Despite the fact that The White Stripes ceased to exist back in 2011, they still remain in the playlists and hearts of music lovers all over the world. In particular, thanks to the song “Seven Nation Army”, which, in fact, has been the calling card of the eccentric American family duo for a decade and a half already.
The original guitar riff, the kaleidoscopic clip in red, black and white colors and the breakout tenor of the leader Jack White made the “White Stripes” single an undeniable hit of the “zero years”.
Jack White’s flair for potential hits is no small thing; he put “Seven Nation Army” at #1 on the “Elephant” album for a reason. He would do the same three years later with another hit single, “Steady As She Goes,” which would be recorded with The Raconteurs and become his calling card. In both cases, Jack clearly didn’t miss the mark.
“Seven Nation Army” effortlessly climbed to the top of the Billboard chart, won a Grammy for “Best Rock Song” and became the starting point in the commercial success and true popularity of the “striped” duo. And authoritative music publications – Rolling Stone, Q, New Musical Express – vied with each other to award the top places to the hit song.
And all this was in spite of the fact that the American and British producers said in one voice that the song would ruin the album. They refused to put it at the top of the list. But luckily Jack White had enough persistence to insist on his own.
About the creation of “Army of Seven Nations.”
The hit started a year before the release of the band’s fourth studio work (“Elephant”) in 2002. While tuning up the sound equipment before the next concert in Australia, Jack White composed a simple riff. At that time, the musician’s keen sense did not recognize it as a potential hit. White doubted whether the tune should be used at all.
He asked his friend Ben Swank about it. The latter replied that “you could have done better”, and Jack thought “it seemed good”. In the end, the leader of The White Stripes continued working on the song.
White hastily titled the working version of the song “Seven Nation Army”. Where did that title come from? Quite simply, it was Jack’s childhood name for the Salvation Army.
When the song was totally finished, he decided to keep the working title, because the lyrics were written to fit.
About the meaning and the sounding of the song
After the release of the single, a heated debate flared up about what the lyrics of the song “Seven Nation Army” meant. The most ridiculous versions were put forward: from the cruel world of childhood to the interpretation of the fairytale “Land of Oz”.
The incomprehensible lyrics, full of allusions, contributed to the confusion. In it bizarrely intertwined the search for home, the battle with a mythical army and the Queen of England.
And the ’60s.