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
Effect and Cause
The White Stripes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
First you cause a train wreck, then they put me in traction
Well, first came an action and then a reaction
But you can't switch around for your own satisfaction
Well, you burnt my house down and got mad at my reaction
Well, in every complicated situation of a human relation
Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lot of concentration
And if there's one of these unavoidable laws
It's that you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
Well, you can't take the effect and make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter; don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect and make it the cause
I ain't the reason that you gave me no reason to return your call
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
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother 'cause you lost his ball, yeah
Well, you keep blaming me for what you did, but that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck is enough to give one pause
Well, you seem to forget just how this all started
I'm reacting to you because you left me broken-hearted
See, you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
Well you can't take the effect and make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter, but don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect and make it the cause
In "Effect and Cause," The White Stripes explore the idea that one cannot blame the effect of a situation on someone else and make it the cause. The song starts off with the line "I guess you have to have a problem if you want to invent a contraption," implying that some people deliberately create chaos and then blame others for the outcome. The next lines, "First you cause a train wreck, then they put me in traction / Well, first came an action and then a reaction / But you can't switch around for your own satisfaction" suggest that the chaos-causer caused a train wreck, which resulted in the singer getting hurt. The person refuses to acknowledge their actions and instead blames the singer for reacting in a certain way.
The song then goes on to explore the complexities of human relationships, with lines such as "Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lot of concentration" and "Well, you can blame her baby for her pregnant ma." The bridge of the song contains some of the most powerful lines, "But if you're headed to the grave, you don't blame the hearse / You're like a little girl yelling at her brother 'cause you lost his ball, yeah." These lines suggest that blaming others for one's own actions is childish and immature.
Overall, "Effect and Cause" is a powerful commentary on responsibility and the consequences of one's actions. The White Stripes use clever wordplay and vivid imagery to showcase the idea that we cannot always control the outcome of our actions, but we can control how we react to them.
Line by Line Meaning
I guess you have to have a problem if you want to invent a contraption
If you have an issue in need of fixing, you must first come up with a solution or invention to do so.
First you cause a train wreck, then they put me in traction
You caused a disaster that resulted in me needing medical attention.
Well, first came an action and then a reaction
But you can't switch around for your own satisfaction
Every action has a reaction, but it's not fair to change the order of events to fit your own desires.
Well, you burnt my house down and got mad at my reaction
You destroyed my house and then blamed me for my natural reaction of anger and frustration.
Well, in every complicated situation of a human relation
Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lot of concentration
Understanding complex relationships requires a lot of focus and effort.
Well, you can blame her baby for her pregnant ma
And if there's one of these unavoidable laws
It's that you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
You cannot blame a child for their parent's actions, and you cannot use the result of an action as the reason for that action.
Well, you can't take the effect and make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter; don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect and make it the cause
You cannot use the result of an action to justify that action. Specifically, you can't blame someone for a crime they did not commit and use an unrelated law as the reason either.
I ain't the reason that you gave me no reason to return your call
You built a house of cards and got shocked when you saw them fall
I didn't ignore your calls just because; you gave me no reason to answer them. Also, your actions caused your problems; don't be surprised when you receive the consequences.
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
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother 'cause you lost his ball, yeah
I'm not claiming innocence, but you can't blame others for your own mistakes. It's like blaming a vehicle for your death instead of your driving. You're acting like a child throwing a tantrum over a game.
Well, you keep blaming me for what you did, but that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck is enough to give one pause
Well, you seem to forget just how this all started
I'm reacting to you because you left me broken-hearted
See, you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
You keep putting the blame on me for your actions, but your effort to fix the damage is questionable. You're forgetting that your actions caused this mess, and I'm reacting to my heartbreak. Once again, you cannot use an action's result as the reason for the action.
Well you can't take the effect and make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter, but don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect and make it the cause
The same message from before; you can't justify an action using its result. You can only blame someone for their own mistakes, not for someone else's, and you can't use a made-up reason to justify it either.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@roiybenkel682
I guess you have to have a problem
If you want to invent a contraption
first you cause a train wreck
And then you put me in traction
well first came an action
And then a reaction
But you can't switch around
For your own satisfaction
Well you burnt my house down
Then got mad at my reaction
Well in every complicated situation
There's a human relation
Making sense of it all
Take a whole lot of concentration
Well you can blame the baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there's one of these unavoidable laws
It's just that you can't just take the effect and make it the cause
[Chorus:]
Well you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing peter
Don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I ain't the reason that you gave me
No reason to return your call
You built a house of cards
And got shocked when you saw them fall
Well I ain't saying I'm innocent
In fact the reverse
But if your heading to the grave
you Don't blame the hearse
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother
Cause you lost his ball
You keep blaming me for what you did
And that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck
Is enough to give one pause
You seem to forget just how this song started
I'm reacting to you
because you left me broken hearted
See you just can't just take the effect and make it the cause
[Chorus]
@ankitaa84
Effect and Cause
The White Stripes
Lyrics
I guess you have to have a problem if you want to invent a contraption
First you cause a train wreck, then they put me in traction
Well, first came an action and then a reaction
But you can't switch around for your own satisfaction
Well, you burnt my house down and got mad at my reaction
Well, in every complicated situation of a human relation
Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lot of concentration
Well, you can blame her baby for her pregnant ma
And if there's one of these unavoidable laws
It's that you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
Well, you can't take the effect and make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter; don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect and make it the cause
I ain't the reason that you gave me no reason to return your call
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
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother 'cause you lost his ball, yeah
Well, you keep blaming me for what you did, but that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck is enough to give one pause
Well, you seem to forget just how this all started
I'm reacting to you because you left me broken-hearted
See, you just can't take the effect and make it the cause
Well you can't take the effect and make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter, but don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect and make it the cause
@ReclinerParty1
This and the denial twist have to be my favorites. They really show how much a lyrical genius Jack is.
@breadandcircuses321
One of those rare times I heard a song and liked it instantly
@mussman717word
I... love... this... song... Jack White never fails to astonish me.
@Bjmcsmith
i really like how this album is mostly focused on bluegrass/blues songs, and how the white stripes adopt a new genre into every one of their albums. i think this is not only a great song, but a great bluegrass/blues song.
@brianhammer5107
'bluegrass'? huh? this is a blues
@mrfester42
Thanks! I'm listening to this again and it just grabs me by the throat. It's kind of primal AND very thoughtful at the same time. Someone told me how good The White Stripes were a few years ago and I just never got around to listening to them... but I will now. I heard a few of their other songs and WOW!. I saw Jack White on that guitar special with Jimmy Page and the Edge and I was thinking, who's this guy? Now I know!
@vinniedurrant
Search The Upholsteres: Pain gimme
@meatwad2222
I really feel like this song should have more views. Too bad everyone only listens to the singles played on the radio. Oh well, doesn't change the fact that Jack is a genius. Absolutely amazing how he's been coming out with records for over 20 years now and yet still manages to release something as flawless as Blunderbuss. One of the only fairly recent albums I've listened to where when it was done I still wanted more.
@roiybenkel682
I guess you have to have a problem
If you want to invent a contraption
first you cause a train wreck
And then you put me in traction
well first came an action
And then a reaction
But you can't switch around
For your own satisfaction
Well you burnt my house down
Then got mad at my reaction
Well in every complicated situation
There's a human relation
Making sense of it all
Take a whole lot of concentration
Well you can blame the baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there's one of these unavoidable laws
It's just that you can't just take the effect and make it the cause
[Chorus:]
Well you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
because you made up the law
Blame me for robbing peter
Don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I ain't the reason that you gave me
No reason to return your call
You built a house of cards
And got shocked when you saw them fall
Well I ain't saying I'm innocent
In fact the reverse
But if your heading to the grave
you Don't blame the hearse
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother
Cause you lost his ball
You keep blaming me for what you did
And that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck
Is enough to give one pause
You seem to forget just how this song started
I'm reacting to you
because you left me broken hearted
See you just can't just take the effect and make it the cause
[Chorus]
@stephaniesutton1746
You're awesome ❤