When Jack White was a kid, he misheard "Salvation Army" as "Seven Nation Army," which is how he got the title for this song. White will often take a distinctive phrase he finds interesting and use it as a song title. "Rag And Bone" is another good example.
This song deals with The White Stripes' rising popularity and the negatives that came with it. After White came up with the riff, he devised a storyline in which a protagonist comes into town and all his friends are gossiping about him. "He feels so bad he has to leave town, but you get so lonely you come back," said White. "The song's about gossip. It's about me, Meg and the people we're dating."
"Seven Nation Army" has one of the most famous basslines in music, but it wasn't created with a bass. The White Stripes didn't have a bass player, so Jack White played the riff using a guitar with an octave effect to sound like a bass.
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.