I’m going to Wichita/
Far from this opera for evermore.

The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” might be the most riff-centric song I have ever heard. It is good that it is such an iconic riff. There are few songs that I can think of where the baseline is the driving force of the song.  If bass riffs are your thing, two other great examples that are in the same category is Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain and Queen’s “Under Pressure”.

Some drama is haunting the mind of narrator—it is keeping him up at night…driving him to smoke and talk to himself. It is not clear if it is real or if the narrator has a persecution complex. I suppose it could be both. It is troubling the narrator so much that he is considering fighting everyone—or moving to a remote location and perhaps giving up being a singer and becoming a farmer …he is not sure which. The lyrics of “Seven Nation Army” don’t tell the most coherent story. But hey, it is fun and has a good beat.

Seven Nation Army Lyrics

I’m gonna fight ’em all
A seven nation army couldn’t hold me back
They’re gonna rip it off
Taking their time right behind my back
And I’m talking to myself at night
Because I can’t forget
Back and forth through my mind
Behind a cigarette

And the message coming from my eyes
Says, “Leave it alone”

Don’t wanna hear about it
Every single one’s got a story to tell
Everyone knows about it
From the Queen of England to the Hounds of Hell
And if I catch it coming back my way
I’m gonna serve it to you
And that ain’t what you want to hear
But that’s what I’ll do
And the feeling coming from my bones
Says, “Find a home”

I’m going to Wichita
Far from this opera forevermore

I’m gonna work the straw
Make the sweat drip out of every pore
And I’m bleeding, and I’m bleeding, and I’m bleeding
Right before the Lord
All the words are gonna bleed from me
And I will sing no more
And the stains coming from my blood
Tell me, “Go back home”

Songwriters: John Anthony White