After releasing several singles and three albums within the Detroit independent music underground, The White Stripes rose to prominence in 2002, as part of the garage rock revival scene. Their successful albums White Blood Cells and Elephant drew them attention from a large variety of media outlets in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The White Stripes used a low-fidelity, do-it-yourself approach to writing and recording. Their music features a melding of punk and blues influences and a raw simplicity of composition, arrangement, and performance. The duo is also noted for their fashion and design aesthetic which features a simple color scheme of red, white, and black.
The White Stripes' discography consists of six studio albums, two extended plays (EP), one video album, 26 singles and fourteen music videos. The band has sold approximately 12 million albums worldwide, 2 million in the US alone, and their latest three albums have each won a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
On February 2, 2011, the band announced on their website that they had disbanded.
Official band website: www.whitestripes.com
Death Letter
The White Stripes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What do you reckon it read?
It said the gal you love is dead
I got a letter this morning
What do you reckon it read?
Said "Hurry, Hurry because the gal you love is dead"
Well I packed up my suitcase
When I got there she was layin' on the cooling board
I packed up my suitcase
And I took off down the road
When I got there she was layin' on the cooling board
It looked like ten thousand people standing around the burial ground
I didn't know I loved her 'till they began to let her down
Looked like ten thousand people standing on the burial ground
I didn't know that I loved her 'till they began to let her down
You know it's so hard to love
Someone that don't love you
Won't get satisfaction
Don't care what you do
So hard to love
Someone that don't love you
Don't look like satisfaction
Don't care what you do
Well I got up this morning
The break of day
Just hugging the pillows
She used to lay
Got up this morning
The break of day
Just hugging the pillows
Where my baby used to lay
The White Stripes' song Death Letter is a cover of the 1965 blues song by Son House. The lyrics tell the story of a man who receives a letter informing him that the woman he loves has died. The urgency of the letter ("Hurry, Hurry because the gal you love is dead") prompts him to pack his bag and travel to where she is. Upon arrival, he discovers that she is dead and is about to be buried.
The man expresses regret at not realizing how much he loved her until he saw her being buried, signified by the line "I didn't know I loved her 'till they began to let her down." He goes on to lament the difficulty of loving someone who doesn't love you back and the lack of satisfaction that comes with it. The final verse shows the man waking up in the morning and reaching out to hug the pillows where his lover used to lay, further underscoring his grief and longing for her.
The raw and mournful lyrics are accompanied by Jack White's powerful guitar playing and Meg White's steady and driving beat, giving the song an urgent and emotional quality.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a letter this morning
The singer received a letter this morning
What do you reckon it read?
The singer is asking what the content of the letter might be
It said the gal you love is dead
The letter contained the news that the singer's love interest had died
Said "Hurry, Hurry because the gal you love is dead"
The letter urged the artist to hurry to where the love interest had died
Well I packed up my suitcase
The artist prepared for a journey
I took off down the road
The singer began to travel
When I got there she was layin' on the cooling board
The singer found the love interest's body on a slab used for the dead
It looked like ten thousand people standing around the burial ground
A large crowd of people had gathered at the burial site
I didn't know I loved her 'till they began to let her down
Only when the love interest's body was being lowered into the ground did the artist realize his love for her
Looked like ten thousand people standing on the burial ground
The large crowd of mourners remained at the burial site
I didn't know that I loved her 'till they began to let her down
The singer didn't realize the extent of his love for the woman until her burial
You know it's so hard to love
Loving someone can be difficult
Someone that don't love you
It's hard to love someone who doesn't love you back
Won't get satisfaction
The singer won't be satisfied in such a relationship
Don't care what you do
The other person is indifferent to the singer's actions
So hard to love
Loving someone who doesn't love back is difficult
Don't look like satisfaction
The artist doesn't feel fulfilled in this kind of relationship
Don't care what you do
The other person doesn't care about the singer's feelings or actions
Well I got up this morning
The singer woke up for the day
The break of day
It was early in the morning
Just hugging the pillows
The artist clung to the pillows where the love interest used to lay
She used to lay
The artist's love interest used to sleep in that spot
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: EDDIE SON HOUSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robyn
on Candy Cane Children
The meaning of this song is basically saying the older you get, the less fun Christmas becomes usually do to adulthood. The lines "don't you know your name?...", probably refers to the adults telling kids to grow up as if they're saying "Do you know how old you are? You're getting too old for this stuff." Probably why he put the lines "nobody knows how to talk to children". Also, he puts the lines "think again" after a thought of one of the kids thinking of wishing to participate in Christmas activities. As if they're thinking "Yeah I probably AM too old for this.." "364 more tears girl" the sadness of getting older. Not participating feels like a missed opportunity and causes even more sadness..