Jack White wrote ‘Seven Nation Army’... after hearing THIS piece of classical music
24 July 2025, 12:09
Hold on a minute, The White Stripes didn’t have anything to do with classical music. Or did they?
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
You’ll know ‘Seven Nation Army’ by The White Stripes. It was rock duo Jack and Meg White’s opening track on their 2003 album Elephant, and it has since taken on a life far beyond the stage.
An anthem of its time, you might have sung it at a football match or chanted it even at a political rally.
But did you know the song’s famous seven-note guitar riff is actually about 150 years old?
Jack White borrowed it Anton Bruckner, 19th-century genius of a composer from Austria. This is his Symphony No.5, written in 1875:
Anton Bruckner Symphony No 5 in B-flat Major - Sergiu Celibidache, MPO, 1985
Sound familiar?
Jack White was a big fan of classical music as a child, and when he heard that seven-note motif in Bruckner’s Symphony No.5, he decided to save it for a potential James Bond film theme, should he ever be asked to write one.
In the end, he decided his chances of being asked were slim, so used the riff to create ‘Seven Nation Army’ instead. Incidentally, five years later, he did write a Bond song – ‘Another Way to Die’ with Alicia Keys, for 2008 Bond film Quantum of Solace.
But when White played the ‘Seven Nation Army’ riff to a music exec at his label, the response was he “could do better” and “the rhythm wasn’t great” either. Tell that to Bruckner!
Read more: All 24 James Bond theme songs ranked from worst to best, based on musical merit
‘Seven Nation Army’ was initially used as placeholder name, a reference to a young Jack White’s mispronunciation of ‘The Salvation Army’, but it stuck.
The song has gone on to be regarded as one of the best songs of all time, winning the Grammy for Best Rock Song at the 46th annual awards.
What a legacy for Anton…
