Seven Nation Army (3:51)
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“Seven Nation Army” is the first track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes. It was released as a single in 2003, and is one of the best-known songs from the band. Seven Nation Army reached #1 on the modern rock Tracks for three weeks and won 2004’s Grammy Award for Best rock Song. The song is known for its underlying riff, which plays throughout most of the song. Although it sounds like a bass guitar (an instrument the group had famously never previously used), the sound is actually created by running Jack White’s semi-acoustic guitar (a 1950s style Kay Hollowbody) through a whammy pedal set down an octave. The riff was composed at a sound check before a show at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia, according to the set notes in the booklet which accompanied the Under Blackpool Lights DVD.
The song shows a rare example of the Phrygian Half Cadence in popular music. It is also a rare example of a popular song with a wholly instrumental refrain.
According to White, “Seven Nation Army” was what he used to call the Salvation Army as a child.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed “Seven Nation Army” at number 8 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In September 2005, NME placed “Seven Nation Army” at number 5 in its list of the 50 Greatest Tracks Of The Decade.
The song shows a rare example of the Phrygian Half Cadence in popular music. It is also a rare example of a popular song with a wholly instrumental refrain.
According to White, “Seven Nation Army” was what he used to call the Salvation Army as a child.
In March 2005, Q magazine placed “Seven Nation Army” at number 8 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In September 2005, NME placed “Seven Nation Army” at number 5 in its list of the 50 Greatest Tracks Of The Decade.
Video
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The White Stripes - 7 Nation Army Music Video
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Albums featuring this track
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Elephant
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Seven Nation Army
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Live at the Orpheum, Boston
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Under Blackpool Lights
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Shouts
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CAVermeer wrote:
Second play in an hour?
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RoomForSymmetry wrote:
Brilliant brilliant brilliant lyrics...
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Sergeant_E-Flat wrote:
@HilariousBeard : Go flame somewhere else. We don't want that shit here. This is a fantastic song by a fucking amazing band. How does this rip off War Pigs?
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HilariousBeard wrote:
LOL @ this song being a ripoff of War Pigs...
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aroma_therapy wrote:
as a cellists i've always shunned double bassists but WOW!
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Jigsaw_x wrote:
EPIC.
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Gypsy-Queen wrote:
You have to hear it L O U D ! ;-)
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steve__ wrote:
Love the live version of this.
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ginanightmare wrote:
I love this song, I remember the video was on tv 24/7 back then haha i was like..9 years old or 10.
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vegmusik wrote:
love the video!!!
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m1ndripper wrote:
this riff is clearly a MASSIVE rip-off from black sabbath's war pigs. they didn't even vary the riff a little bit ffs, wow.
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gleisdreieck wrote:
Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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ShaneSpear wrote:
I like to chant this at stadiums, even when nobody else sings along.
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floralhairspray wrote:
I LOVE LOVE THIS SONG. !! one of my all time favs.
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mcleodry wrote:
jack white is my own personal jesus
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Doctorinho wrote:
Song of the decade.
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junpiko wrote:
good!
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Kris006 wrote:
Unofficial song of Euro 2008
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ImmortalAthon wrote:
this is just pure badass. So simple.. But only a true genius could come up with this kind of riff. Yup, I called Jack White a genius.
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Rikkk93 wrote:
classic of Rock 2000s
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Recent Activity
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jdeiss21 added Seven Nation Army to the playlist. 11 minutes ago
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jdeiss21 added Seven Nation Army to jdeiss21’s library. 11 minutes ago
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wookietomwookie added Seven Nation Army to wookietomwookie’s library. 3 hours ago
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ananda_lakshmi, poli18, ptzink and 5 other people loved The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army. 3 hours ago
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