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
White Moon
The White Stripes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breaks open the tomb
Of a deserted cartoon that I wrote
Creature come, creature, creature
My own double feature
As I´m warming the bleachers at home
Well, my nose keeps on bleeding
I better call out a meeting of the boys
Of the boys
My friends are all dying
And death can´t be lying
It´s the truth and it don´t make a noise
Oh Rita, oh Rita
If you lived in Mesita
I would move you with the beat of a drum
And this picture is proof
That although you´re aloof
You had the shiniest tooth ´neath the sun
Easy come, easy go
Be a star of the show
I´m giving up all I know to get more
To get more
Photograph the picture
Young grunt pin-up scripture
For locker-tagged memories of war
A mirage, this garage
And a photo montage
And a finger massage from the host
Good lord, good lord
The one I adore
And I cannot afford is a ghost
Is a ghost
Proto-social is the word
And the word is the bird
That flew through the herd in the snow
In the snow
Lemonade me, then grade me
Then deliver my baby
And if my friends all persuade me, I´ll go
Blink, blink at me Rita
Don´t you know I´m a bleeder?
And I promised I wouldn't lead her on
But she met me, then led me
And I ate what was fed me
´Til I purged every word in this song
The lyrics of White Moon by The White Stripes appear to be cryptic and enigmatic, on first glance. However, with a closer look, the song seems to be a collection of fragmented experiences and emotions, mixed with surreal imagery. The titular phrase, "White Moon" might represent the purity and transcendental beauty of a celestial body or it could be a metaphor for enlightenment. The lines, "Breaks open the tomb of a deserted cartoon that I wrote", could imply that the singer is reviving and re-imagining fragments of their past. The phrase "Creature come, creature, creature" could represent the singer's creative impulses or alter ego. It seems as though the singer is attempting to draw inspiration, both from their own past works and their present surroundings.
The song then refers to "Rita", who is probably someone who the singer is obsessed and infatuated with. The line "falling in love is hard on the knees" is a possible reference to a previous song by the band, called 'Fell In Love With A Girl'. The references to death and dying friends in the next stanza augments the sense of surrealism and heightened emotions. The singer seems to be giving up everything they know to get to Rita. The next line, "Photograph the picture, young grunt pin-up scripture for locker-tagged memories of war" is tricky to interpret, but could imply that the singer is attempting to capture and immortalize their life experiences.
The third stanza of the song is particularly cryptic and can be a bit difficult to make sense of. The phrase "Proto-social is the word" might refer to the emergence of social media and technology, and how it influences personal interactions. However, the next lines "and the word is the bird that flew through the herd in the snow" can be interpreted in different ways as they could symbolize free speech, independence, or a form of escapism. The final stanza seems to refer once again to the singer's "Blink, Blink" Rita and how they are involved in a toxic relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
White moon, white moon
The bright white moon illuminates the surroundings
Breaks open the tomb
The light of the moon reveals a deserted place
Of a deserted cartoon that I wrote
The deserted place reminds him of a cartoon he wrote earlier
Creature come, creature, creature
Addressing an imaginary creature he desires to see
My own double feature
The creature is his creation and it is going to be part of his imaginary movie with double meaning
As I´m warming the bleachers at home
He is seated on the bleachers at home, probably watching a game
Well, my nose keeps on bleeding
His nose keeps bleeding probably due to the dry weather
Cause it´s Rita I´m needing
He needs Rita to stop his nose from bleeding
I better call out a meeting of the boys
He decides to call his friends for a meeting
My friends are all dying
His friends are struggling and going through difficult times
And death can´t be lying
Death is happening for real
It´s the truth and it don´t make a noise
The truth is silent and it does not create any fuss
Oh Rita, oh Rita
Appealing to Rita for help
If you lived in Mesita
If she lived nearby
I would move you with the beat of a drum
He would make her follow him, even if he had to go to extreme lengths
And this picture is proof
A photograph presents proof of her shining tooth
That although you´re aloof
Even if she is staying away from him
You had the shiniest tooth ´neath the sun
Her tooth sparkles the most in the sun
Easy come, easy go
Insignificant things come and go easily
Be a star of the show
Be the center of attraction
I´m giving up all I know to get more
He is willing to give up everything to get more
Photograph the picture
Take a photograph of a picture
Young grunt pin-up scripture
A young man´s image pinned up with spiritual quotes
For locker-tagged memories of war
The picture would remind them of something significant that happened in the past
A mirage, this garage
This garage is a sort of an illusion
And a photo montage
The photograph is a montage of many pictures
And a finger massage from the host
Finger massage received from the host of the event
Good lord, good lord
Exclamation to express surprise
The one I adore
The one he loves the most
And I cannot afford is a ghost
He cannot afford to lose or let go of this person, it would be like losing a ghost
Proto-social is the word
Proto-social is a word that relates to primitive social behavior
And the word is the bird
The bird represents the word
That flew through the herd in the snow
The bird flew through the group of people in the snow
Lemonade me, then grade me
Sweet-talk me and judge me
Then deliver my baby
Then finally deliver the outcome of my efforts
And if my friends all persuade me, I´ll go
If his friends convince him, he would follow their advice
Blink, blink at me Rita
Looking at Rita, hoping for her attention
Don´t you know I´m a bleeder?
Asking Rita if she knows he has nosebleeds
And I promised I wouldn't lead her on
He promised to not have a relationship with her
But she met me, then led me
She approached him and he got involved
And I ate what was fed me
He ended up following whatever she told him to do
´Til I purged every word in this song
Until he let out every last detail and emotion through this song
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JACK WHITE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Psycho Killer
White moon, white moon
Breaks open the tomb
Of a deserted cartoon that I wrote
Creature come, creature, creature
My own double feature
As I'm warming the bleachers at home
Well, my nose keeps on bleeding
'Cause it's rita I'm needing
I better call out a meeting of the boys
Of the boys
My friends are all dying
And death can't be lying
It's the truth and it don't make a noise
Oh Rita, oh Rita
If you lived in mesita
I would move you with the beat of a drum
And this picture is proof
That although you're aloof
You had the shiniest tooth 'neath the sun
Easy come, easy go
Be a star of the show
I'm giving up all I know to get more
To get more
Photograph the picture
Young grunt pin-up scripture
For locker-tagged memories of war
A mirage, this garage
And a photo montage
And a finger massage from the host
Good lord, good lord
The one I adore
And I cannot afford is a ghost
Is a ghost
Proto-social is the word
And the word is the bird
That flew through the herd in the snow
In the snow
Lemonade me, then grade me
Then deliver my baby
And if my friends all persuade me, I'll go
Blink, blink at me Rita
Don't you know I'm a bleeder?
And I promised I wouldn't lead her on
But she met me, then led me
And I ate what was fed me
Charles Marcoe
Incredibly touching. The song is obviously is about her and her reaction says it all. One of the most beautiful and revealing moments from ironically two of the most fiercely private people in a grossly public medium. My curiosity begs to know what he says to her at the end but the words are best left unheard. The emotion is immediately translatable in general themes but at the same time reveals a lot about their personal relationship. Pure gold.
Carlos Mendoza
He actually said meg You're almost done. You can go back to living how you want. How do y'all miss their newest interviews. Meg just did an interview on a radio station but she did it
Broken Wave
Its not about her though lol
johns80schick
@DellyBellyTea333 that's why in the song he says "although your aloof, you have the shinest tooth neath the sun." Basically telling even though your shy you have a great smile, show it.
J Thurm
Your majesty, that can’t be correct. The song was written before he met his second wife and long before they had kids together. Also...seems to me Meg started crying right after he turned to look at her, specifically when he sang:
“the picture is proof
that although you’re aloof
you have the shiniest tooth
beneath the sun”.
I think it’s clear he was singing to her at least with this particular verse. We know from many interviews Meg was aloof.
cranberry noodle
Every time Meg looks at Jack, it's filled with so much love and adoration. She has always been so supportive and loyal and dedicated to him, even when, as this film showed, he has the tendency to take out his frustration and anger on those around him. She's such a lovely person. And Jack is so talented and hard-working. He's a true artist.
Liam Clapp
Jack said in an interview this was the hardest song he's ever written in his life.
dubnessIII
Can you tell me where he said this? Just curious.
Th3Union40r3v3r
I can see why many people see this as a sad scene. It's definitely very emotional, but I think there definitely some happiness to it. This video was shot a couple hours after the after party of their 10th anniversary show. They basically looked back on the 10 years they'd been through and saw all the emotional highs and lows of their career. And this was only the beginning of their tour. The Canadian leg came first followed by all the other tours. It have them time to look back and let all emot
Anhedonia Again
Wow. I hadn't seen, nor was I aware of this documentary. I had the pleasure of seeing them on their final tour, front & center. At the time, Jack was married and his wife was expecting. Jack & Meg were long over as a couple romantically. Word had it, that critics had become so vicious toward Meg that she was suffering from debilitating anxiety. People are so negative & hostile anymore. They seem to thrive on tearing people down, and when you're in the public eye of intense scrutiny, it must seem like there's nowhere to hide or feel safe. To call it a shame is an understatement. As I was reading down the first page of comments under this clip, I noticed a striking difference from comments under most of the other videos on Youtube, which has been infiltrated by trolls, making it a war zone. Bullies didn't just ruin it for White Stripes fans; they're ruining it for everyone. Ignore the trolls. To acknowledge them is to indulge them, and to indulge them is to encourage them.