Seven Nation Army
"Seven Nation Army" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes. It is the opening track on their fourth studio album, Elephant (2003). V2 Records released the song to American alternative radio on February 17, 2003, as the lead single from the album. Worldwide, the single was issued through XL Recordings. Written and produced by Jack White, the song consists of distorted vocals, a simple drumbeat, and a bass line created by playing a guitar through a pitch shift effect.
"Seven Nation Army"
The song charted in multiple countries, and its success contributed to the popularity of the White Stripes and the garage rock revival movement. It received widespread critical acclaim, with praise being given to its distinctive riff and drumbeat; various critics and magazines have since listed "Seven Nation Army" as one of the best songs of all time. It won Best Rock Song at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards, and a music video for the song directed by Alex and Martin won Best Editing in a Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "Seven Nation Army" 36th on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
"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. The song has grown in popularity due to its usage in sports; its riff has been described as "ubiquitous",[2] and the song has experienced increased commercial success, charting intermittently in multiple countries and receiving a gold certification from Germany's Federal Music Industry Association, a platinum certification from the Federation of the Italian Music Industry and a multi-platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry.
The song has appeared in various media and has been used in political events in the United Kingdom, particularly as a chant sung by audiences. Various artists have covered "Seven Nation Army", including Ben l'Oncle Soul and Marcus Collins, both of whose covers reached charts in multiple countries. Third Man Records re-released the song in 2014 and 2015.
Release[edit]
Jack White's idea of releasing "Seven Nation Army" as a single faced opposition from the White Stripes' record label, XL Recordings, which wanted to release the song "There's No Home for You Here" instead.[19] Jack White persuaded the label to release "Seven Nation Army",[3] and in 2003 it was released as a promotional single alongside Elephant track "In the Cold, Cold Night".[20] It was subsequently released as a 7-inch vinyl single and a CD single; the former included a cover of "Good to Me"—written by Brendan Benson and Jason Falkner[5]—as its B-side, while the latter included both "Good to Me" and folk song "Black Jack Davey".[20] The photograph used as the single's artwork was taken by Patrick Pantano; it includes an elephant painting made by Greg Siemasz.[5]
On January 3, 2014, Third Man Records announced a limited edition clear 7-inch vinyl reissue of "Seven Nation Army" as part of a package for subscribers to its Vault service.[21][22] A black 7-inch vinyl reissue with updated artwork was released on February 27, 2015.[22]
Music video[edit]
The video, directed by Alex and Martin, consists of one seemingly continuous shot through a kaleidoscopic tunnel of mirrored black, white and red triangles, touching on Jack's love of the number three. The triangle slides alternate between images of Jack or Meg playing, interspersed with marching skeletons and an elephant, referring to the name of the album "Seven Nation Army" appeared on. The triangles move forward through the tunnel faster and slower in tandem with the dynamics of the song. When the song begins to intensify, the lights surrounding the triangles flash and other effects build up as well.
The music video won Best Editing in a Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards,[23] and it was nominated for Best Group Video, Best Rock Video, and Best Special Effects.[24]
Reception[edit]
"Seven Nation Army" received widespread critical acclaim. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards in addition to being nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal,[25][26] and in 2003, it was ranked number three on Pazz & Jop based on music critics' votes.[27] Heather Phares of AllMusic described it as a "breathtaking opener" to the album Elephant,[28] and Bram Teltelman of Billboard suggested that "adventurous rock programmers might want to join the 'Army'".[14] In particular, "Seven Nation Army"'s central riff has been the subject of praise since the song's release. A writer for Rolling Stone described it as the best riff of the 2000s decade,[29] 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".[30] Critics also praised Meg White's drumming—a "hypnotic thud" according to Tom Maginnis of AllMusic.[8] Teltelman described the drumming as "simple but effective",[14] and Phares said it was "explosively minimal".[28]
Critics distinguished the song from the White Stripes' other work. According to Teltelman, "Seven Nation Army" represented an effort to "defy categorization", especially the garage rock label that had been attributed to the band. He further wrote that it was "much more of a straightforward rock song" than the band's 2002 single "Fell in Love with a Girl".[14] Phares found "Seven Nation Army", along with "The Hardest Button to Button", to "deliver some of the fiercest blues-punk" of any song by the White Stripes,[28] and Alex Young of Consequence of Sound viewed it as the band's best song.[31] Paste and Stereogum both named "Seven Nation Army" as the White Stripes' best song.[32][33]
Critics ranked the song among the best tracks of the 2000s decade; it appeared on NME's,[34] Rolling Stone's,[29] WFNX's,[35] and Pitchfork's[36] retrospective lists, and it was placed at number one on Consequence of Sound's "Top 50 Songs of the Decade".[31] "Seven Nation Army" appeared on Triple J's greatest songs ranking based on audience votes,[37][38] and listeners ranked the song number six on BBC Radio 6 Music's "Top 100 Greatest Hits" after being presented with an unranked best songs list that the station had created.[39] Loudwire ranked it the seventh on their list of the "Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs".[40]
In March 2005, Q magazine ranked "Seven Nation Army" eighth in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.[41] It was also called the 75th greatest hard rock song by VH1.[42] In May 2008, Rolling Stone placed the song at number 21 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.[43] On Rolling Stone's updated version of its The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2010, "Seven Nation Army" was listed at number 286,[44] and was re-ranked at number 36 in the 2021 edition. Rolling Stone also polled artists, critics and industry insiders in 2018 to create a list of the 100 greatest songs of the 21st century, and the song was placed at No. 3, with its riff described as the greatest of the 21st century.[45]
The song was listed as the number-one song of the year on the 2003 KROQ Top 106.7.[46]
Commercial performance[edit]
On March 8, 2003, "Seven Nation Army" debuted at number 27 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart;[47][note 1] on July 26, it peaked at number one, a position it maintained for three weeks.[49] In late 2023, for the chart's 35th anniversary,[50] Billboard ranked the song as the 80th most successful in the chart's history.[51] The song entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on May 24, peaking at 76 that week.[52][53] It debuted at number 38 on Billboard's Mainstream rock chart on July 12, and it reached its peak position of 12 on November 8.[54][55] In Canada it peaked at number 61 on the Canadian Singles Chart in July 2007.[56]
The song debuted on the UK Singles Chart on May 3, 2003, at number seven, its peak position.[57] It also reached the UK Indie Chart and Scottish Singles Chart the same week. The song debuted on the former at number one and remained at that position for another week, and it debuted and peaked at number six on the latter.[58][59][60] On May 1, it debuted on the Irish Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 22.[61] On June 22, the song debuted on the Australian Singles Chart at its peak position of number 17.[62] It debuted on the Official German Charts at number 69 on June 27; it peaked at number four two weeks later.[63]
"Seven Nation Army" continued to chart intermittently years after its release. The song debuted at number four on the Federation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI) chart on July 27, 2006, and it peaked at number three a week later.[64] On June 29, 2008, it debuted at number 18 on the Swiss Hitparade chart, where it ultimately peaked at number four; it reentered this chart several times afterward, most recently in 2013.[65] The song debuted at number 23 on the Ö3 Austria Top 40 chart on July 4, 2008, and it peaked at number 18 the next week; it later entered the Ö3 Austria Top 75 chart for one week on February 3, 2012.[66] The song also entered the French Singles Chart on multiple occasions from 2013 to 2018, peaking at number 48 on February 23, 2013.[67] It debuted on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart on January 18, 2014, peaking at number 12 during its first week.[68][69]
The song was awarded several certifications in the 2010s. It was certified gold by Germany's Federal Music Industry Association in 2010, indicating over 150,000 sales of the single.[70] In 2013, the British Phonographic Industry awarded "Seven Nation Army" a silver certification; after receiving a gold certification two years later, the song was certified double platinum in 2019 for sales and streams of over 1,200,000.[71] The song was certified gold by the FIMI in 2014; three years later, it received a platinum certification, having sold over 50,000 copies.[72]
"Seven Nation Army"
March 8, 2010 (promo)
September 24, 2010 (CD Maxi)
2009–2010
2:57
Guillaume Poncelet, Gabin Lesieur
"Break These Chains"
March 4, 2012
2011–12
2:56
Matt Furmidge, Alex Smith, Brian Rawling