From a friend, my brother: The word "jail" is from English gaol pron. jail. the "g" of gem, George, gimcrack, gin, etc. sounds like "j" to illiterate irish people in NYC ca. 1850-1880 when slang term "g:" for jail evolved, "g" is the cooler (cu/laire: a dark recessed place, a dungeon, a jail.) probably here the "UP" refers to UP NORTH of NYC in Ossining, AKA SING SING. 68% of NYC jail population in 1868 is irish or irish american. it wasn;'t any classical reference to heaven it was a saol luim (slum) term for JAIL (gaol.) d