Songfacts®:

• Jack White wrote this on marimba. The concept of inserting random bits of noise actually started as an editing mishap - Jack insists on using the most primitive equipment and editing techniques. While cutting the eight-track tape, Jack accidentally sliced the tape prematurely, and the rest, as they say, is history. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Ryan - Fullerton, CA
• About the album title: it comes from the biblical book of Matthew, verse 16:23, which states, "Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.'"
• In 2007, Jack White told Mojo magazine that this song "is about somebody I was in love with, had been in love with for over a decade, but the way you explore all these characters compels you to know yourself better." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Bertrand - Paris, France
• Third Man Records co-founder Ben Blackwell recalled to Uncut: "What I love about 'The Nurse' is the kind of loud, unpredictable guitar crashes that come through. When I was around, it was just a drums and marimba song, then when I first heard the playback of these guitar parts it seemed like they were in completely random spots, disjointed and jarring."
  
  "I remember Brendan Benson being at the house, listening to a playback, and Jack maybe voicing some kind of uncertainty about it," he added. "Brandon went, 'Dude, no! That's like some Brian Wilson s-- t. You have to keep that in there! That was a completely different approach that I'd ever seen or heard from Jack on a production and songwriting level."