Ball and Biscuit

{{Wikiquote|Elephant (album)}}

"Ball and Biscuit" commits to the structure of traditional 12-bar blues, a three-chord format in which the first line of each verse is repeated and then answered.{{Cite web |date=2003 |title=Understanding the 12-Bar Blues |url=https://www.pbs.org/theblues/classroom/essays12bar.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250323032748/https://www.pbs.org/theblues/classroom/essays12bar.html |archive-date=March 23, 2025 |access-date=January 4, 2021 |website=PBS}} Its lyrics follow the perspective of a self-purported seventh son as he apparently courts a woman. He mentions that it is quite possible that he is the girl's "third man" and that the girl is ambivalent towards him, but he persistently tries to impress her with his claim to be a seventh son.

The Seventh Son is based on the American folk legend version of the belief that the seventh son of a seventh son would be granted supernatural powers, which the character of the song claims to possess in the form of superhuman strength. A recollection of similar folklore is frequently found in the Blues and derivatives; notably, Willie Dixon sang a blues song entitled "The Seventh Son". Additionally, the use of the Seventh Son may have been inspired by Jack White's own family situation, being the seventh and final son in a family of nine children.{{cite web |last=Des Barres |first=Pamela |date=June 22, 2009 |title=The Seventh Son |url=http://blurt-online.com/features/view/386/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923001720/http://blurt-online.com/features/view/386/ |archive-date=September 23, 2011 |access-date=March 20, 2025 |website=Blurt}} The title could refer to the STC Coles 4021 "Ball and Biscuit" microphone that was used at Toe Rag Studios during the Elephant recording sessions.{{Cite web |last=James |first=Daniel |date=October 2003 |title=Liam Watson & Toe Rag Studios |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/liam-watson-toe-rag-studios |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122182425/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/liam-watson-toe-rag-studios |archive-date=January 22, 2025 |access-date=June 1, 2021 |website=Sound on Sound}}

"Ball and Biscuit" has generated a significant amount of commentary even though it was never released as a single. It was, however, voted in a Rolling Stone Reader's Poll to be the greatest Jack White song "by a landslide".{{Cite web |date=April 11, 2012 |title=Readers' Poll: The Best Jack White Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/readers-poll-the-best-jack-white-songs-of-all-time-10574/ |access-date=June 1, 2021 |website=Rolling Stone}} In her review of Elephant, Kitty Empire described the song as "...astonishing, with Jack White playing on his knees, his sexual promises punctuated by liquid guitar emissions."{{Cite news |last=Empire |first=Kitty |date=April 13, 2003 |title=Reds, Whites and blues |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2003/apr/13/features.review77 |access-date=December 9, 2017 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}} In 2011, the Washington Post{{'}}s David Malitz described the song as "perhaps the White Stripes' definitive statement."{{Cite news |last=Malitz |first=David |date=February 3, 2011 |title='The White Stripes belong to you now': Jack and Meg White break up the band |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/02/AR2011020205975.html |access-date=December 9, 2017 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} In 2025, VICE's Jake Uitti deemed "Ball and Biscuit" the best track on Elephant, the "most perfect" White Stripes song, and wrote, "(Jack) White sounds mature and the band's drummer Meg White is pocket-perfect. She is the key to the band, the secret, the way into the music. Jack with his self-seriousness and Meg with her sharp-yet-daydreaming vibes."{{Cite web |last=Uitti |first=Jake |date=February 12, 2025 |title=The Single Best Song on Every White Stripes Album |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-single-best-song-on-every-white-stripes-album/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |website=Vice |language=en-US}}

"Ball and Biscuit" has been used numerous times in popular culture. It was featured in as the background music for the Captain Morgan advertisement "Glass".{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4YYgT4DpO0|title=Captain Morgan's "Glass"|access-date=2021-06-01|publisher=YouTube}} It was used in the beginning of the film The Social Network (2010).{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wc5S8xwxJk|title=The Social Network #7 Movie CLIP - Guys That Row Crew (2010) HD|access-date=2021-06-01|publisher=YouTube}}

On October 10, 2020, Jack White performed a version of the song on Saturday Night Live after stepping in and replacing Morgan Wallen on short notice.{{Cite web |last=Hussey |first=Allison |date=October 11, 2020 |title=Watch Jack White Perform the White Stripes' "Ball and Biscuit" on SNL |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-jack-white-perform-the-white-stripes-ball-and-biscuit-on-snl/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240122012042/https://pitchfork.com/news/watch-jack-white-perform-the-white-stripes-ball-and-biscuit-on-snl/ |archive-date=January 22, 2024 |access-date=October 14, 2020 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-us}}

Bob Dylan performed the song live at a concert in Detroit, Michigan on March 17, 2004, for which he was joined by White (making a surprise appearance).{{Cite web |last=Attwood |first=Tony |date=July 17, 2019 |title=Why does Dylan like Jack White's "Ball and Biscuit"? |url=https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/10867 |access-date=January 4, 2021 |website=Untold Dylan |language=en-GB}} An audience recording of the performance was briefly made available to stream on The White Stripes' official website in March 2004.{{Cite web |title=Online Performances (bobdylan.com) |url=https://searchingforagem.com/online.htm |access-date=March 6, 2021 |website=Searchingforagem.com}} A soundboard recording of the performance received an official release as a 7-inch single in the fourth quarter of 2023 via White's Third Man Records.{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Scoop |date=October 5, 2023 |title=Jack White to Release Bob Dylan Collaborative Performance of "Ball and Biscuit" |url=https://consequence.net/2023/10/jack-white-bob-dylan-ball-and-biscuit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207075300/https://consequence.net/2023/10/jack-white-bob-dylan-ball-and-biscuit/ |archive-date=December 7, 2024 |access-date=October 6, 2023 |website=Consequence |language=en-US}}

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Category:2003 songs

Category:2020 singles

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Category:Songs written by Jack White

Category:Blues rock songs

Category:Punk blues songs