Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
From Stripespedia
Contents |
Releases
- White Blood Cells (2001)
- Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (2002)
- Live in Mississippi (2011)
Other Appearances
- Covered by Chris Thile on his 2006 album How to Grow a Woman from the Ground.
- Covered by Ryan Adams live.
- Covered by Cat Power live.
Credits
Performers
- Jack White: electric guitar, lead vocal
- Meg White: drums, tambourine
Production
- Originally recorded by The White Stripes.
- Written by Jack White and Meg White.
- Produced by Jack White.
- Mixed by Jack White and Stewart Sikes.
- Engineered by Stewart Sikes.
- Mastered by Fred Kevorkian at Absolute Audio.
- Recorded February 2001 at Easley-McCain Recording, Memphis, Tennessee.
Meaning
Band Quotes
Trivia
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 'til 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
The music video for this song was directed by acclaimed director Michel Gondry, who also directed the video for "Fell In Love With A Girl". The video depicts Jack White coming back to his trashed house and surveying reckless destruction. While he goes from room to room, flashbacks of the party events that led to the decimation of the house (and of his and Meg's relationship before he left) are superimposed over the scene. Brendan Benson appears as one of the partygoers.
- 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."
