"Ball and Biscuit" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes from their fourth studio album, Elephant (2003). The eighth track on Elephant, it was written and produced by Jack White and composed by the duo. Musically, "Ball and Biscuit" is a hard rock song with lyrics inspired by the seventh son of a seventh son concept. It is the longest studio recording by the band, lasting over seven minutes.
"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.[3] 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. This may have been inspired by similar folklore in the Blues and derivatives, or by Jack White's own family situation, being the seventh and final son in a family of nine children.[4] The title could also refer to the STC Coles 4021 microphone, nicknamed the "Apple and Biscuit" or "Ball and Biscuit" microphone, which was used at Toe Rag Studios during the Elephant recording sessions.[5]
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.[9]
Reception
"Ball and Biscuit" has generated a significant amount of commentary even though it was never released as a single. 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."[10] In 2011, the Washington Post's David Malitz described the song as "perhaps the White Stripes' definitive statement".[11] It was voted in a 2012 Rolling Stone Reader's Poll to be the greatest Jack White song "by a landslide".[12] In 2025, VICE's Jake Uitti deemed "Ball and Biscuit" the best track on Elephant, the "most perfect" White Stripes song, and wrote that Jack "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."[13]
Legacy
"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".[14] It was used in the beginning of the film The Social Network (2010).[15]
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).[16] An audience recording of the performance was briefly made available to stream on the White Stripes' official website in March 2004.[17] 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.[18]
References
↑Blackwell, Ben (2023). Elephant UHQR (booklet). Third Man Records.
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