Seven Nation Army
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Seven Nation Army" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Single by The White Stripes | ||
| from the album Elephant | ||
| Released | May 13 2003 (UK) | |
| Format | CD, 7" | |
| Recorded | ??? | |
| Genre | Alternative | |
| Length | 11 min 4 s | |
| Label | XL Recordings V2 Records (CD radio promo) | |
| Producer(s) | Jack White | |
| Chart positions | ||
| ||
| The White Stripes singles chronology | ||
| "Candy Cane Children" (2002) | "Seven Nation Army" (2003) | "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" (2003) |
"Seven Nation Army" is the first track on the album Elephant by American rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003, and won a Grammy for Best Rock Song. The song is known for its underlying riff, which plays throughout the song. Although it sounds like a bass guitar (an instrument the group had famously never previously used), the sound is actually created by running Jack White's semi-acoustic guitar (a 1950s style Kay Hollowbody) through a whammy pedal set down an octave. The riff was composed at a sound check before a show in Australia, according to the set notes in the Booklet which accompanied the Under Blackpool Lights DVD. Another myth, propagated by NME magazine is that Jack's voice on the track was put through a vocoder, although he strongly denies this.<ref name=SAC>Drou (2006). The White Stripes - "Seven nation army" SongsAndCircumstances (accessed July 11, 2006)</ref>
According to White, "Seven Nation Army" was what he used to call the Salvation Army as a child.<ref name=SAC/>
Contents |
[edit] Success
"Seven Nation Army" is one of The White Stripes' best known songs, rivalled only perhaps by "Fell In Love With A Girl". It has been covered by many rock bands, including Audioslave, HARD-Fi and The Flaming Lips. British soul singer Joss Stone has also covered the song. British alternative jazz musician Jamie Cullum also performs the song in some of his live acts.
During his Rap©ital tour, in 2005, the Italian rapper Frankie Hi-NRG MC also covered the song using Fight da faida vocals, song contained in his album Verba manent.
The main riff of the song has become a popular football chant of A.S. Roma, Bruges F.C., Hibernian F.C., Heart of Midlothian F.C. ,Melbourne Victory, and Crystal Palace F.C.. As well as a staple at sporting events. Italian football fans often chant the song's signature bass riff, most notably during Italy's victory in the FIFA World Cup 2006. Some 10 million Italians were supposedly singing the song across the nation the night following the championship game. <ref>Sports Illustrated staff writer (2006). "Totti's time" SportsIllustrated.com (accessed July 11, 2006)</ref> The after-Cup success of the track led it to a second Italian Top Ten entry, peaking at #3.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Seven Nation Army" at number 8 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.
In September 2005, NME place "Seven Nation Army" at number 5 in its list of the 50 Greatest Tracks Of The Decade, in celebration of 10 years of nme.com.
[edit] Track listing
[edit] CD
- "Seven Nation Army" - 3:52
- "Good to Me" - 2:06
- "Black Jack Davey" - 5:06
[edit] 7"
- "Seven Nation Army" - 3:52
- "Good to Me" - 2:06
[edit] 7" (Promo)
- "Seven Nation Army" - 3:52
- "In The Cold, Cold Night" - 2:58
[edit] CD (Radio Promo)
- "Seven Nation Army" - 3:52
[edit] Music video
The video, directed by Alex and Martin, consists of one seemingly continuous shot through a tunnel of mirrored black, white and red triangles, each containing a picture of either Jack or Meg playing. During the video, when the song reaches a rockish point, lights flash. Images of walking skeleton soldiers (a reference to Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts) also appear regularly. An elephant (to coincide for their album) appears once near the end.
[edit] Trivia
- The track was sampled by the rapper, Apathy for his 12" single entitled It Takes A Seven Nation Army To Hold Us Back.
- The Flaming Lips recorded a version of Seven Nation Army, dubbed "Harry Potter's and George W. Bush's Severed Head Army Mix". The lyrics to this version were evidently inspired by the Butthole Surfers song, "Moving To Florida".
- The riff of Seven Nation Army has been used by tifosi of Italian national football team to celebrate the victory in Germany 2006 World Cup: "Siam-cam-pio-ni-del-mon-do", or, more simply "po-po-po-po-po-po-po". In summer of 2006 the song reentered the Italian singles chart at the third spot.
- Following the success of the riff used by the tifosi of Italian national football team, fans of Melbourne Victory FC in Australia's A-League have begun to also use the riff at games. The widespread use of this was largely influenced by the tifosi of Italian national football team, with several fans of Melbourne Victory attending the World Cup, and taking it home and adapting it at Melbourne Victory games.
- The Hives performed this song as a part of a medley, when they got to choose their favourite songs the recent years, when Swedish musicshow "Musikbyrån" celebrated 10 years.
- Metallica performed this song also as a part of a medly during the MTV VMA's 2003.
- The Veronicas also performed this song as part of a medly during shows on their US tour in Feburary 2006
- Freddy De Vadder has famously parodied the song known in Belgium as "De flikken zin min moaten" (Eng: The cops are my friends), starting the song with his trademark sentence: 'k Goan up joen mulle slaon (Eng: I'm going to hit you on the face).
[edit] References
<references />
[edit] External links
- MoreThings Al Barger's notes on the song.
- White Stripes.net. Retrieved September 9th, 2005.
- White Stripes.net FAQ Retrieved September 17th, 2005.
- "Seven Nation Army" remix, with commentary from Italian sports commentator Fabio Caressa
| The White Stripes |
| Jack White | Meg White |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and extended plays: The White Stripes | De Stijl | White Blood Cells | Elephant | Get Behind Me Satan | Walking with a Ghost |
| Singles: "Let's Shake Hands" | "Lafayette Blues" | "The Big Three Killed My Baby" | "Hand Springs" | "Hello Operator" | "Lord, Send Me an Angel" | "Party of Special Things to Do" | "Hotel Yorba" | "Fell in Love with a Girl" | "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" | "We're Going to Be Friends" | "Red Death at 6:14" | "Candy Cane Children" | "Seven Nation Army" | "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" | "The Hardest Button to Button" | "There's No Home for You Here" | "Jolene (Live Under Blackpool Lights)" | "Blue Orchid" | "My Doorbell" | "The Denial Twist" |
| DVDs: Candy Coloured Blues (unofficial) | Under Blackpool Lights |
| Other projects: Aluminium |
| Management |
| Third Man Records | Ian Montone |
