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
Your Southern Can
The White Stripes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If ya want to get crooked I'll even give ya my fist
Ya might read from revelation back to genesis
Ya keep forgettin' your southern can belongs to me
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine in the mornin'
Your southern can belongs to me
Ya might go uptown have me arrested, put in jail
Some hotshots got money gonna pull my bail
Soon as I get out, hit the ground
Your southern can is worth a thousand,
Half a pound
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine, talkin' about it
Your southern can belongs to me
Ya might take it from the south, baby,
Hide it up North
Understand ya can't rule me and be my boss
Take it from the East and hide in the West
But when I get ya momma you can'll see no rest
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine, I'm screamin'
Your southern can belongs to me
Now baby, ashes to ashes, sand to sand
When I hit ya momma then ya feel my hand
Give ya a punch through that barbed wire fence
When I hit ya baby, ya know I make no sense
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine, I know it
Your southern can belongs to me
Now look here woman, don't get hot
I'm gettin' me a brick outta my backyard
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine, I'm talkin' about it
You southern can belongs to me
Well if I catch you momma
Down in the heart of town
I'm gonna grab me a brick
And tear your can on down
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine, I know it
Your southern can belongs to me
You maybe get bed sick,
'cause your graveyard bound
I'm gonna make you moan like a graveyard hound
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Your southern can is mine, I'm screamin'
Your southern can belongs to me
"Your Southern Can" is a blues rock song by the American rock duo The White Stripes. In the song, the singer confronts his lover's mother, warning her not to interfere and proudly boasting that her Southern Can belongs to him. The lyrics convey a sense of dominance over the situation and a willingness to resort to violence if necessary. The Southern Can is likely a metaphor for the woman's daughter, and this song functions as a warning to her mother to stay out of their business.
The song's lyrics suggest that the singer is from the South and that he takes pride in his heritage. He invokes phrases from religious texts and threatens violence in a way that aligns him with a certain Southern stereotype. However, the singer's sense of possession over the woman is problematic, and the juxtaposition of Biblical language with violent imagery suggests a complex and internal struggle for power.
Overall, "Your Southern Can" is an example of The White Stripes' signature blues rock sound and their love of classic American idioms. The song's lyrics are at once deeply personal and universal, drawing on longstanding themes of love, power, and identity, and it remains a standout track on the band's third studio album, "White Blood Cells".
Line by Line Meaning
Lookie here momma let me explain ya this
Listen up, mom, I'm about to clarify something for you
If ya want to get crooked I'll even give ya my fist
If you're looking for a fight, I'll gladly throw down
Ya might read from revelation back to genesis
You could study the Bible from start to finish
Ya keep forgettin' your southern can belongs to me
You seem to forget that I own your goods, specifically your canned goods
So there ain't no use in bringin' no jive to me
Don't try to deceive me, it's pointless
Your southern can is mine in the mornin'
Your canned goods belong to me, especially in the morning
Your southern can belongs to me
Again, just to be clear, I own your canned goods
Ya might go uptown have me arrested, put in jail
You could have me locked up
Some hotshots got money gonna pull my bail
But I have connections who will bail me out
Soon as I get out, hit the ground
As soon as I'm freed, I'll be on the move
Your southern can is worth a thousand, Half a pound
Your canned goods are incredibly valuable to me
Ya might take it from the south, baby, Hide it up North
You could try to smuggle your goods out of the region, but I'll still find them
Understand ya can't rule me and be my boss
Don't try to control me, I won't submit
Take it from the East and hide in the West
You could also try to move your goods across the country, but I'm still in charge
But when I get ya momma you can'll see no rest
But once I catch you, you'll be done for
Now baby, ashes to ashes, sand to sand
We all end up the same in the end
When I hit ya momma then ya feel my hand
When I come for you, you'll feel the extent of my wrath
Give ya a punch through that barbed wire fence
I won't let barriers stop me from getting to you
When I hit ya baby, ya know I make no sense
I'll be irrational in my anger towards you
Now look here woman, don't get hot
Calm down, miss
I'm gettin' me a brick outta my backyard
I'm preparing to use force
Well if I catch you momma
If I find you
Down in the heart of town
In the center of the city
I'm gonna grab me a brick
I'll use a brick as a weapon
And tear your can on down
And take away your goods
You maybe get bed sick, 'cause your graveyard bound
You might get ill from the stress, as if you're on your deathbed
I'm gonna make you moan like a graveyard hound
I'll make you suffer like a dying dog
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniel Fortuna
not very usual to see Jack with this Coronado is it?
W C
@bee oh yeah you're right then, I thought you were saying he was using it at this show because he hadn't gotten it yet
bee
@W C im still talking about before when he got the airline, when he was still in numerous other bands and the stripes had just formed in 1997
W C
@bee i'm going to "well actually" your "well actually" comment. He got his (first) airline from jack yarber around april/may 1999, as told by ben blackwell on the striped podcast. He actually used it during this show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i98qjzh78_w
bee
Forgive me if i sound like im one of those "well actually" people but its an old Japanese crestwood astral II from the 60s, was his main guitar in the early years of the stripes before he got the airline