diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/json_test.go b/components/engine/builder/parser/json_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a256f845d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/json_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+package parser
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+)
+
+var invalidJSONArraysOfStrings = []string{
+	`["a",42,"b"]`,
+	`["a",123.456,"b"]`,
+	`["a",{},"b"]`,
+	`["a",{"c": "d"},"b"]`,
+	`["a",["c"],"b"]`,
+	`["a",true,"b"]`,
+	`["a",false,"b"]`,
+	`["a",null,"b"]`,
+}
+
+var validJSONArraysOfStrings = map[string][]string{
+	`[]`:           {},
+	`[""]`:         {""},
+	`["a"]`:        {"a"},
+	`["a","b"]`:    {"a", "b"},
+	`[ "a", "b" ]`: {"a", "b"},
+	`[	"a",	"b"	]`: {"a", "b"},
+	`	[	"a",	"b"	]	`: {"a", "b"},
+	`["abc 123", "♥", "☃", "\" \\ \/ \b \f \n \r \t \u0000"]`: {"abc 123", "♥", "☃", "\" \\ / \b \f \n \r \t \u0000"},
+}
+
+func TestJSONArraysOfStrings(t *testing.T) {
+	for json, expected := range validJSONArraysOfStrings {
+		if node, _, err := parseJSON(json); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("%q should be a valid JSON array of strings, but wasn't! (err: %q)", json, err)
+		} else {
+			i := 0
+			for node != nil {
+				if i >= len(expected) {
+					t.Fatalf("expected result is shorter than parsed result (%d vs %d+) in %q", len(expected), i+1, json)
+				}
+				if node.Value != expected[i] {
+					t.Fatalf("expected %q (not %q) in %q at pos %d", expected[i], node.Value, json, i)
+				}
+				node = node.Next
+				i++
+			}
+			if i != len(expected) {
+				t.Fatalf("expected result is longer than parsed result (%d vs %d) in %q", len(expected), i+1, json)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	for _, json := range invalidJSONArraysOfStrings {
+		if _, _, err := parseJSON(json); err != errDockerfileNotStringArray {
+			t.Fatalf("%q should be an invalid JSON array of strings, but wasn't!", json)
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/line_parsers.go b/components/engine/builder/parser/line_parsers.go
index abde85d292..8a94e1e5db 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/line_parsers.go
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/line_parsers.go
@@ -10,13 +10,12 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"unicode"
 )
 
 var (
-	errDockerfileJSONNesting = errors.New("You may not nest arrays in Dockerfile statements.")
+	errDockerfileNotStringArray = errors.New("When using JSON array syntax, arrays must be comprised of strings only.")
 )
 
 // ignore the current argument. This will still leave a command parsed, but
@@ -209,34 +208,27 @@ func parseString(rest string) (*Node, map[string]bool, error) {
 
 // parseJSON converts JSON arrays to an AST.
 func parseJSON(rest string) (*Node, map[string]bool, error) {
-	var (
-		myJson   []interface{}
-		next     = &Node{}
-		orignext = next
-		prevnode = next
-	)
-
+	var myJson []interface{}
 	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(rest), &myJson); err != nil {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
+	var top, prev *Node
 	for _, str := range myJson {
-		switch str.(type) {
-		case string:
-		case float64:
-			str = strconv.FormatFloat(str.(float64), 'G', -1, 64)
-		default:
-			return nil, nil, errDockerfileJSONNesting
+		if s, ok := str.(string); !ok {
+			return nil, nil, errDockerfileNotStringArray
+		} else {
+			node := &Node{Value: s}
+			if prev == nil {
+				top = node
+			} else {
+				prev.Next = node
+			}
+			prev = node
 		}
-		next.Value = str.(string)
-		next.Next = &Node{}
-		prevnode = next
-		next = next.Next
 	}
 
-	prevnode.Next = nil
-
-	return orignext, map[string]bool{"json": true}, nil
+	return top, map[string]bool{"json": true}, nil
 }
 
 // parseMaybeJSON determines if the argument appears to be a JSON array. If
@@ -250,7 +242,7 @@ func parseMaybeJSON(rest string) (*Node, map[string]bool, error) {
 	if err == nil {
 		return node, attrs, nil
 	}
-	if err == errDockerfileJSONNesting {
+	if err == errDockerfileNotStringArray {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
@@ -270,7 +262,7 @@ func parseMaybeJSONToList(rest string) (*Node, map[string]bool, error) {
 	if err == nil {
 		return node, attrs, nil
 	}
-	if err == errDockerfileJSONNesting {
+	if err == errDockerfileNotStringArray {
 		return nil, nil, err
 	}
 
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/parser.go b/components/engine/builder/parser/parser.go
index a0bb881f80..7bcc255bfe 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/parser.go
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/parser.go
@@ -90,10 +90,7 @@ func parseLine(line string) (string, *Node, error) {
 		return "", nil, err
 	}
 
-	if sexp.Value != "" || sexp.Next != nil || sexp.Children != nil {
-		node.Next = sexp
-	}
-
+	node.Next = sexp
 	node.Attributes = attrs
 	node.Original = line
 
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/parser_test.go b/components/engine/builder/parser/parser_test.go
index 1b517fcc14..daceb9839c 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/parser_test.go
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/parser_test.go
@@ -54,18 +54,14 @@ func TestTestData(t *testing.T) {
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Dockerfile missing for %s: %s", dir.Name(), err.Error())
 		}
-
-		rf, err := os.Open(resultfile)
-		if err != nil {
-			t.Fatalf("Result file missing for %s: %s", dir.Name(), err.Error())
-		}
+		defer df.Close()
 
 		ast, err := Parse(df)
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Error parsing %s's dockerfile: %s", dir.Name(), err.Error())
 		}
 
-		content, err := ioutil.ReadAll(rf)
+		content, err := ioutil.ReadFile(resultfile)
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Error reading %s's result file: %s", dir.Name(), err.Error())
 		}
@@ -75,8 +71,5 @@ func TestTestData(t *testing.T) {
 			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "Expected:\n"+string(content))
 			t.Fatalf("%s: AST dump of dockerfile does not match result", dir.Name())
 		}
-
-		df.Close()
-		rf.Close()
 	}
 }
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-consuldock/result b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-consuldock/result
index cc8fab2131..227f748cda 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-consuldock/result
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-consuldock/result
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 (maintainer "brimstone@the.narro.ws")
 (env "GOPATH" "/go")
 (entrypoint "/usr/local/bin/consuldock")
-(run "apt-get update 	&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.clean     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git golang ca-certificates     && apt-get clean     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists 	&& go get -v github.com/brimstone/consuldock     && mv $GOPATH/bin/consuldock /usr/local/bin/consuldock 	&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.dirty 	&& apt-get remove --purge -y $(diff /tmp/dpkg.clean /tmp/dpkg.dirty | awk '/^>/ {print $2}') 	&& rm /tmp/dpkg.* 	&& rm -rf $GOPATH")
+(run "apt-get update \t&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.clean     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git golang ca-certificates     && apt-get clean     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists \t&& go get -v github.com/brimstone/consuldock     && mv $GOPATH/bin/consuldock /usr/local/bin/consuldock \t&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.dirty \t&& apt-get remove --purge -y $(diff /tmp/dpkg.clean /tmp/dpkg.dirty | awk '/^>/ {print $2}') \t&& rm /tmp/dpkg.* \t&& rm -rf $GOPATH")
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-docker-consul/result b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-docker-consul/result
index 8c989e6211..16492e516a 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-docker-consul/result
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/brimstone-docker-consul/result
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 (cmd)
 (entrypoint "/usr/bin/consul" "agent" "-server" "-data-dir=/consul" "-client=0.0.0.0" "-ui-dir=/webui")
 (expose "8500" "8600" "8400" "8301" "8302")
-(run "apt-get update     && apt-get install -y unzip wget 	&& apt-get clean 	&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists")
+(run "apt-get update     && apt-get install -y unzip wget \t&& apt-get clean \t&& rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists")
 (run "cd /tmp     && wget https://dl.bintray.com/mitchellh/consul/0.3.1_web_ui.zip        -O web_ui.zip     && unzip web_ui.zip     && mv dist /webui     && rm web_ui.zip")
-(run "apt-get update 	&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.clean     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip wget     && apt-get clean     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists     && cd /tmp     && wget https://dl.bintray.com/mitchellh/consul/0.3.1_web_ui.zip        -O web_ui.zip     && unzip web_ui.zip     && mv dist /webui     && rm web_ui.zip 	&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.dirty 	&& apt-get remove --purge -y $(diff /tmp/dpkg.clean /tmp/dpkg.dirty | awk '/^>/ {print $2}') 	&& rm /tmp/dpkg.*")
+(run "apt-get update \t&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.clean     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends unzip wget     && apt-get clean     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists     && cd /tmp     && wget https://dl.bintray.com/mitchellh/consul/0.3.1_web_ui.zip        -O web_ui.zip     && unzip web_ui.zip     && mv dist /webui     && rm web_ui.zip \t&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.dirty \t&& apt-get remove --purge -y $(diff /tmp/dpkg.clean /tmp/dpkg.dirty | awk '/^>/ {print $2}') \t&& rm /tmp/dpkg.*")
 (env "GOPATH" "/go")
-(run "apt-get update 	&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.clean     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git golang ca-certificates build-essential     && apt-get clean     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists 	&& go get -v github.com/hashicorp/consul 	&& mv $GOPATH/bin/consul /usr/bin/consul 	&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.dirty 	&& apt-get remove --purge -y $(diff /tmp/dpkg.clean /tmp/dpkg.dirty | awk '/^>/ {print $2}') 	&& rm /tmp/dpkg.* 	&& rm -rf $GOPATH")
+(run "apt-get update \t&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.clean     && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git golang ca-certificates build-essential     && apt-get clean     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists \t&& go get -v github.com/hashicorp/consul \t&& mv $GOPATH/bin/consul /usr/bin/consul \t&& dpkg -l | awk '/^ii/ {print $2}' > /tmp/dpkg.dirty \t&& apt-get remove --purge -y $(diff /tmp/dpkg.clean /tmp/dpkg.dirty | awk '/^>/ {print $2}') \t&& rm /tmp/dpkg.* \t&& rm -rf $GOPATH")
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/docker/result b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/docker/result
index 80f219ecb4..773b640a9d 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/docker/result
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/docker/result
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 (from "ubuntu:14.04")
 (maintainer "Tianon Gravi <admwiggin@gmail.com> (@tianon)")
-(run "apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq 	apt-utils 	aufs-tools 	automake 	btrfs-tools 	build-essential 	curl 	dpkg-sig 	git 	iptables 	libapparmor-dev 	libcap-dev 	libsqlite3-dev 	lxc=1.0* 	mercurial 	pandoc 	parallel 	reprepro 	ruby1.9.1 	ruby1.9.1-dev 	s3cmd=1.1.0* 	--no-install-recommends")
+(run "apt-get update && DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -yq \tapt-utils \taufs-tools \tautomake \tbtrfs-tools \tbuild-essential \tcurl \tdpkg-sig \tgit \tiptables \tlibapparmor-dev \tlibcap-dev \tlibsqlite3-dev \tlxc=1.0* \tmercurial \tpandoc \tparallel \treprepro \truby1.9.1 \truby1.9.1-dev \ts3cmd=1.1.0* \t--no-install-recommends")
 (run "git clone --no-checkout https://git.fedorahosted.org/git/lvm2.git /usr/local/lvm2 && cd /usr/local/lvm2 && git checkout -q v2_02_103")
 (run "cd /usr/local/lvm2 && ./configure --enable-static_link && make device-mapper && make install_device-mapper")
 (run "curl -sSL https://golang.org/dl/go1.3.src.tar.gz | tar -v -C /usr/local -xz")
 (env "PATH" "/usr/local/go/bin:$PATH")
 (env "GOPATH" "/go:/go/src/github.com/docker/docker/vendor")
 (run "cd /usr/local/go/src && ./make.bash --no-clean 2>&1")
-(env "DOCKER_CROSSPLATFORMS" "linux/386 linux/arm 	darwin/amd64 darwin/386 	freebsd/amd64 freebsd/386 freebsd/arm")
+(env "DOCKER_CROSSPLATFORMS" "linux/386 linux/arm \tdarwin/amd64 darwin/386 \tfreebsd/amd64 freebsd/386 freebsd/arm")
 (env "GOARM" "5")
 (run "cd /usr/local/go/src && bash -xc 'for platform in $DOCKER_CROSSPLATFORMS; do GOOS=${platform%/*} GOARCH=${platform##*/} ./make.bash --no-clean 2>&1; done'")
 (run "go get golang.org/x/tools/cmd/cover")
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/json/Dockerfile b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/json/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a586917110
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/json/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+CMD []
+CMD [""]
+CMD ["a"]
+CMD ["a","b"]
+CMD [ "a", "b" ]
+CMD [	"a",	"b"	]
+CMD	[	"a",	"b"	]	
+CMD ["abc 123", "♥", "☃", "\" \\ \/ \b \f \n \r \t \u0000"]
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/json/result b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/json/result
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c6553e6e1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/testfiles/json/result
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+(cmd)
+(cmd "")
+(cmd "a")
+(cmd "a" "b")
+(cmd "a" "b")
+(cmd "a" "b")
+(cmd "a" "b")
+(cmd "abc 123" "♥" "☃" "\" \\ / \b \f \n \r \t \x00")
diff --git a/components/engine/builder/parser/utils.go b/components/engine/builder/parser/utils.go
index 096c4e31e9..3a8cd24e8c 100644
--- a/components/engine/builder/parser/utils.go
+++ b/components/engine/builder/parser/utils.go
@@ -2,30 +2,10 @@ package parser
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 )
 
-// QuoteString walks characters (after trimming), escapes any quotes and
-// escapes, then wraps the whole thing in quotes. Very useful for generating
-// argument output in nodes.
-func QuoteString(str string) string {
-	result := ""
-	chars := strings.Split(strings.TrimSpace(str), "")
-
-	for _, char := range chars {
-		switch char {
-		case `"`:
-			result += `\"`
-		case `\`:
-			result += `\\`
-		default:
-			result += char
-		}
-	}
-
-	return `"` + result + `"`
-}
-
 // dumps the AST defined by `node` as a list of sexps. Returns a string
 // suitable for printing.
 func (node *Node) Dump() string {
@@ -41,7 +21,7 @@ func (node *Node) Dump() string {
 			if len(n.Children) > 0 {
 				str += " " + n.Dump()
 			} else {
-				str += " " + QuoteString(n.Value)
+				str += " " + strconv.Quote(n.Value)
 			}
 		}
 	}