Ballin’ the Jack (an expression supposed to mean ‘doing it quickly’) is a popular song from 1913 written by Jim Burris with music by Chris[topher] Smith (1879–1949), who was an American composer and popular vaudeville performer (photo at left).
The song introduced a popular dance of the same name with the line ‘Folks in Georgia’s ’bout to go insane’. It was danced much like doing the shimmy. The tune became popular in the famously lavish theatrical revue production of Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway the same year.
Next, the Balling the Jack craze swept white America, eventually getting mixed in with the Lindy Hop to become a popular swing step. Later, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly made in into a ferocious tap dance routine in the 1942 film, Me and My Gal:YouTube
Around the same time the song came out, the expression ‘ballin’ the jack’ was used by railroad workers to mean a fast-moving train.
In this case, ‘jack’ was the slang name for a railroad locomotive, and balling meant going at high speed, itself derived from the ball type of railroad signal in which a high ball meant a clear line.
Otherwise, the expression is sometimes used to describe doing something with intense energy. In gambling, it means risking everything on a single, all-out effort, as jack is also a playing card.
It can even be used as a sexual innuendo, as Bessie Smith sang in Baby Doll in 1926, seemingly referring to two popular dances: He can be ugly, he can be black / So long as he can Eagle Rock and Ball the Jack.
Performing with a singer? Complete lyrics available here:
The sound clip is computer generated using sampled sounds (AI). Transcriptions and descriptions are not AI generated.
Ballin’ the Jack (an expression supposed to mean ‘doing it quickly’) is a popular song from 1913 written by Jim Burris with music by Chris[topher] Smith (1879–1949), who was an American composer and popular vaudeville performer (photo at left).
Performing with a singer? Complete lyrics available here: 
