Some one we know as Steve is lookin' for the origins of
"Cloud Nine". Know best to us as a Temptations number, written by (?). A quick search turn up nothing aside from a George Harrison connection (album title ?). My guess would point towards Jazz speak and mary jane smoke ? Gotta be older. anyone ?
Doesn't seem as old as I would have guessed. From the OED:
Cloud [...snip...] 9 b. Phr. in the clouds: obscure, mystical; fanciful, unreal; above the range of ordinary understanding (generally combining the notions of obscruity and elevation); cf. in the air, up in a balloon; colloq. phr. (orig. U.S.) on cloud seven or nine (see quot. 1960); also attrib.; cf. seventh heaven
[...snip...]1956 O. Duke Sideman ix 120 Oh, she's off on Cloud Seven - doesn't even know we exist. 1959 Down Beat 14 May 20. I don't like strange music, I'm not on Cloud Nine. 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 110/2 Cloud seven, on, completely happy, perfectly satisfied; in a euphoric state.....
Not necessarily the oldest reference, but the OED is pretty good at this. Looks like Down Beat magazine made the first printed mention. Where it came from before that is still up in the air. I agree it must be a jazz thing. Why are seven and nine connected (why not cloud 8?)
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- bill 9-20-2000 9:04 pm
Doesn't seem as old as I would have guessed. From the OED:
Cloud [...snip...] 9 b. Phr. in the clouds: obscure, mystical; fanciful, unreal; above the range of ordinary understanding (generally combining the notions of obscruity and elevation); cf. in the air, up in a balloon; colloq. phr. (orig. U.S.) on cloud seven or nine (see quot. 1960); also attrib.; cf. seventh heaven
[...snip...]1956 O. Duke Sideman ix 120 Oh, she's off on Cloud Seven - doesn't even know we exist. 1959 Down Beat 14 May 20. I don't like strange music, I'm not on Cloud Nine. 1960 Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 110/2 Cloud seven, on, completely happy, perfectly satisfied; in a euphoric state.....
Not necessarily the oldest reference, but the OED is pretty good at this. Looks like Down Beat magazine made the first printed mention. Where it came from before that is still up in the air. I agree it must be a jazz thing. Why are seven and nine connected (why not cloud 8?)
- jim 9-20-2000 9:47 pm [add a comment]
Maybe this guy has the answer. But it's going to cost you $12.95 plus shipping.
- jim 9-21-2000 3:07 am [add a comment]
Maybe. This sounds definitive, citing a reference work, but here’s a lady (“ask the librarian” at bottom of page) who bothered to check out part of the story, and reveals a few inconsistencies. Sometimes it's best to hedge. Well, you know what they say about believing anything you read on the net. This page is nonjudgemental, posting competing theories whether believable or not.
But what about Pere Ubu‘s “Cloud 149”?
- alex 9-21-2000 3:28 am [add a comment]