Get Up And Jump

Album: The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This dance song, which encourages people to get up and jump, was the very first single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Frontman Anthony Kiedis wrote the tune in the band's early days of playing club gigs, when they were known as Tony Flow and the Miraculous Masters of Mayhem.

    In his 2004 autobiography, Scar Tissue, Kiedis recalled writing the song: "Flea had been working for a long time on a bass part that was syncopated and intertwined and complicated, combining picking and slapping in a strange and beautifully funky way. I had to write lyrics, so I came up with some more that were character-based. I took the theme of jumping and wrote verses about different cartoony versions of jumping - jumping rope, Mexican jumping beans."
  • Hillel Slovak, the band's guitarist at that time, was crushing on a girl named Holly Frumpkin. His bandmates always teased him about his penis looking like a pumpkin in his pants, hence the line, "Hillel be jumpin' on the little baby Frumpkin, say what, you've got a pumpkin in your pants?"

    According to Kiedis, Frumpkin was in the audience when the band debuted the song, and his lyrics were the final nudge to get her to finally hook up with Slovak that same night. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Spencer - Equinunk, PA, for above 2
  • The band had a contentious relationship with the album's producer, Andy Gill of Gang of Four, especially over the group's sound. The Chili Peppers wanted to retain their raw edge, while Gill wanted a more polished, radio friendly production. While Kiedis liked the newer tracks on the album, he was disappointed over the mixes of the older songs like "Get Up and Jump," "Out In L.A.," "Green Heaven," and "Police Helicopter." He said, "All those songs sounded like they had gone through a sterilizing Goody Two-shoes machine. When we used to play them, they were so vicious-sounding, and now they sounded like bubblegum pop."
  • After one heated argument with Gill, Flea defecated in an empty pizza box and delivered it to the producer. Gill was unfazed but, according to Kiedis, "To this day, Flea points to that incident to demonstrate why we're such a good band: because we brought s--t to Andy Gill."

Comments: 3

  • Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganI thought the chick's name was Rona Frumpkin, but I wasn't there, so I don't know.
  • Lydia Mcgowan from Monkstown Co. Dublin IrelandThey should it play it live today!
  • Nick from Paramus, NjHillel was the band's official guitarist, but he and drummer Jack Irons were under contract with their other band "What Is This". Jack Sherman played all the guitar parts on the self-titled album, while Cliff Martinez played drums.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Who Did It First?

Who Did It First?Music Quiz

Do you know who recorded the original versions of these ten hit songs?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

Vince Clarke

Vince ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

An original member of Depeche Mode, Vince went on to form Erasure and Yaz.

Martin Page

Martin PageSongwriter Interviews

With Bernie Taupin, Martin co-wrote the #1 hits "We Built This City" and "These Dreams." After writing the Pretty Woman song for Go West, he had his own hit with "In the House of Stone and Light."

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)

Max Cavalera of Soulfly (ex-Sepultura)Songwriter Interviews

The Brazilian rocker sees pictures in his riffs. When he came up with one of his gnarliest songs, there was a riot going on.

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And Hell

Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Heaven And HellSongwriter Interviews

Guitarist Tony Iommi on the "Iron Man" riff, the definitive Black Sabbath song, and how Ozzy and Dio compared as songwriters.