The White Stripes : Icky Thump

Garage Rock / USA
(2007 - XL Recordings)
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Lyrics

1. Icky Thump

Yah-hee, icky thump
Who'd-a thunk?
Sittin' drunk
On a wagon to Mexico

Her hair, what a chump
And my head
Got a bump
When I hit it on the radio

Red-head señorita
Lookin' dead
Came to said,
"I need a bed" en español

So I gave a drink of water
I'm gonna sing around the collar
Well, I don't need a microphone

[guitar solo]

[keyboard solo]

Icky thump, with the lump
In my throat
Grab my coat
And now it's reckon
I was ready to go

Yeah, I swam beside the hair
She had one white eye
One blank stare
Lookin' up, lyin' there

On a stand in her hair
Was a candy cane
Black rum, sugar cane
Dry eye, somethin' strange!

La la, la la la la la la la la la laaa laaa laaa

[guitar solo]

[keyboard solo]

Well, Americans:
What, nothin' better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out?
You're an immigrant too.

Who's usin' who?
What should we do?
Well you can't be a pimp
And a prostitute too

Icky thump, handcuffed to a bunk
Robbed blind
Looked around
And there was nobody else

Left alone
I hit myself with a stone
Went home
And learned how to clean up after myself


2. You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)

In some respects
I suspect you've got a respectable side
When pushed and pulled and pressured
You seldom run and hide
But its for someone elses benefit
Not for what you wanna do
Until I realize that you've realized
I'm gonna say these words to you

You don't know what love is
You do as your told
Just as a child at ten might act
But you're far too old
You're not hopeless or helpless
And I hate to sound cold
But you dont know what love is...
You just do as your told

I can see you man
Can't help but win
Any problems that may arise
But in his mind there can be no sin
If you never criticize
You just keep on repeating
All those empty "I love you's"
Until you see you deserve better
I'm gonna lay right into you

You don't know what love is
You just do as your told
Just as a child of ten might act
But your far too old
Your not hopeless or helpless
And I hate to sound cold
But you don't know what love is
No you don't know what love is
No you don't know what love is

You just do as your told
Yeah you do as your told
Yeah..


3. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues

I'm bringing back ghosts
That are no longer there
I'm gettin' hard on myself
Sittin' in my easy chair
Well, there's three people in the mirror
And I'm wonderin' which one of them I should choose
Well, I can't keep from laughin'
Spittin' out these 300 mile per hour outpour blues

I'm breakin' my teeth off
Tryin' to bite my lip
There's all kinds of red-headed women
That I ain't supposed to kiss
And it's that color that never fails
To turn me blue
So I just swallow it and hold on to it
And use it to scare the hell out of you

I have a woman
'Says come and watch me bleed
And I'm wonderin' just how I can do that
And still give her everything that she needs
Well, there's three people in my head that have the answer
And one of them's got to be you
But you're holding tight to it -- the answer
Singin' these three hundred mile per hour outpour blues

Put on gloves, a tied scarf and wrap up warm
On this winter night
Everytime you get defensive
You're just looking for a fight
It's safe to sing somebody out there's got a problem
With almost anything you'll do
Well, next time they stab you don't fight back just play the victim
Instead of playin' the fool

And the roads are covered with a million little molecules
Of cigarette ashes and the school floors are covered
With pieces of pencil eraser too
Well sooner or later the ground's gonna be holdin' all
Of my ashes too

But I can't help but wonder if after I'm gone will I still have these three hundred mile per
Hour, finger breaking, no answers makin', battered dirty hands, bee stung and busted up, empty
Cup torrential outpour blues

One thing's for sure: in that graveyard
I'm gonna have the shiniest pair of shoes


4. Conquest

Conquest !
He was out to make a conquest
Didn't care what harm was done
Just as long as he won
The prize

Conquest !
She was just another conquest
Didn't care whose heart was broke
Love to him was a joke
Until he looked into her eyes

And then in the strange way things happen
The roles were reversed from that day
The hunted became the huntress
The hunter became the prey

Conquest !
Now you know who made the conquest
She, with all her female guile
Led him helpless down the aisle
She had finally made a conquest

Ahh ahh ahh ahhhhh [x5]
Oooh oooooohh oohhhh

And then in the strange way things happen
The roles were reversed from that day
The hunted became the huntress
The hunter became the prey

Conquest !
Now you know who made the conquest
She, with all her female guile
Led him helpless down the aisle
She had finally made a conquest

Ahhhhh

Conquest !


5. Bone Broke

Hey !
Hey !
Look closer and you can see
I will be running it
I got a hundred dollar bill
In the cockpit
Suprised me in line
Is a blackhole
I got another job
At the liquor store

Damn
Oh well
I'm bone broke

They got a white pony
In the stable
And ride him
When the doggie isn't able
But he don't really care
Because they pay him
But still a black suit
Is gonna shake him

Down
Oh well
I'm bone broke
Yeh
As broke as i'll ever be

Looking at the way girl
I'm telling ya
God gave 7 minutes right too ya
And your mother put her money into platinum
And now you never have to pay attention

Do ya? x2

Yeh
I'm nailing on a brick
With my nails
I'm sending loads of moneys
In the mail
Keep shouting in my box yeh for saying
And the the brick breakers
Gonna break it down

Oh well
I'm bone broke

Looking at the way girl
I'm telling ya
God gave 7 minutes right too ya
Your mother put her money into platinum
So that you wouldn't have to pay attention


6. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn

Singing
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh

Well the hills are pretty and rollin'
But the thorn is sharp and swollen
And the man plays a beautiful whistle
But he wears a prickly thistle

Singing
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh

The silver birches pierce through an icy fog
Which covers the ground most daily
And the angels which carry St. Andrew high
Are singing a tune most gaily

Singing
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh

One sound can hold back a thousand hands
When the pipe plays a tune forlorn
And the thistle is a prickly flower
Aye, But how it is sweetly worn

Singing
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Li De Li De Li Oh Oh
Well A Li De Li De Li Oh Oh


7. St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)

This battle is in the air
I'm looking upwards
Where are the angels?
I'm not in my home

St. Andrew don't forsake me
St. Andrew
Don't forsake me

Who is here to greet me?
The children are kind
I'm not in my home
I travel backwards in ecstacy
Where are the angels?
Don't forget me

St. Andrew
I've been true
What do I need to say?
What do I need to say?


8. Little Cream Soda

One,two,three,four...

Well every highway that I go down
Seems to be longer than the last one i knew about
Oh Well

And every girl that I walk around
Seems to be more of an illusion than the last one that I found
Oh Well

And this old man in front of me
Holding canes and ruby rings
Is like containing an explosion when he sings
But with every chance to set himself on fire
He just ends up doing the same thing

Well each beautiful think I come across
Tells me to stop moving and shake this riddle off
Oh Well

And there was a time when all I wanted was my
Ice cream colder, and a little cream soda
Oh Well, Oh Well

And a wooden box, and an alley full of rocks
was all I had to care about
Oh Well, Oh Well, Oh Well

Now my mind is filled with rubber tires
and forest fires
an whether i'm a liar
and lots of other situations where I don't know
what to do at which time god screams to me
“there's nothing left for me to tell you”

Nothing left for me to tell you
Noghting left

Oh Well, Oh Well, Oh Well
Oh Well
Oh Well, Oh Well, Oh Well
Oh Well...


9. Rag And Bone

Meg:
Rag and bone!

Jack:
Rag and bone!

Meg:
Rag and bone!

Jack:
Rag and bone!
Meg, look at this place

Meg:
What? Whoo!

Jack:
This place is like a mansion!
It's like a mansion!
Look at all this stuff!

Meg:
I don't know.

Jack:
Look, I see something over there.

Meg:
Whoo !

Jack :
Man..

Well can't you hear we're selling rag and bone?
Bring out your junk and we'll give it a home
A broken trumpet or a telephone
Come on, come on, come on, come on and give it to me

Yeah

Come on, come on, come on, come on and give it to me
Rag and bone
Rag and bone
Come on, come on, come on, come on and give it to me

Oh looking pretty
Your pretty little rags and bones

Well, man, look at all this.

Meg :
Hmmm

Jack :
You don't want it?

Meg :
What is that?

Jack :
You sure you don't want it? Take it
It's just things that 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.

Meg :
This fits me perfect,give it to me

Jack :
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 part with a toilet seat?
A jump up, a jump up, a 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
We'll be taking whatever you got
A give up, a give up, a give up, come on and give it to me
Whoo!
All of your pretty, your pretty little rags and bones

Meg :
I saw some stuff in your yard, are you gonna give it to us?

Jack :
Aww, Meg, don't be rude.

Meg :
Or not . . .

Jack :
They might need it.
If you don't want it, we'll take it; if you don't want to give it to us, we keep walking by.
Keep going, we're not tired.
Got plenty of places to go, lots of homes we ain't been to yet.
West side, southwest side, middle-east, rich house, dog house, outhouse, old folks house, house for unwed mothers, halfway homes, catacombs, twilight zones.
Looking for techniques, turntables to gramophones.
So take a last lick of your ice cream cone.
And lock up what you still want to own.
But please be kind

Meg :
Take your time

Jack :
And don't rewind.

Meg :
It's fine

Jack :
All of your pretty, your pretty little rags and bones.
Yeah!
Your pretty little rags and bones
Jump up, jump up, jump up, come on and give it to me
Oh, your pretty little rags and bones

Both :
Come on, come on, come on, come on and give it to us

Jack :
Yeah!Ay,Ay,Oh, yeah!
Yeah!

Meg :
Yeah!

Both :
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah!


10. I'm Slowly Turning Into You

I'm slowly turning into you
But you don't know this
Tell the truth
You say I'm lying and I never really tell you the truth
But your face is getting older
So put your head on my shoulder
Yeah, put your head on my shoulder

Yesterday it hit me that I do all the little things
That you do
Except the same little things that you do are annoying
They're annoying as hell in fact
It kinda struck a little bell in fact
I like to keep my little shell intact

And I'm slowly turning into you
And I'm slowly turning into you

Then something else came to mind
That was the mirror
It made everything clearer
That you're more beautiful compelling and stronger
It didn't take much longer
Just for me to realize I love all the little things
And the beauty that they're gonna bring
I dig your little laugh and I'm lovin' your quick wit
I even love it when you're faking it
And it might sound a little strange for me to say to you
But I'm proud to be you

And I'm slowly turning into you
And I'm slowly turning into you
And I'm slowly turning into you
And I'm slowly turning into you
...


11. A Martyr For My Love For You

She was sixteen and six feet tall
In a crowd of teenagers comin' out of the zoo
She stumbled started to slip and fall
Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes
I happened to catch her and said,
"maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"

Maybe for you, now

But not as shaky as I must have seemed
Talkin' junk through her giggle, little teenage dream
And on the phone I could not compete
My dumb-love fake competence was getting weak
For a sec' I thought I sounded sweet
But sure 'nough in a gruff, faint voice
I heard myself speak

I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we could share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone...

Leave you alone, now...

I'm beginning to like you
So you probably won't get what I'm going to do
I'm walkin' away from you
It probably don't make much sense to you
But I'm trying to save you
From all of the things that I'll probably say or do...

I'll probably do...

I could stay a while
But sooner or later I'll break your smile
And I can tell a joke
But one of these days I'm bound to choke
And we might share a kiss
But I feel like I can't go through with this
And I bet we could build a home
But I know the right thing for me to do
Is to leave you alone...

Leave you alone, now...

You'll probably call me a fool
And say I'm doin' exactly what a coward would do
And I'm beginning to like you
It's a shame what a lame way to live
But what can I do?
I hope you appreciate what I do

I'm a martyr for my love for you..
A martyr for my love for you, now..
A martyr for my love for you..
A martyr for my love for you..
Oh...


12. Catch Hell Blues

(If you go looking for hot water
Don't act shocked when you get
Burned a little bit)

If you really want some hot water
I can help you find it
Oh,
Oh,
Ah yeah !

Well if they catch me around
You're playing rock the boat
I'm gonna catch hell

And if you're throwing your voice
In bed singing a note
I'm gonna catch hell
I know it

Yes, alright
Try and catch me

Oh yeah

Tricky, tricky
Yeah

Oh
Oh

If you're getting cheek
Lying to yourself
You're gonna catch hell

And if you're testing God
Lying to his face
You're gonna catch hell
C'mon

Hey
That's it
They're gonna catch you
Ha, they're gonna catch you


13. Effect And Cause

I guess you have to have a problem
If you want to invent a contraption
First you cause a train wreck
Then you put me in traction

Well, first came an action
And then a reaction
But you can't switch around
For your own satisfaction
Well, you put my house down, then got mad
At my reaction

Well, in every complicated situation
You're the human relation
Makin' sense of it all
Take a whole lot a concentration

Well, you can blame my baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there's one of these
On the order for laws
It's that you just can't take the effect
And make it the cause

No,
Well, you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
Because you made up a law
When you people robbin' Peter
Don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause

I ain't the reason that you gave me no reason to return your call
You built a house of cards and got shocked when you saw them fall
Well I'm sayin' I'm innocent!
In fact the reverse
But if you're headin' to the grave
You don't blame the hearse
You're like a little girl yellin' at her brother
'Cause you lost his ball

Well you keep blamin' me for what you did
And that ain't all
The way you clean up a wreck
Is enough to get one pause
You seem to forget
Just how this song started
I'm reactin' to you because you left me broken-hearted
See, you just can't take the effect
And make it the cause

Well, you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
Because you made up a law
Blame people robbin' Peter
Don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause

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