Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
From Stripespedia
"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" is a song by The White Stripes. It can be heard on their third album, White Blood Cells. It was released as the first single from the album in August 2002.
Contents |
Track listing
All songs by The White Stripes unless otherwise noted
CD Promo
- "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"
- "Suzy Lee" (BBC Radio-1 Evening Session)
- "Stop Breaking Down" (BBC Radio-1 Evening Session) (Robert Johnson)
Radio CD Promo
- Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
7
- "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"
- "Stop Breaking Down" (BBC Radio-1 Evening Session)
CD
- "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"
- "Suzy Lee" (BBC Radio-1 Evening Session)
- "Stop Breaking Down" (BBC Radio-1 Evening Session)
DVD
- "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground"
- "Arthur P. Dottweiler"
Facts
- The song features a very raw guitar tone produced by an Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi.
Covers
- Chris Thile, bluegrass/country/acoustic singer and mandolinist, is expected to cover this song on his upcoming 2006 solo album, How to Grow a Woman from the Ground.
- Ryan Adams has performed this live with different lyrics.
- Cat Power has performed this live as well.
Lyrics
Dead leaves and the dirty ground, when I know you're not around Shiny tops and soda pops When I hear your lips make a sound, when I hear your lips make a sound Thirty notes in the mailbox will tell you that I'm coming home And I think I'm gonna stick around for a while so you're not alone For a while so you're not alone If you can hear a piano fall, you can hear me coming down the hall If I could just hear your pretty voice I don't think I need to see at all Don't think I need to see at all Soft hair and a velvet tongue, I want to give you what you give to me And every breath that is in your lungs is a tiny little gift to me Is a tiny little gift to me I didn't feel so bad till the sun went down Then I come home, no one to wrap my arms around Wrap my arms around Well, any man with a microphone can tell you what he loves the most And you know why you love at all if you're thinking of the holy ghost If you're thinking of the holy ghost
Video
Another great video from director Michel Gondry (who also directed "Fell In Love With A Girl"). The video takes a few viewings to fully comprehend: the first viewing is spent solely on the story and how-the-heck-did-they-do-that speculation. In fact they used film projection, one of Gondry's trademark techniques. Jack White returns home to find a mess of his possessions in front of it. Inside, he finds the home scoured and obliterated, and absent of Meg. He walks through the home in shock, anger, and despondency. His mind races, thinking of how this devastation occurred: what happened to his relationship with Meg? who did this? We know what's going on in Jack's head because it is projected onto the very rooms as he thinks them. It is as if his mind is taunting him, forcing him to witness the destruction of his house and relationship like a helpless bystander. On the walls we get to see the story unfold as well: Jack leaves the house and waves goodbye to Meg. The coast clear, partygoers chaotically enter the house through doors and windows and have at it. At first Meg tries to push the punks out the door, but to no avail. Once the destruction is over she packs her bag, grabs one of their favorite paintings off the wall, and walks out. Interspersed with these projections are the ghosts of Jack and Meg's life in the house: singing at the piano, cute moments in the kitchen, tales of a once-fruitful relationship. But these are simply ghosts, and Jack sags down on the bed, defeated.
Meg White: "We had such a great time working with Michel Gondry again on the Dead Leaves video but Jack had it much easier than I did during the shoot. All of his scenes were alone or with me. One funny and slightly dangerous moment was when I was steamrolled by the bunch of partygoers who were trying to bust into our house. In one take, I was knocked to the ground, pop was dumped all over me, and I landed on the camera."
