White Stripes Week Continues: Your First Listen of “Icky Thump” and New Tour Dates
The other night XFM Radio played the White Stripes’ new single, “Icky Thump”, and someone was clever enough to record it. (Thanks for the link, J.) I tried to find a streaming version off the XFM site, but no luck…
DOWNLOAD: “Icky Thump” by the White Stripes (Radio edit) (removed by request)
BUY the single legally.
It actually reminds me a little of “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys–I think it’s the faux bagpipe sound.
The probable lyrics after the jump…Please suggest corrections!!
Y’all hear icky thump who’d've thunk, sittin’ drunk on a wagon to Mexico
Oh yeah what a chump well my head got a bump when I hit it on the radio
Redhead señorita lookin dead came and said, I need a bed in espanol
Said gimme drink of water gonna sing around the collar and I don’t need a microphone
Icky thump with my lump hit my thump grabbed my coat and I reckon I was ready to go
Yeah swam beside her hair she had one wide eye one blank stare, lookin up lyin there
When I stared in her hair was a candy cane, black room sugarcane, shouting out something strange
lalalalalaLaaalaalaaa
Well Americans, what? Nothing Better to do? Why don’t you kick yourself out you’re an immigrant too
Who’s using who? What should we do? Well you can’t be a pimp and a prostitute too
Icky thump handcuffed to a bunk robbed blind looked around and there was nobody else
Left alone I hit myself with a stone and went home and learned how to clean up after myself
And today they also announced the North American tour dates:
Burnaby, BC Deer Lake Park (June 24)
Whitehorse, YU Yukon Arts Centre (25)
Yellowknife, NT Shortly Brown Multiplex Arena (26)
Iqaluit, NU Arctic Winter Games Arena (27)
Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome (29)
Saskatoon, SK TCU Place (July 1)
Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre (2)
Thunder Bay, ON Community Auditorium (3)
Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre (5)
Montreal, QC Bell Centre (6)
London, ON John Labatt Centre (7)
Ottawa, ON Bluesfest (8)
Moncton, NB Coliseum Arena (10)
Charlottetown, PE Civic Centre (11)
Halifax, NS Cunard Centre (13)
Glace Bay, NS Savoy Theatre (14)
St John’s NF Mile One Centre (16)
Portland, ME Cumberland Civic Centre (22)
Boston, MA Agganis Arena (23)
New York, NY Madison Square Garden (24)
Wallingford, CT Chevrolet Theatre (25)
Wilmington, DE Grand Opera House (27)
Fairfax, VA Patriot Centre (28)
North Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues (29)
Birmingham, AL Sloss Furnaces (30)
Southaven, MS Snowden Grove Park Amphitheatre (31)
1. Anonymous | 1:28 am on April 26th, 2007
These are the lyrics according to Ben Blackwell:
IIIIIIIIEEEEEEE
Icky thump
Who’da thunk?
Sittin drunk on a wagon to Mexico?
Ahh well
What a chump
Well my head got a bump
When I hit it on the radio
Redhead senorita
Looking dead
Came and said
“Need a bed?”
En Espanol
I said
“Gimme a drink a water,
I’m gonna ’sing around the collar’
And I don’t need a microphone.”
Icky Thump
With a lump in my throat
Grabbed my coat
And I was freaking
I was ready to go!
And I swear
Besides the hair
She had: one white eye,
One black (nk) stare
Lookin’ up
Lyin’ there.
On the stand
Near her hand
Was a candy cane
Black rum, sugar cane
Dry ice (and) something strange
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too?
Who’s using who?
What should we do?
Well, you can’t be a pimp
And a prostitue too.
Icky thump
Handcuffed to a bunk
Robbed blind
Looked around
And there was nobody else
Left alone
I hit myself with a stone
Went home and learned how
To clean up after myself.
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2. JudasConstant | 2:42 am on April 26th, 2007
“You can’t be a pimp and a prostitute, too.”
Is it me, or does Jack White sound like Snoop Dogg when he says this?
3. Henry | 10:35 am on April 26th, 2007
That’s my favoritie line in the song:
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Jack White can be so profound.
4. mrclc | 12:07 pm on April 26th, 2007
It’s different enough to be interesting, but similar enough to sound like typical, White Stripes, kick-ass fare. If the whole album sounds like this, I think we’re in for a treat. And that line is awesome. Jack going political on us? Did you see the stanza before?
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too?
5. Anonymous | 12:53 pm on April 26th, 2007
That was a mistake Henry.
6. laura | 1:18 pm on April 26th, 2007
@Henry: who knows what might come next… “Page 1 of 1″, perhaps?
7. John | 3:54 pm on April 26th, 2007
Yikes, this is awful. He’s trying so hard to be ‘heavy’ … when it used to come so easily.
8. JJ | 5:13 pm on April 26th, 2007
@ John
I couldn’t disagree more but to each his own
9. A Grande Abóbora | 5:54 pm on April 26th, 2007
Icky Thump - o primeiro single do novo álbum dos White Stripes…
Eis que estava navegando pelo Google Blog Search (mentira, eu sabia muito bem o que queria) e encontrei este post no blog The Modern Age, com uma versão de Icky Thump, o novo single dos White Stripes, para download. Uma rádio chamada XFM o tocou, um…
10. Sodwee | 6:16 pm on April 26th, 2007
a tune! Sounds really Hip-Hop in that phase :
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too?
Who’s using who?
What should we do?
Well, you can’t be a pimp
And a prostitue too.
I can ear a slight Rage Against The Machine style in there too, don’t ya ?
11. emily | 6:18 pm on April 26th, 2007
they play three instruments at the same time : (
12. Sean | 8:19 pm on April 26th, 2007
Wow. I have listened to it twice and it is already painfully annoying. I do not get the fascination with this band.
13. spamber | 8:20 pm on April 26th, 2007
presale starts monday
so excited.
ridiculously excited
and i really did not like the electric bagpipes or whatever that awful thing was throughout the song. its.. icky
14. laura | 1:37 am on April 27th, 2007
official lyrics:
http://www.whitestripes.com/IckyThump/single_lyrics/
15. Anonymous | 4:04 am on April 27th, 2007
It’s an old Univox synthesizer
16. spamber | 6:38 am on April 27th, 2007
jack needs to leave the synthesizer to david swanson…
17. laura | 8:11 am on April 27th, 2007
oh boooo! i like the effect!
18. laura | 9:41 am on April 27th, 2007
remember when jack thought being political was “novelty”?
http://www.themodernage.org/2003/03/08/white-stripes-aesthetic-fascists/
19. Franko | 9:56 am on April 27th, 2007
Wow, you’ve even been mentioned by NME
http://www.nme.com/news/the-white-stripes/27985
20. Z | 11:24 am on April 27th, 2007
you’re famous!
better version and some live tracks available at http://www.butterteam.blogspot.com
21. Ross | 1:39 pm on April 27th, 2007
Eh sorry how can people not WORSHIP this song already? I know I do! I’ll be “Icky Thumping” all summer long, that’s for certain, and thank God(Jack White) that music is finally good again!
22. Michael | 2:50 pm on April 27th, 2007
Love the track, it reminds me of The Big Three Killed My Baby, but better and also some De Stijl. It also sounds like Jack’s been listening to space rock, which couldn’t be more amazing
23. Connor | 5:41 pm on April 27th, 2007
OKay I like it so far but I gotta listen to it to get a better idea I guess and I liked the sintisizer(cant spell)
24. Thomas1426 | 8:55 pm on April 29th, 2007
Jack & Meg can do no wrong!!
25. Michelle | 12:26 am on April 30th, 2007
The White Stripes ROCCCKKKKKK
Jack and Meg sound great, I wish they would announce some more US dates.
PLEASE COME TO ARIZONA!!!!!
26. samson loves spinich | 4:04 am on April 30th, 2007
they’re just not evolving enough. what happened to him singing songs? his voice sounds awful. I do like the fast organ in it. I think the lyrics are stale and unimaginative. Where are the chills I used to get from listening to their songs? I think all good things come to an end eventually, and they’ve made a good run of it.
27. Anonymous | 5:57 pm on May 3rd, 2007
Maybe they’re changing too much for you. I’m not a huge fan of this track, or of the first singles off any of their last three albums, but the lyrics and vocals are good.
28. samson loves spinich | 4:41 am on May 15th, 2007
no, I actually think they’re NOT evolving enough mr. anonymous. If you’re going to write a political song, make it good, and write direct lyrics. Jack is being to vague. I also feel that he’s not using his voice enough- literally (maybe he needs to stop smoking cigarettes or drinking whiskey because his voice is…strained. basically not singing at all) and figuratively (come on Jackie, elaborate a little won’t you? Jesus I’m not asking you to write a novel, but a few words chosen without much thinking isn’t very impressive, no) and in that preview clip..with the skeleton dancing…my God, when did his voice get so whiney? again, stop smoking.
29. CAgirl | 9:27 am on May 15th, 2007
Unless he started smoking again, he said he quit smoking when he was working with Loretta Lynn. He said he was embarressed in front of her to not be able to hit the high notes so he quit smoking. Meg smokes. Maybe he is breathing in second hand smoke:)
30. samson loves spinich | 11:49 pm on May 21st, 2007
haha, good story about him quitting, that’s good to know, I’m glad he quit.
Maybe the damage has been done, because his voice still is real…worn.
31. Anonymous | 12:59 am on May 22nd, 2007
Why must a ‘political song’ have direct lyrics? Many of the best ones don’t.
32. Austin | 12:16 am on June 2nd, 2007
wow this song is very Rage Against the Machine like.. coulda swore from the guitar playing.. voice is semi-similar
33. Josy | 1:59 pm on September 26th, 2007
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too?
-I love that stanza!-
34. anon | 5:30 pm on December 6th, 2007
White Americans, what?
Nothing better to do?
Why don’t you kick yourself out
You’re an immigrant too?
-I love that stanza!-
why? you dont see a difference in legal immigration into this country and Illegal immigration? ‘White Americans’ immigrated into this country through Ellis Island LEGALLY.
35. Elisa | 1:44 pm on August 11th, 2008
how so, anon?
and you don’t seem to be thinking far back enough
it would be Plymouth where the White Americans came and decided that these were their lands….
ever heard of NATIVE Americans? does the word NATIVE mean anything to you?
so, unless you know your history, stop with this “‘White Americans’ immigrated into this country through Ellis Island LEGALLY” crap
And i agree with you Josy!