The White Stripes song that Meg White hated
From their inception, The White Stripes always remained a democratic affair. Regardless of the perception from some fans that the band were the building blocks for what would become Jack White’s solo career, Meg White’s precise knowledge of where to place her drumming accents was always at the forefront of the production. Although Jack was known for writing nearly every song in their catalogue, Meg could give her opinion when a song didn’t sit well with her.
Throughout their career, The White Stripes’ vision for their albums was to bring rock and roll back to its bare essentials, making songs as simplistic as they were raw. On records like their self-titled record or De Stijl, every song seems to sound on the verge of falling apart, including more than a handful of songs that feel like they could be first takes.
After moving out of Jack’s living room to a professional recording studio, the band became a refined rock and roll machine on songs like ‘Fell in Love With a Girl’ and ‘Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground’. Once they got to the album Elephant, though, there was one song that Meg couldn’t stand behind.
Compared to their older records, Elephant became one of the most democratic albums yet, with Meg even singing on the song ‘In the Cold Cold Night’ and providing the propulsive kick drum behind their biggest single, ‘Seven Nation Army’. When it came to the song ‘Girl You’ve Got No Faith in Medicine’, Meg put her foot down regarding some of the lyrics, thinking that they were problematic.
Looking at the rest of the album, it’s not that hard to see where Meg was coming from. Across the song, Jack’s lyrics sound closer to someone trying to manipulate his lover to take a pill that could easily hypnotise her into being his wife. Though Jack can be commended with shoehorning the word ‘acetaminophen’ into a rock song, his tone of voice throughout the track seems almost comical, putting a happy face on a disturbing situation as he wonders if there’s a pill-fuelled cure for his girlfriend.
By the time they brought the song into the studio, Meg had refused to play on it unless Jack changed some more offensive lyrics. Though Jack acquiesced at the time, he did have a little bit of fun on the road, changing the title lyric from “girl” to “Meg” when performing the song live. Then again, considering they came from a collapsed marriage before the band even started, that makes the lyrics all the more disturbing.
Although the song remained a great album track from this band era, Meg was already starting to break away from the band. After one too many creative disagreements and uncomfortable feelings she got from playing live, The White Stripes called it a day a few albums later on Icky Thump, playing one final show doing a version of the ‘We’re Going to Be Friends’ on Conan O’Brien’s show. Jack might still take to the stage in his solo act and play his fair share of White Stripes favourites, but there’s always something missing without the primal sound of Meg’s approach to drumming.
