History of the band- the white stripes

The White Stripes were an American rock duo, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted

of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, bass and keyboards) and Meg White (drums and occasional

vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit music scene, The White

Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful and critically

acclaimed albums White Blood Cells and Elephant drew attention from a large variety of media outlets in

the United States and the United Kingdom, with the single "Seven Nation Army" and its now-iconic guitar

line becoming a huge hit. The band recorded two more albums, Get Behind Me Satan in 2005 and Icky

Thump in 2007, and dissolved in 2011 after a lengthy hiatus from performing and recording.

The White Stripes used a low-fidelity approach to writing and recording. Their music featured a melding

of garage rock and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance.

The duo was also noted for their fashion and design aesthetic which featured a simple colour scheme of

red, white, and black – which was used on every album and single cover the band released – as well as

the band's obsession with the number three. The band's discography consists of six studio albums,

one live album, two extended plays (EP), one concert film, one tour documentary, twenty-six singles, and

fourteen music videos. Their last three albums each won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music

Album. The white stripes produce very weird music videos which have nothing to do with the lyrics. Take

blue orchid for example, the video is full of weird things that happen inside a house.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW8UlrtcEac this video has absolutely nothing to do with the song.

The meaning of the song

The lyrics follow the perspective of a self-purported seventh son as he apparently courts a

woman. He mentions that he is the girl's "third man" and that the girl is ambivalent towards him,

but he insistently tries to impress her with his claim to be a seventh son.

The ball (cocaine) and biscuit (MDMA) refer to a serious drug problem. "We'll get clean

together/and I'll find me a soapbox where I can shout it" suggests this couple will quit, however,

the future-tense gives the line a sense of fatalism. It is likely this character is making optimistic

propositions while high (a common theme in blues lyrics). Or, it could refer to the STC Coles

4021 microphone that was used at Toe Rag Studios during the Elephant recording sessions. 

The Seventh Son is an American folk legend reporting that the seventh son of a seventh

son would be granted supernatural powers, which the character of the song claims to possess in

the form of superhuman strength. A recollection of similar folklore is frequently found in the Blues

and derivatives; notably Willie Dixon sang a blues song entitled "The Seventh Son". The use of

the Seventh Son may have been inspired by Jack White's own family situation; he was the

seventh and final son in a family of ten children.