The White Stripes Complete Lyrics

by Jack White

The White Stripes Complete Lyrics is   a deluxe new 300+ page hardbound book documenting all of Jack White’s original words written for the 6x Grammy Award-winning duo he and Meg White formed in 1997 through the release of their final album in 2007. The first-time-ever lyric collection also features never-before-seen and rare rough drafts, alternate lyrics, and photographs, alongside exclusive essays by Hanif Abdurraqib, Ben Blackwell, and Caroline Randall Williams.

Genres: Music

315 pages, Hardcover

Published November 7, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Aaron N. Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a gorgeous book packed with every White Stripes lyric. It's got photographs, essays... do you really need to read this review?

If you're here, you're probably already a big WS fan. And if you are, you should just buy the damn book. You'll thank yourself later.

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy The White Stripes, but until a couple of months ago it had been a few years since I had listened to them (except for when I watched Peaky Blinders). As is often the way, it wasn't so much not liking them anymore, just gradually losing track. According to my year of music recap, my most listened to artists were Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Split Enz, Kev Carmody, Gordon Lightfoot and, despite only reentering my rotation quite late in the year, The White Stripes.

This book was something of an impulsive buy. I've not long gotten back into them, but I love reading song lyrics, I find it fascinating to see the words from what feels like a different perspective. Overall most of the songs are beautiful, and work best as a whole, but some lines and sentences jump out regardless of context.

'Who puts up a fight
Walking out of hell now' - I Fought Piranhas

'You try to tell her what to do
And all she does is stare at you
Her stare is louder than your voice
Because truth doesn't make a noise' - Truth Doesn't Make A Noise

'Women, listen to your mothers
Don't just succumb to the wishes of your brothers
Take a step back, take a look at one another
You need to know the difference
Between a father and a lover' - Passive Manipulation

'You don't know what love is
You do as you're told
Just as a child at ten might act
But you're far too old
You're not hopeless or helpless
And I hate to sound cold
But you don't know what love is
You just do as you're told' - You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do What You’re Told)

'If you go looking for hot water-don't act shocked when you get-burned a little bit
If you really want some hot water-I can help you find it'

'If you're gettin' tricky, lyin' to yourself
You're gonna catch hell
And if you're testin' God, lyin' to his face
You're gonna catch hell' - Catch Hell Blues

'You built a house of cards
And got shocked when you saw them fall
Yeah, well, I ain't saying I'm innocent
In fact the reverse
But if you're headed to the grave
You don't blame the hearse' - Effect And Cause

And the entirety of Little Room, of course:
Well, you're in your little room, and you're working on something good
But if it's really good, you're gonna need a bigger room
And when you're in the bigger room, you might not know what to do
You might have to think of how you got started sitting in your little room

I will admit, I don't get the song "Who's A Big Baby?", but everything else I love. And anyway, Hand Springs made me laugh, which made up for my being baffled by this one song! Not to mention some of my overall favourites: Effect and Cause, Honey We Can't Afford To Look This Cheap, White Moon, Truth Doesn't Make A Noise, Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground, I Think I Smell A Rat, I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet), Rag And Bone, and, not included in this book, their cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene.
Reading this led me to this video, The White Stripes - From The Basement, which I have now watched several times. 🎸🥁
https://youtu.be/l5wkTdVjE1s?si=4GfLI...