Songfacts®:

• In the closing scene of The White Stripes' documentary Under Great White Northern Lights, Meg is sitting at a piano beside Jack as he tinkles this song, tears rolling down her face. Mojo magazine asked Jack why Meg was crying. He replied: "I could venture to guess, but I don't think any of my guesses would come close to the real reason. Either way, it shows that she's alive and involved in the energy of what we put out together. That's what I could take from it."
• The "Rita," who is mentioned in the song four times, is the actress Rita Hayworth, and glamor icon who was a star in the 1940s and '50s. In the song, Jack White ruminates on her life.
  
  The Get Behind Me Satan album was recorded at White's home in the Indian Village section of Detroit, and he had pictures of Hayworth all over the house. White also mentions her in the track "Take, Take, Take."
• The original title was "White Moon and the Red-Headed Guest."
• The crashing sound at 3:45 wasn't planned: that was Meg White's bells falling to the floor. Instead of killing the take, they kept going and left it in.