Ball and Biscuit

"Ball and Biscuit" is the eighth track on the album Elephant by American alternative rock band The White Stripes.

"Ball and Biscuit"
Song by The White Stripes
from the album Elephant
ReleasedApril 1, 2003
RecordedApril 2002
StudioToe Rag, London
Genre
Length7:19
Label
Songwriter(s)Jack White
Producer(s)Jack White

Composition and lyrics

Blues theme

The song commits to the structure of traditional 12-bar blues, a three-chord format in which the first line of each verse is repeated and then answered.[1]

Lyrics

The lyrics follow the perspective of a self-purported seventh son as he apparently courts a woman. He mentions that he is the girl's "third man" and that the girl is ambivalent towards him, but he insistently tries to impress her with his claim to be a seventh son.

The ball (cocaine) and biscuit (amphetamine) may refer to serious drugs. "We'll get clean together/And I'll find me a soapbox where I can shout it" suggests this couple will quit; however, the future-tense gives the line a sense of fatalism. It is likely this character is making optimistic propositions while high (a common theme in blues lyrics). The title could also refer to the STC Coles 4021 "Ball and Biscuit" microphone that was used at Toe Rag Studios during the Elephant recording sessions.[2]

The Seventh Son is based on the American folk legend version of the belief that the seventh son of a seventh son would be granted supernatural powers, which the character of the song claims to possess in the form of superhuman strength. A recollection of similar folklore is frequently found in the Blues and derivatives; notably, Willie Dixon sang a blues song entitled "The Seventh Son". The use of the Seventh Son may have been inspired by Jack White's own family situation; he was the seventh and final son in a family of nine children.[3]

Reception

"Ball and Biscuit" lacked a professional critical evaluation, as it was never released as a single. It was, however, voted in a Rolling Stone magazine Reader's Poll to be the greatest Jack White song "by a landslide".[4] In her review of Elephant, Kitty Empire described the song as "...astonishing, with Jack White playing on his knees, his sexual promises punctuated by liquid guitar emissions."[5] In 2011, the Washington Post's David Malitz described the song as "perhaps the White Stripes' definitive statement."[6]

It has also been used numerous times in popular culture. It was featured in as the background music for the Captain Morgan advertisement "Glass"[7] and was heard at the beginning of the 2010 film The Social Network.[8]

On October 10, 2020, Jack White performed a version of the song on Saturday Night Live after stepping in and replacing Morgan Wallen on short notice.[9]

Cover versions

Bob Dylan covered the song live at a concert in Detroit, Michigan on March 17, 2004, for which he was joined by White (making a surprise appearance). It is the only instance, to date, of Dylan covering a song that was written in the 21st century.[10]

References
  1. "The Blues . Blues Classroom . 12-Bar Blues | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  2. "Toe Rag Studios".
  3. "The Seventh Son". Archived from the original on 2011-09-23.
  4. "Rolling Stone Readers Poll: The Best Jack White Songs of All Time".
  5. Empire, Kitty (2003-04-13). "Reds, Whites and blues". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  6. Malitz, David (2011-02-03). "'The White Stripes belong to you now': Jack and Meg White break up the band". ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  7. "Captain Morgan: "Glass"".
  8. "The Social Network: Opening Scene".
  9. Hussey, Allison. "Watch Jack White Perform the White Stripes' "Ball and Biscuit" on SNL". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  10. "Why does Dylan like Jack White's "Ball and Biscuit"? | Untold DylanUntold Dylan". Retrieved 2021-01-04.
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