Update

[John Burton]

Dear Mihalic subscribers

As you may have noticed, little has happened recently on this front. I have
been settling in at home in Canberra after a year away and am nearly right
to get started again. A minor problem was that I was locked out of part of
my ANU account due to a technical problem but this is all fixed now.

In the meantime, having railed against a certain provincial governor for his
constant use of weird English expressions, including 'yupela bai stap long
cloud nain' when addressing landowners, I am now reliably informed that
"everyone talks about 'cloud nain' in the village" (in Western Highlands).

1. Should this be klaut nain or cloud nain or "cloud nine" (etc)???

2. You wouldn't believe how many businesses (rainforest lodges, quilt
makers, marriage celebrants, ISPs ...) are called 'Cloud Nine', not to
mention the rock band (http://members.aol.com/cloudnines/index.htm) and the
George Harrison appreciation site
(http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/8446/). But where on earth did
"cloud nine" originate?

The last site usefully contains the lyrics to Harrison's eponymous song
("I'll show you cloud nine...", "I'll see you there on cloud nine...",
"While you're out looking for cloud nine...") but I'm none the wiser.

Can anyone (perhaps aged hippies) help with a derivation of the phrase?

3. How did this get into Tok Pisin and what do speakers use it to mean,
other than the usual idea of a state of rapture? Are there allusions to
marijuana usage??

The mind boggles, eh.

John Burton
----------------------
12 Lilley Street
O'Connor
ACT 2602 Australia
tel +61 2 6257 6724