Icky Thump
The White Stripes Lyrics
Ah, icky thump
Who'd a thunk?
Sittin' drunk on a wagon to Mexico
Ah, well
What a chump
Man my head got a bump
When I hit it on the radio
Redhead señorita
Came and said
Need a bed in Español
Said, gimme a drink of water
I'm gonna sing around the collar
And I don't need a microphone
Icky thump
With the lump in my throat
Grab my coat
And I was freaking
I was ready to go
Yeah, I swear besides the hair
She had one white eye
One blank stare
Lookin' up, lyin' there
On the stand near her hand
Was a candy cane
Black rum, sugar cane
Dry ice, something strange
La la la la la la la la la la
White Americans
What, nothing better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant too
Who's usin' who?
What should we do?
Well, you can't be a pimp
And a prostitute too
Icky thump
Handcuffed to a bunk
Robbed blind
Looked around
There was nobody else
Left alone
I hit myself with a stone
Went home
And learned how to clean up after myself
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: John Anthony White
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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"Icky Thump" is a Grammy Award-winning song recorded by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Written by Jack White, it is the first single released from Icky Thump.
The name of the track comes from the Northern England exclamation "Ecky Thump," roughly meaning "what the heck?" The title was then changed to "Icky" so that "teenagers would understand it better back in America," in the same way Led Zeppelin took out the "a" so Americans wouldn't call them 'Lead Zeppelin' (pronounced 'leed')" . Read Full Bio"Icky Thump" is a Grammy Award-winning song recorded by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Written by Jack White, it is the first single released from Icky Thump.
The name of the track comes from the Northern England exclamation "Ecky Thump," roughly meaning "what the heck?" The title was then changed to "Icky" so that "teenagers would understand it better back in America," in the same way Led Zeppelin took out the "a" so Americans wouldn't call them 'Lead Zeppelin' (pronounced 'leed')" . The phrase was popularized in an episode of The Goodies.
Though grounded to a greater degree than the Get Behind Me Satan singles in straightforward garage rock, the song differed radically from previous White Stripes singles in its unusual construction: angular tempo-changes, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and chaotic improvised snake-charming solos, played on a Univox synthesizer.
The song deals with the topic of immigration [7]. The song itself seems to criticize the current immigration policy, something seen also in the video. It is thus the first political White Stripes track since "The Big Three Killed My Baby," off The White Stripes.
The lyrics talk about someone (perhaps Jack White himself) taking a trip to Mexico in a wagon, easily crossing the border to Mexico, as opposed to the difficulties Mexican immigrants face while illegally crossing northwards. It then mentions a Mexican lady giving him a bed to sleep in, then tying him up and holding him hostage. When finally able to escape, White decides to start doing his own house chores (referring, most likely, to the hiring of illegal immigrants as very low paid house servants). In the video, when White escapes the lady's house and crosses back to the USA, he passes by Mexican workers building a wall, likely the so-called Great Wall of Mexico.
The defining verse against immigration policies comes near the end of the song:
White Americans What? Nothin' better to do? Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too.
Who's using who? What should we do? Well you can't be a pimp And a prostitute too.
The song also ended the 15-week run of "What I've Done" by Linkin Park at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It is the second song by the White Stripes to top the chart, after "Seven Nation Army." The song is sandwiched between the 15 week run at number 1 of "What I've Done and "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters 18 week run, separated by only the 1 week appearance of "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven.
The name of the track comes from the Northern England exclamation "Ecky Thump," roughly meaning "what the heck?" The title was then changed to "Icky" so that "teenagers would understand it better back in America," in the same way Led Zeppelin took out the "a" so Americans wouldn't call them 'Lead Zeppelin' (pronounced 'leed')" . Read Full Bio"Icky Thump" is a Grammy Award-winning song recorded by the American alternative rock band The White Stripes. Written by Jack White, it is the first single released from Icky Thump.
The name of the track comes from the Northern England exclamation "Ecky Thump," roughly meaning "what the heck?" The title was then changed to "Icky" so that "teenagers would understand it better back in America," in the same way Led Zeppelin took out the "a" so Americans wouldn't call them 'Lead Zeppelin' (pronounced 'leed')" . The phrase was popularized in an episode of The Goodies.
Though grounded to a greater degree than the Get Behind Me Satan singles in straightforward garage rock, the song differed radically from previous White Stripes singles in its unusual construction: angular tempo-changes, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, and chaotic improvised snake-charming solos, played on a Univox synthesizer.
The song deals with the topic of immigration [7]. The song itself seems to criticize the current immigration policy, something seen also in the video. It is thus the first political White Stripes track since "The Big Three Killed My Baby," off The White Stripes.
The lyrics talk about someone (perhaps Jack White himself) taking a trip to Mexico in a wagon, easily crossing the border to Mexico, as opposed to the difficulties Mexican immigrants face while illegally crossing northwards. It then mentions a Mexican lady giving him a bed to sleep in, then tying him up and holding him hostage. When finally able to escape, White decides to start doing his own house chores (referring, most likely, to the hiring of illegal immigrants as very low paid house servants). In the video, when White escapes the lady's house and crosses back to the USA, he passes by Mexican workers building a wall, likely the so-called Great Wall of Mexico.
The defining verse against immigration policies comes near the end of the song:
White Americans What? Nothin' better to do? Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too.
Who's using who? What should we do? Well you can't be a pimp And a prostitute too.
The song also ended the 15-week run of "What I've Done" by Linkin Park at the top of the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It is the second song by the White Stripes to top the chart, after "Seven Nation Army." The song is sandwiched between the 15 week run at number 1 of "What I've Done and "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters 18 week run, separated by only the 1 week appearance of "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven.
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anthonii
Lyrics
Yah-hee, icky thump
Who'd-a thunk?
Sittin' drunk
On a wagon to Mexico
Her hair, what a chump
And my head
Got a bump
When I hit it on the radio
Red-head señorita
Lookin' dead
Came to said,
"I need a bed" en español
So I gave a drink of water
I'm gonna sing around the collar
Well, I don't need a microphone
Icky thump, with the lump
In my throat
Grab my coat
And now it's reckon
I was ready to go
Yeah, I swam beside the hair
She had one white eye
One blank stare
Lookin' up, lyin' there
On a stand in her hair
Was a candy cane
Black rum, sugar cane
Dry eye, somethin' strange!
La la, la la la la la la la la
Well, Americans:
What, nothin' better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant too.
Who's usin' who?
What should we do?
Well you can't be a pimp
And a prostitute too
Icky thump, handcuffed to a bunk
Robbed blind
Looked around
And there was nobody else
Left alone
I hit myself with a stone
Went home
And learned how to clean up after myself
Randy Zeitman
She's a really good drummer ... because she's both minimalistic and effective. She has broken the code.
Dementional
Whoever brought Neal Peart into the conversation is ridiculous. Beyond unrelated..
Us and Them
Jack broke the code as well...
rob mcdonald
@heh brn YEP
rob mcdonald
No way. Thats about the single most issue with this band, is the percussion. When your playing this hard, plain 1,2 thumps dont cut it. Sorry. Lets get some combos on tha5 snair
Nugsy Malone
Its like no one ever heard of Mo Tucker
Shawn Faddoul
A song so good it doesn't even need a chorus. Let's the guitar do the work.
Taylor Rae Boylan
He’s a genius
Haxx In Stereo
This ⬆️
Alexander Acosta Osorio
It doesn't neet drums either lol