The White Stripes – Girl, You Have No Faith in Medicine

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  General Comment:This has got to be one of my favorite songs! I think that pooperscooper got it right, Jack is saying that the girl should just have faith, and stop worrying about every little thing like side effects, negative reactions or what ever. The girl in the song probrobly is making excuses of why she wont take the medicine. In my personal opinion this is referring to headaches, but could really about a girl who has an issue like depression or anxiety, but wont seek help and keeps making excuses like I dont think it will help, or I heard bad things about medicine.

  Flag tkenneyusafon July 11, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:I always thought it was about someone who refused to take their depression medication. Hmmm now who could that be? Not me of course.

  Flag Aquarius121on April 01, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:What lifemakesechoes was saying (about how people don't want to take bad drugs but would take similar medicine) made me think of something. This song, for whatever reason, made me think of myself and the medicine I take. You see, I have really bad trouble falling asleep, so I have to take melatonin (which is a tablet that for whatever reason causes your brain to produce a chemical called melatonin, which is naturally produced thing). It kind of makes me think of myself as the girl who DOES have faith in medicine (without it, I doubt I could ever fall asleep at night).
  
  But the thing about people taking medication but not wanting to take drugs made me think of my melatonin. You see, melatonin actually contains hallucinogens. (At the risk of scientifically explaining all this, hallucinogens are not always bad, because your brain makes certain kinds naturally, and that's what makes you dream - people who take melatonin often have vivid and weird dreams, and that's why.) I may be wrong, but I don't consider melatonin a hallucinogenic drug. I've never touched "hallucinogenic drugs" and never will, yet I willingly take melatonin every night (something which contains hallucinogens). That just makes me think of that...even though I don't think Jack's really singing about melatonin.
  
  Hey, does it seem like a small bit more than a coincidence that the song right after this features Jack telling a girl "all the medicine I give you you use on pain pills"?
  
  And I think it's brilliant how he sings "acetaminophen" (which I cannot hardly spell) like "I see the medicine". I love it when people intentionally put words and phrases in songs that have double meanings when said slightly differently or thought to be different words. That's brilliant. Jack White is a good lyricist with cool ideas.

  Flag Pippin the Mercuryon March 06, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:Jack: “It is about really knowing what you want to say, what message you want to convey. To have control over your words. At the very last moment I changed the words “I don’t have the patience to watch you battle every miniscule disease” in the song “Girl, You have no Faith in Medicine” on the new record. I did it because it was written about headaches, but I realized it may be interpreted as if I was putting down people who struggle with other serious illnesses. At the same time, it was important for me to inject a certain measure of mystery in what I was doing, for it not to be too obvious. Therefore, I am sometimes reluctant to discuss individual lyrics. An artist does not write down in the edge (of the painting) what he wanted to say with it, what it should mean.”

  Flag ThePersianRoseon February 03, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:That was meant to be headache above....
  
  Look go to whitestripes.net/…
  
  Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine [top]
  jack: "It came from a discussion between me and other guys about when girlfriends have headaches and won't take certain medicines 'cos it has "something in it." Guys will swallow anything. It's because [women] don't have faith.
  
  "It's about the irritation I was constantly getting with females arguing about headache medicine. Like, 'Oh, I can't take Tylenol, it doesn't work.' Whereas a guy would just take anything, he doesn't even think about it. It seemed like this tiny thing was a big, telling sign of feminine behavior. In my eyes. A guy can just put his coat on and run out the door, but a girl has to take 25 minutes waddling around looking for her purse or whatever. Not that one's better than the other, but they're different." Jack White: "I suppose it is just about this tongue in cheek take on male and female relationships when things are bothering girls about headache medicine. Aspirin, Tylenol and things like that. Its like men can take anything like a sugar pill and it will make their headache go away but there is always some sort of special care for women. It is sort of a metaphor for taking the time to care for someone I guess."

  Flag ThePersianRoseon February 03, 2007   Link

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    Heh, my wife's not supposed to take anything but Tylenol because of a history of stomach ulcers, but she swears Tylenol is totally useless for her headaches. Since women are much more prone to migraines than men I think there may actually be a physical reason for this (Tylenol has a different mechanism than NSAIDs like aspirin and naproxen sodium), and it isn't just women being "difficult".

    Flag JimmyJazz68on August 06, 2010  
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  General Comment:Jack once said it was to do with women being stubborn and how if a guy gets a ehadache, he'll take an aspirin/medicine but a girl will try to 'let it pass'. Something to that extent....

  Flag ThePersianRoseon February 03, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:i have a thing about artificial medicine, coloring, flavoring etc. it bothers me so much, i eat organic food. this song is so wierd and it's mad genius. jack white is a mad genius. i love how he screams all the lyrics. it's a really blinding commentary on how in this day and age there is a pill for everything. bigger boobs? just turn on an infomercial. weight loss? it's called ephedra. hello-oh. *voice was dripping in sarcasm.* it's like he's making a joke on how when americans are in pain they'll (we'll?) do anything to make it go away, even take something that could possibly be poisonous. i love jack white. not only is he musically talented, but he's socially and intellectually brilliant.

  Flag screaming_angelon September 03, 2006   Link

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  General Comment:meg white has big breast, I WOULD LIKE TO BEAT HER DRUMS

  Flag nolaniscoolon May 26, 2006   Link

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  General Comment:It takes a special type of person to be able to put 'acetaminophen' into a song and make it work. For ages I had no idea what acetaminophen was and it really annoyed me.
  
  I love this song, it's one of my favourite white stripes songs, and it's great after the guitar solo-y bit where he's like 'uh...girl, you have no faith in medicine...' like he's completly forgotton what the hell he's singing. The missing line is also great, he shouldn't have told anyone that he just cut a line out!

  Flag humbugon March 05, 2006   Link

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  General Comment:I love the "woop!" Jack belts out at the beginning.
  And it's just great that he stuck the word 'acetaminophen' into a song and it works so damn well.
  
  
  peace

  Flag deadeyeduckon March 01, 2006   Link

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