“Eh, It’s Ok”: How “Seven Nation Army” Went From Snoozer To Defining 21st Century Folk Anthem

Before it was played in bars, stadiums, and arenas across the world, the opening riff to “Seven Nation Army” was played on the fly during a White Stripes soundcheck in Australia. The player was, of course, White Stripes co-founder and frontman Jack White. And his audience? Well, let’s just say the now iconic riff didn’t instantly enrapture them.

Videos by American Songwriter

Years later, that’s precisely what this song is doing to people all over the globe. “Seven Nation Army” is, for all intents and purposes, the most defining folk song of the 21st century. For budding guitarists, it’s the 2000s version of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.” Even if you don’t listen to the White Stripes, you’d recognize this powerful, almost foreboding minor melody.

But when White first showed someone the riff that would become one of the most ubiquitous melodies in modern history, their response was, “Eh. It’s ok.”

How “Seven Nation Army” Transformed From Snoozer To Anthem

The White Stripes first released “Seven Nation Army” as the opening track to their 2003 album Elephant. It garnered the rock duo a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song the following year, and the accolades didn’t stop there. The song’s popularity continued to balloon, eventually turning “Seven Nation Army” into an international sports anthem and pop culture staple.

While Jack White had no way of knowing just how ubiquitous “Seven Nation Army” would truly become, he did have an inkling that it was something special. He first played the riff during a White Stripes soundcheck in Australia. Honing in on the minor run, he played the melody for a Third Man Records colleague, Ben Swank, and asked him what he thought of it. In a conversation with Jimmy Page and the Edge, White recalled Swank replying, “‘Eh, it’s alright.’ It’s one of those things where it’s almost great when people say that because it almost makes you get defensive in your brain.”

“[You] think, ‘No, there’s something to this. You don’t see it yet. But it’s going to get there. You got to have some imagination,’” White said. So, he continued to dial the riff in, thinking he might save it for a hypothetical James Bond or spy movie collaboration in the future. But when the White Stripes got into the studio in London’s Hackney area, “Seven Nation Army” fell out naturally. Even the distinctive title was supposed to be a placeholder until they came up with something better. However, just like with his iconic melody, White ended up going with his gut. And boy, did that pay off exponentially.

What It’s Like For Jack White To Hear It Now

Does everyone who recognizes the melody know more lyrics than the first two lines (if that)? Definitely not. Does the pervasiveness of the melody still qualify it as a powerful example of modern-day folk music? Absolutely yes. “Seven Nation Army” is to 21st-century guitarists what “Smoke on the Water” was to guitarists starting out post-1972. The song is a bona fide pop culture staple and a beautiful example of how the perfect melody can transcend language, age, time, and setting to resonate with everyone.

During a 2022 appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Jack White used the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy to describe what it’s like living in a world where one of his songs has become as recognizable a melody as, say, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” At the end of Yankee Doodle Dandy, which is a biographical film about composer George M. Cohan, a soldier singing one of Cohan’s songs, “Over There,” teases Cohan about whether he knows the words, not knowing Cohan had written it. White said that’s what he thinks of every time he’s at a sporting event or large gathering, and “Seven Nation Army” inevitably begins to play.

“It’s not mine anymore,” White said. “It becomes folk music when things like that happen. The more people don’t know where it came from, the happier I am. The more it just becomes ubiquitous. I’m sure many people chanting the melody have no idea what the song is or where it came from or why or whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore, and that’s just amazing.”

Photo by Jason Squires/WireImage