七国联军 (2003)

"Seven Nation Army" is a song by the American rock duo the White Stripes, released by V2 Records and XL Recordings on February 17, 2003. The lead single from their fourth studio album, Elephant (2003), the song was written by Jack White and composed by the band. It consists of distorted vocals, a minimal drumbeat, and a bass line created by playing a guitar through a pitch shift effect.

"Seven Nation Army" peaked at 76 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the band's first entry on the chart; it also charted in other countries and received several platinum certifications. The song received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its distinctive riff and drumbeat. It won Best Rock Song at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards and a music video for the song directed by Alex and Martin won Best Editing in a Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. Its success contributed to the garage rock revival, and the song appears on several professional listicles of the best songs of all time.

"Seven Nation Army" achieved lasting commercial success and has been called "arguably....the world's most popular sports anthem". It is commonly played at sporting events, sung by fans, and has served as a theme song for sports teams, personalities, and events, including the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The song has appeared in various media and has been used in political events in the United Kingdom, particularly as a chant sung by audiences. Various artists have covered "Seven Nation Army", including Ben l'Oncle Soul and Marcus Collins, whose covers reached charts in multiple countries. Third Man Records reissued the single in 2014 and 2015.

Recording

"Seven Nation Army" began with a guitar riff devised by singer and guitarist Jack White at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, while the White Stripes were on the Australian leg of their tour on January 29, 2002. He showed the riff to Ben Swank, an executive with the White Stripes' record label Third Man, who felt Jack could "do better". Jack later recalled that Swank "didn't even think that rhythm was that great, either".

Originally saving the riff for a potential James Bond theme, he decided to incorporate it into a White Stripes song after admitting how slim his chances were of ever being asked to create a Bond theme. But five years later, he wrote and performed "Another Way to Die" with Alicia Keys as the theme for the 2008 Bond film Quantum of Solace.

"Seven Nation Army" was produced by Jack and recorded at Toe Rag Studios in London's Hackney area. He wrote the song as a "little experiment", hoping to create a compelling song that did not include a chorus. The lyrics were written the night before the song was recorded. The title "Seven Nation Army" was initially used as a placeholder for the track before its lyrics were written, but the name ultimately stuck.

Composition

"Seven Nation Army" is characterized as an alternative rock, garage rock, blues rock and punk blues song with a length of three minutes and 52 seconds. According to sheet music published by Universal Music Publishing Group, it is composed in the key of E minor in common time with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. The title of the song comes from when Jack, as a young child in Detroit, misheard "The Salvation Army" as "The Seven Nation Army".