“Seven Nation Army” is a song by American duo The White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, Elephant, and was released in March 2003 as the lead single. Written and produced by Jack White, the song consists of distorted vocals, a simple drumbeat, and a bass-like riff created by playing a guitar through a pitch shift effect.
Jack White. He wrote “Seven Nation Army” as a “little experiment”, hoping to create a compelling song that did not include a chorus. The song’s title originated from his mispronunciation of Salvation Army as a child. The title “Seven Nation Army” was initially used as a placeholder for the track before its lyrics were written; the name ultimately stuck.The song won the Grammy for Best Rock Song at the 46th Annual Awards. A writer for Rolling Stone described it as the best riff of the 2000s decade, and Rebecca Schiller of NME wrote that the riff is “the most maddeningly compulsive bassline of the decade, and not even actually played on a bass guitar”. Critics also praised Meg White’s drumming—a “hypnotic thud” according to Tom Maginnis of All Music.
The has been covered a number of times in a variety of styles. Our first example takes us to New Orleans.
“Seven Nation Army” has become a sports anthem, commonly appearing in audience chants in which a series of “oh” sounds or the name of an athlete is sung to the tune of the song’s riff. It has also served as a theme song for sports teams, personalities, and events, including the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Here is a classical take on the song by ‘Two Cellos’
It has also become part of a ‘mash up’ with the Eurythmics ‘Sweet Dreams Are Made of This’. Our version today comes from American Duo Pomplamoose and features Sarah Dugas.
