what his name was?. . . Well. . . 'The Jackal'. . . 'The Jackal'. Say. 'The Jackal'. . .
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"He was fat back cat cool like a Friday afternoon martini, chillin' at a quarter after 5. Twist of lime, Coke on the side. The brother loved the high life. Had a Ph.D. in street stride. They called him 'The Jackal'.
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"He was big Mack daddy super black stylin' a diamonds in the back Cadillac. Fur-lined boards, white wall wheels, cruise control, built for speed, chrome on evray-thang. And stereophonic speakers, though he really didn't need them. When they called him. . . 'The Jackal'. Say. 'The Jackal'. . .
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"Fly boy was in the buttermilk, hard, livin' fast, livin' large, 6 foot 4 and not an ounce of fat. When women asked, 'is you a [?] Cat?' He said 'I did [?] more that that. I'm the firmest of the [?***] And in case you, hadn't known, they call me 'The Jackal'.
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"Served the 18-year bid First Reicker's Island then they hid him in the state penitentiary. Said the charge was Grand Larceny. That was 1975, and today, if he's still alive, he'd be living in the park. Hm. The brother whose claim to fame was that they called him 'The Jackal'. 'The Jackal'. . ."
- We had several people write us about the questioned lyrics:
- Emily A writes: "I believe you are mistaken at the end
when you say firmest and have question marks.
its: "I'm the roanest of the roan, and in case you
hadn't known, they call me 'the Jackal.'"
- A version of the missing lyrics is supplied by E. Zack Harris who writes: "The Jackal has been a favorite song of mine for quite some time (since I heard it on The Chillout Album released 1998) I believe that Ms. Emily A is slightly off in her lyrics as well... mine are written below:
When women ask, 'Is you a front cat?' he say, 'My dear, Im more than that, Im the front'st of the Front.
- Janno Buschmann wrote us that the last part should be: "When women ask: "Is you a 'fro cat"? He said "My dear, I'm more than that I'm the 'froest of the 'fro."
She suggested that "May-be a reference to Afro?"
- Lance Murdoch writes about the line: "Served the 18-year bid First Reicker's Island then they hid him in the
state penitentiary."
That would be "Served the 18-year bid, first Riker's Island, then they hid
him in the state penitentiary"...Riker's Island is an island in New York
City that contains jails.
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"The Jackal" is on a Ronnie Jordan album called "The Quiet Revolution"" and is available at Amazon.
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