In the Cold, Cold Night

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"In the Cold, Cold, Night"
Song by the White Stripes
from the album Elephant
ReleasedApril 1, 2003 (2003-04-01)
RecordedApril–May 2002
Studio Toe Rag Studios, London
Genre
Length2:58
Label
Composer(s) Jack White, Meg White
Lyricist(s) Jack White
Producer(s) Jack White

"In the Cold, Cold Night" is a song by American rock duo the White Stripes from their fourth studio album, Elephant (2003). The fifth track on Elephant, it was written and produced by Jack White specifically for Meg White to sing, marking her first time performing as the band's lead vocalist. The song was also composed by the duo. Musically, it features a minimal soundscape and lyrics about a woman awaiting her lover's return.

Contents

"In the Cold, Cold Night" was praised by music critics for the composition and vocals. It is considered a highlight of the White Stripes's discography due to Meg's rare lead singing position. Though never released as a single, journalists have suggested that it demonstrated Meg's significance in debates about her role in the band.

Recording

The White Stripes made their recording debut in 1998, and Jack White was established as the duo's guitarist and lead vocalist and Meg White their drummer. [1] She only performed background vocals for the band's second and third studio albums, De Stijl and White Blood Cells respectively, [2] and shared vocal duties with Jack on the Loretta Lynn cover "Rated X" which features as the B-side to their 2001 single "Hotel Yorba". [3] After the band's international breakthrough with White Blood Cells, they began to create material for their fourth studio album, Elephant. [4]

"In the Cold, Cold Night" was one of eleven songs recorded through April and May 2002 at Toe Rag Studios in Hackney, London. [5] It is the first time Meg recorded leading vocals on any work of the band to that point; to gain confidence in her singing abilities, she sang during their live performances and covered the Velvet Underground's "After Hours". [4] Meg would sing lead once more on "Passive Manipulation" in their follow-up album Get Behind Me Satan (2005), [6] and deliver a spoken-word performance on the bagpipe-heavy track "St. Andrew (This Battle Is in the Air)" in Icky Thump (2007). [7]

Composition

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"In the Cold, Cold Night"
15-second sample from the intro of "In the Cold, Cold Night"
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"In the Cold, Cold Night" is an alternative rock, blues rock, and garage rock song. [8] Unlike the band's prior work, the song does not have any percussion and features a minimalist soundscape of guitars and bass pedals of a Hammond organ. [9] The song is written in the key of D minor with a tempo of 112 beats per minute, and Meg's voice ranges from soprano to mezzo-soprano. [10]

Jack wrote "In the Cold, Cold Night" specifically for Meg to sing. [4] Though its lyrics have been interpreted ambiguously, the song is about a young—and possibly inexperienced—woman pleading for her lover to return. [11] Critics and audiences have noted its contrast to the rest of the band's songs for both Meg's leading position and its cryptic atmosphere. [12]

Release

The song was never released as a standalone single, but it was a staple of the White Stripes' live performances and was frequently performed by the band from 2003 until their final performances in late 2007. [13] Notable performances of "In the Cold, Cold Night" include those at the Aragon Ballroom in 2003, [14] Madison Square Garden in 2007, [15] and during their 2007 Summer Tour in Canada featured in the documentary Under Great White Northern Lights (2009). [16] A visualizer for the song was created for Elephant's 20th anniversary in 2023. [17]

Reception

Meg White's (pictured in 2005) first time singing lead was praised. Meg White.jpg
Meg White's (pictured in 2005) first time singing lead was praised.

"In the Cold, Cold Night" has received positive reviews from music critics, both at the time and retrospectively. AllMusic's Tom Maginnis and The New York Times's Jon Pareles both likened the song to Little Willie John's "Fever". They praised the atmosphere of the track and Meg's vocals, with the latter calling it memorable and "uncharacteristic". [9] [12] Matt Harvey of BBC said that "Meg speaks and (unlike her drumming) comes across all fey and, well, sort of pre-Raphaelite in a down-town Motor City kind of way. [...] it's all so divinely confident, so sexy." [18] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian called her vocals "childlike", praising its "stark, unaffected quality" and its "radical departure" from the band's usual sound. [19] Petridis later ranked it among the band's best songs and called it "her finest moment not as the White Stripes' drummer, but their vocalist". [20] Brent DiCrescenzo likened her voice to "a coy Mo Tucker or Georgia Hubley–more so than take-no-sass Patsy Cline or Dusty in Memphis ." [21]

Eric Alper believed the song allowed Meg to prove her worth amidst the contemporary debate regarding her role in the band. He described her vocals as "soft, haunting" and the track as "a vulnerable moment that added emotional depth to the record." [22] Ron Hart of Spin deemed her singing "sweet and tender", and Cat Clyde later wrote for Spin: "I loved that Meg's voice was timid. It felt so real. ... I still feel today it's such a perfect recording." [23] Stephen Trageser of Nashville Scene believed the song has an "unsettling, ambiguous sentiment" with a "determined creepiness". [24] Staff at The Quietus wrote: "her (Meg's) clear-voiced invocations of flickering flame carnality exude a shy, eye-of-the-storm poise which contrasts beautifully with the high voltage drama that hallmarks the song's chart-topping parent album (Elephant)". [25] Tom Breihan of Stereogum believed Meg "brings a magnetic remoteness" and called it "beautifully weird". [26]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Elephant. [27]

Cover versions

References

  1. ↑ Wilkinson, Alec (March 5, 2017). "Jack White's Infinite Imagination". The New Yorker . ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  2. ↑ Shlanger, Talia (September 21, 2018). "Meg White Is The 21st Century's Loudest Introvert". NPR .
  3. ↑ Betts, Stephen L. (January 29, 2015). "Watch the White Stripes Do Loretta Lynn Proud". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Billboard Staff (March 24, 2003). "White Stripes Stay Pure On 'Elephant'". Billboard . Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ Blackwell, Ben (2023). Elephant UHQR (booklet). Third Man Records.
  6. ↑ "Get Behind Me Satan". Rolling Stone . June 16, 2005. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  7. ↑ NME (June 18, 2007). "The White Stripes: Icky Thump". NME . Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  8. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Elephant – The White Stripes". AllMusic . Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Pareles, Jon (April 6, 2003). "White Stripe: Same Old Colors". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 5, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  10. ↑ "The White Stripes "In the Cold, Cold Night" Sheet Music in D Minor". Musicnotes.com. September 21, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  11. ↑ White, Jack (October 10, 2023). The White Stripes Complete Lyrics. Third Man Books. ISBN   979-8986614526.
  12. 1 2 Maginnis, Tom, In the Cold, Cold Night, AllMusic , retrieved May 29, 2025
  13. ↑ Graham, Adam (September 19, 2019). "Audio of White Stripes' final concert now available online". The Detroit News . Archived from the original on January 31, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  14. ↑ "The White Stripes celebrate 20th anniversary of Elephant with limited edition vinyl and digital deluxe releases". Third Man Records . March 9, 2023. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ Menze, Jill (June 27, 2007). "The White Stripes / July 24, 2007 / New York (Madison Square Garden)". Billboard . Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Buy It, Steal It, Skip It: The White Stripes' Under Great White Northern Lights". Vanity Fair . March 15, 2010. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Music Videos Archives". whitestripes.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2025. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  18. ↑ Harvey, Matt (2003). "The White Stripes Elephant Review". BBC . Archived from the original on February 13, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  19. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (March 28, 2003). "The White Stripes: Elephant". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  20. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (December 5, 2024). "Tall tales, campfire singalongs and Oldham slang: the White Stripes' 20 best songs – ranked!". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on March 22, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  21. ↑ DiCrescenzo, Brent (April 1, 2003). "The White Stripes: Elephant". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  22. ↑ Alper, Eric (January 21, 2025). "5 Surprising Facts About The White Stripes' "Elephant"". That Eric Alper . Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  23. ↑ Hart, Ron (April 1, 2023). "Elephant Turns 20: Artists Reflect on the White Stripes' Landmark Album". Spin . Archived from the original on February 18, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  24. 1 2 Trageser, Stephen (November 12, 2013). "Wanda Jackson Covers The White Stripes' 'In the Cold, Cold Night'". Nashville Scene . Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  25. ↑ The Quietus (February 8, 2011). "The White Stripes: Delving Beyond The Hits". The Quietus . Archived from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  26. ↑ Breihan, Tom (March 30, 2023). "The White Stripes' 'Elephant' Turns 20". Stereogum . Archived from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  27. ↑ The White Stripes (2003). Elephant (Liner notes, CD booklet). XLCD 162.
  28. ↑ Bartleet, Larry (June 20, 2015). "Eight Unmissable Covers Of White Stripes Songs". NME . Archived from the original on January 30, 2025. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
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