I Cut Like a Buffalo

Album: Horehound (2009)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Jack White of The Dead Weather wrote this song and sang lead in addition to his role as the group's drummer - their other vocalist, Allison Mosshart, sings background.

    It's a rather intriguing song and a very personal one for White, who is coy about the meaning. "I know what it's about," he told Spin. "It just feels like I'm being the most truthful I've ever been with myself, especially the lyric 'You cut a record on my throat / But the record's not broken.' It's everything I'm about, the poetic side of me. I'm just obsessed with this song, but I'm scared to listen to it at the same time."
  • This is the third single from The Dead Weather, following "Hang You From the Heavens" and "Treat Me Like Your Mother." The band consists of The Kills' Allison Mosshart on vocals, Queens Of The Stone Age multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita on guitar, The Raconteurs' Jack Lawrence on bass, and White Stripes/Raconteurs' Jack White thumping the drums.

    The band first stepped in the studio - Jack White's newly opened Third Man in Nashville - to record a one-off single, but they had such great chemistry, they decided to reconvene and make an entire album, which ended up being Horehound. White put his other two bands on the back burner; The Dead Weather toured for the album, then followed it up with another album and tour the next year. After that, the band took a few years off, with Mosshart returning to action with The Kills and White launching a solo career. The Dead Weather made a third album in 2015 but didn't tour for it.
  • Jack White, a very visual thinker, directed the music video, where he appears along with various belly dancers sporting hoops and knives.

    At the beginning of the clip, a southern-fried announcer introduces the song rather quizzically:

    Ladies and gentlemen, this next song is a dance, a damned good one. The name of it is "It Cuts Like A Buffalo." You know what that means. That means you're dead. Praise God. Thank you God.
  • Allison Mosshart added guitar on this song. She also played guitar on the Horehound track "3 Birds."
  • This is the only Dead Weather song that Jack White often plays at his solo shows.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dwight Twilley

Dwight TwilleySongwriter Interviews

Since his debut single "I'm On Fire" in 1975, Dwight has been providing Spinal-Tap moments and misadventure.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.