Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
(Rag and bone) rag and bone
(Rag and bone) rag and bone
Meg, look at this place
What? Woo
Well, this place is like a mansion
It's like a mansion, look at all this stuff
I dunno
Look, I see something over there
Woo, man
Well, can't you hear us selling "rag and bone"?
Bring out your junk and we'll give it a home
A broken trumpet or a telephone
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to me
Yeah
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to me
Oh, rag and bone
Rag and bone
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to me
All of your pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones
Well, man, look at all this, you don't want it?
(I could use that)
You sure you don't want it, man? (I could use)
Take it
It's just things you don't want, I can use 'em
Meg can use 'em, we can do something with 'em
We'll make something out of 'em
Make some money out of 'em at least
This fits me perfect
Give it to me
Hey, if you ain't gonna use it, just give it to us
We'll give it a home
Well, have they got something shiny for me?
Anybody got a Christmas tree?
Can you partwith a toilet seat?
Ah, jump up, ah, jump up, ah, jump up
Come on and give it to me
Rag and bone
We wanna get it, granny, while it's hot
You think it's trash, granny, but it's not
Oh, we'll be taking whatever you got
Ah, give up, ah, give up, ah, give up
Come on and give it to me
Woo
All of your pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones
I saw some stuff in your yard are you gonna give it to us?
Ah, Meg, don't be rude
Or not?
They might need it
If you don't want it, we'll take it
If you don't wanna give it to us, we'll keep walking by
We'll keep going we're not tired
Got plenty of places to go, lots of homes we ain't been to yet
On the west side, the south-west side
Middle east, rich house, dog house, outhouse, old folks' house
House for unwed mothers, halfway homes, catacombs, twilight zones
Look at what techniques turn tables to gramophones
So take a last lick of your ice-cream cone
And lock up what you still wanna own
But please be kind (take your time)
And don't rewind (it's fine)
All of your pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones
Yeah
Your pretty little rags and bones
Ah, jump up, ah, jump up, ah, jump up
Come on and give it to me
Oh
your pretty little rags and bones
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to us
Yeah
Yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Rag and bone) rag and bone
Meg, look at this place
What? Woo
Well, this place is like a mansion
It's like a mansion, look at all this stuff
I dunno
Look, I see something over there
Woo, man
Well, can't you hear us selling "rag and bone"?
Bring out your junk and we'll give it a home
A broken trumpet or a telephone
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to me
Yeah
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to me
Oh, rag and bone
Rag and bone
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to me
All of your pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones
Well, man, look at all this, you don't want it?
(I could use that)
You sure you don't want it, man? (I could use)
Take it
It's just things you don't want, I can use 'em
Meg can use 'em, we can do something with 'em
We'll make something out of 'em
Make some money out of 'em at least
This fits me perfect
Give it to me
Hey, if you ain't gonna use it, just give it to us
We'll give it a home
Well, have they got something shiny for me?
Anybody got a Christmas tree?
Can you partwith a toilet seat?
Ah, jump up, ah, jump up, ah, jump up
Come on and give it to me
Rag and bone
We wanna get it, granny, while it's hot
You think it's trash, granny, but it's not
Oh, we'll be taking whatever you got
Ah, give up, ah, give up, ah, give up
Come on and give it to me
Woo
All of your pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones
I saw some stuff in your yard are you gonna give it to us?
Ah, Meg, don't be rude
Or not?
They might need it
If you don't want it, we'll take it
If you don't wanna give it to us, we'll keep walking by
We'll keep going we're not tired
Got plenty of places to go, lots of homes we ain't been to yet
On the west side, the south-west side
Middle east, rich house, dog house, outhouse, old folks' house
House for unwed mothers, halfway homes, catacombs, twilight zones
Look at what techniques turn tables to gramophones
So take a last lick of your ice-cream cone
And lock up what you still wanna own
But please be kind (take your time)
And don't rewind (it's fine)
All of your pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones
Yeah
Your pretty little rags and bones
Ah, jump up, ah, jump up, ah, jump up
Come on and give it to me
Oh
your pretty little rags and bones
Ah, come on, ah, come on, ah, come on
Come on and give it to us
Yeah
Yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah
Yeah
Yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Lyrics submitted by inthissilentvoid
Rag And Bone Lyrics as written by Jack White
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Techno Ted
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Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
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The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Mikemat5150 noticed the parallels between Tom Petty's "Last Dance with Mary Jane" and "A Martyr for My Love for You" by the White Stripes. I totally agree. This prompted me to post some strong similarities I see with songs on Icky Thump and other songs:
First, "Icky Thump" guitar riffs sound an awful lot like "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin (and they share similar tales of tables being turned, too). I instantly thought this the first time I heard Icky Thump.
Second, "Rag and Bone" reminds me of "Cheap Sunglasses" by ZZ top.
Third, it sounds like Jack ripped off his own stuff (if that is possible) in "300 mph Torrential Outpour Blues". The guitar riff is almost identical to one in "Portland" by Loretta Lynn (and its music definitely worth repeating).
Fourth, "Effect and Cause" by the White Stripes and "Summertime Blues" by the Who are similar in the melody for the lines "You can't take the Effect and make it the Cause" and "But there ain't no cure for the Summertime Blues"
There are others but I would like to hear what other people think. Do you think the White Stripes purposely ripped off other artists' melodies/ideas/riffs? ...They are junk collectors in "Rag and Bone" and love to be a part of a traditional of passing along great music!
I definitely agree about Effect and Cause/Summertime Blues (orig. by Eddie Cochran), but the rest of your comparisons are way off. <br /> <br /> While I can see and appreciate that those songs and artists have had an influence on the White Stripes in general, none of the specific Stripes songs could be called a rip off or reworking of the same melodies of those songs, because they aren't. <br /> <br /> On a side note, Tom Petty's "Last Dance" is more similar to Neil Young's "Ohio" than the Stripes' "Martyr for My Love" is to either of them. (Of course they might have been an inspiration, but neither of us could possibly know since the similarity is rudimentary at best).
I definitely agree about Effect and Cause/Summertime Blues (orig. by Eddie Cochran), but the rest of your comparisons are way off. <br /> <br /> While I can see and appreciate that those songs and artists have had an influence on the White Stripes in general, none of the specific Stripes songs could be called a rip off or reworking of the same melodies of the songs you mentioned. I'm not saying Jack didn't nick a riff or two from elsewhere for his songs, but the similarities between your mentions is rudimentary at best and not really worthy of comparison.<br /> <br /> On a side note, Tom Petty's "Last Dance" is more similar to Neil Young's "Ohio" than the Stripes' "Martyr for My Love" is to either of them.<br /> <br /> Having said that, folk and blues does have a tradition of re-using melodies, phrases, imagery and whatnot (something the White Stripes and Jack have obviously continued doing) so I think your interpretation of Rag and Bone as being about that does indeed sound valid.