On And On And On

Album: Blunderbuss (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • White told NME regarding this waltzing country tune: "It was the bassline I wanted it to feed off, this grooving bassline. It had such a jazzy feel to it when we started I was like, 'Wow, this is really taking off into another direction, it almost could be an eight-minute song.' It really got off on all the musicians, it really felt good to them."
  • White said to NME regarding the song's meaning: "There's this character who's jealous of inanimate objects, a rock and the moon and the sun, because they don't have to change, they don't have to alter what they are, they just are and that's it."
  • In most of White's songs, he gets to vocals right away, but this track has a 56-second intro, the longest of any song he's written.
  • Fats Kaplin, who played pedal steel on the track, told Uncut: "This song was one of the first we worked on doing the Blunderbuss sessions, without it being specific whether or not there would even be an album. He was just working on stuff. Jack went, 'Hey, let's start with steel guitar,' very impromptu. And because of that, and the way the organ sounds, it's a gentler song."

    "The cryptic lyrics could be interpreted in different ways, with a sense of not belonging, which runs through some of Jack stuff," he added. "Or that idea of being an outsider. The mysterious quality of it sums up a lot of aspects about Jack."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Richard Marx

Richard MarxSongwriter Interviews

Richard explains how Joe Walsh kickstarted his career, and why he chose Hazard, Nebraska for a hit.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

Loreena McKennitt

Loreena McKennittSongwriter Interviews

The Celtic music maker Loreena McKennitt on finding musical inspiration, the "New Age" label, and working on the movie Tinker Bell.