Get Behind Me Satan

For the saying of Jesus, see Get behind me, Satan. For the 1936 Irving Berlin song, see Get Thee Behind Me Satan.

Get Behind Me Satan is the fifth studio album by the American rock duo the White Stripes. It was released on June 7, 2005, through V2 and XL Records. It was recorded in Jack's living room between February and March 2005. Jack was responsible for the album's production in its entirety.

Get Behind Me Satan
Studio album by the White Stripes
Released	June 7, 2005 (2005-06-07)
Recorded	February–March 2005
Studio	Third Man (Detroit, Michigan)[1]
Genre	Garage rock alternative rock blues rock experimental
Length	44:07
Label	V2 XL Third Man
Producer	Jack White
The White Stripes chronology
Elephant (2003) Get Behind Me Satan (2005) Icky Thump (2007)
Singles from Get Behind Me Satan
"Blue Orchid" Released: April 18, 2005[2] "My Doorbell" Released: July 11, 2005[3] "The Denial Twist" Released: October 31, 2005[4]

Musically, Get Behind Me Satan diverts from the band's previous studio release Elephant, featuring experimental production and lyrics that often reference truth and actress Rita Hayworth. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, and won the 2006 Grammy for Best Alternative Album. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 900,000 copies in the United States, and received platinum certifications from both the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and Music Canada.

In the years following its release, Get Behind Me Satan has been reissued numerous times. It was not released in a vinyl format until 2015, as the band wanted to record a separate live version which never came to fruition.

Background and recording

The album was recorded in around two weeks at Jack's Indian Village home on a 8 track tape machine by Matthew Kettle, who had been mixing the band's live shows.^[5] Jack described the album as "a purging of everything", "Satan is the end of any unhappiness I have. Get behind me — that’s it. Any troubles I have are well-represented: betrayal, loss, pain, whatever’s going on in my head and life. I got the last things out on that record."^[6] Jack hadn't written any songs in over a year due to touring, and ended up writing 35 songs. A majority of those songs were either partially written or written during the recording sessions. Jack considered the recording sessions to be "torture" as the tape machine and microphones would malfunction and water would drip from the ceiling.^[7][8]

The album's title refers to a well-known line from the story of the Temptation of Jesus which is later repeated against the disciple Simon Peter, in Matthew 16:23 of the New Testament. In the King James Version, the quotation is slightly different: "Get thee behind me, Satan".^[9]

Outtakes

"Ain't No Sweeter Than Rita Blues" an instrumental track, was released as part of a Third Man Records Vault subscription in 2015.^[10]

"City Lights" was written and recorded for the album, but it was left unfinished. The track was forgotten about until the masters for the album were revisited for the 2015 vinyl release of the album. The track was finished with Dominic Davis playing bass for the track and released on Jack's acoustic compilation, Acoustic Recordings 1998–2016 on September 9, 2016.^[11] In 2025, a alternate studio take and home demo was released on Get Behind Me XX.^[12]

Two takes of "Over and Over and Over" were recorded during the sessions, but ultimately went unreleased.^[13] Jack later attempted the song with his side projects and recorded it in a collaboration with American rapper Jay-Z. The song was eventually re-recorded and released on Jack's third solo album, Boarding House Reach on March 23, 2018.^[14] A studio take and home demo of the song was released on Get Behind Me XX.^[12]

Music and lyrics

Though still basic in production style, the album marked a distinct change from its guitar-heavy 2003 predecessor, Elephant. With its reliance on piano-driven melodies and experimentation with marimba on "The Nurse" and "Forever For Her (Is Over For Me)", Get Behind Me Satan plays down the punk, garage rock and blues influences that dominated earlier White Stripes albums. Jack plays with different technique than in the past, replacing electric guitar with piano, mandolin, and acoustic guitar on all but a handful of tracks, as his usual riff-conscious lead guitar style is overtaken by a predominantly rhythmic approach.

Jack stated in an interview on the radio show Fresh Air that "truth is the number one theme throughout the album Get Behind Me Satan." Relating that point to the album's multiple reference to movie actress Rita Hayworth, White said she became an "all-encompassing metaphor" for the album since she changed her last name from something that revealed her Latina heritage, and the way celebrity was cast upon her.^[6] White told Rolling Stone, "Rita Hayworth became an all-encompassing metaphor for everything I was thinking about while making the album. There was an autograph of hers—she had kissed a piece of paper, left a lip print on it, and underneath it said, 'My heart is in my mouth.' I loved that statement and wondered why she wrote that. There was also the fact that she was Latino and had changed her name. She had become something different, morphed herself and was trying to put something behind her. And there was the shallowness of celebrity when it's thrown upon you. All of that was going around in these songs; what had been thrown on me, things I'd never asked for. Every song on that album is about truth."^[15]

Release

Exclusive vinyl copies of Get Behind Me Satan made exclusively for music journalists to review, and 600 records were released collectively by XL Recordings and V2 Records simultaneously; these have become rare and coveted collector's items.^[16] The White Stripes then intended to re-record the album in January 2006 at Joe Gubay's Studio in New Zealand for a commercial vinyl release, but the studio no longer had the recording equipment to make it possible.^[17] As a result, Get Behind Me Satan was the only album by the White Stripes not to be commercially released on vinyl for ten years.

For Record Store Day 2015, Third Man Records released a limited vinyl edition with a lenticular gatefold sleeve, pressed on red and white vinyl; a commercially released version with standard artwork pressed on standard black vinyl was released later that year.^[18] Ahead of the album's 20th anniversary, the White Stripes announced a deluxe reissue of Get Behind Me Satan with alternative takes, demos, and live recordings of its tracks.^[19]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	81/100[20]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[21]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[22]
The Guardian	[23]
Los Angeles Times	[24]
NME	8/10[25]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[26]
Q	[27]
Rolling Stone	[28]
Spin	B[29]
The Village Voice	A−[30]
Blender	[31]

Get Behind Me Satan entered the U.S. and UK charts at No. 3, ranking higher in the U.S. charts than their previous records, but lower in the UK charts than Elephant. It sold over 900,000 copies in the United States.^[32] "Blue Orchid", the first single, became a radio hit in the United States and the band's second UK Top 10 hit. "My Doorbell" was the second single from the album, followed by "The Denial Twist". Both also reached the Top 10 in the UK and charted on the Modern Rock Charts as well.

Rolling Stone ranked it the third best album of the year.^[33] In 2006, the album was included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery,^[34] but was removed in the 2007 edition. "Instinct Blues" was featured in Michel Gondry's 2006 film The Science of Sleep. It was voted the sixth best album of the year in the 2006 Village Voice Pazz and Jop critic poll, with the song "My Doorbell" being voted as the year's ninth best single.

In popular culture

The album cover was used in the Gilmore Girls episode "I Get a Sidekick Out of You", with Lane and Zach in Meg and Jack's positions, respectively^{[citation needed]}. It was also used for the 2008 Ozy and Millie calendar as both the front cover and for the month of January with the characters Ozy and Mille replacing Jack and Meg.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

Get Behind Me Satan features alternate track sequencing on its vinyl release.^[35]

CD track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Blue Orchid"	2:37
2.	"The Nurse"	3:47
3.	"My Doorbell"	4:01
4.	"Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)"	3:15
5.	"Little Ghost"	2:18
6.	"The Denial Twist"	2:35
7.	"White Moon"	4:01
8.	"Instinct Blues"	4:16
9.	"Passive Manipulation"	0:35
10.	"Take, Take, Take"	4:22
11.	"As Ugly as I Seem"	4:10
12.	"Red Rain"	3:52
13.	"I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)"	4:19
Total length:		44:07

All tracks are written by Jack White

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Who's a Big Baby?"	3:21
15.	"Though I Hear You Calling, I Will Not Answer"	3:25
Total length:		50:53

Vinyl track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Blue Orchid"	2:40
2.	"The Nurse"	3:54
3.	"My Doorbell"	4:05

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Forever for Her (Is Over for Me)"	3:20
2.	"As Ugly As I Seem"	4:13
3.	"The Denial Twist"	2:37
4.	"White Moon"	4:02

Side C

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Instinct Blues"	4:25
2.	"Passive Manipulation"	0:39
3.	"Take, Take, Take"	4:24

Side D

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Little Ghost"	2:23
2.	"Red Rain"	3:53
3.	"I'm Lonely (But I Ain't That Lonely Yet)"	4:22

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[36][37]

The White Stripes

• Jack White – guitar, vocals, piano, bass, mandolin, marimba, tambourine, songwriting, production, mixing
• Meg White – drums, vocals, percussion, bells, triangle, bongos

Additional personnel

• Eddie Gillis – tambourine and shakers (track 5)
• Howie Weinberg – mastering
• Roger Lian – sequencing
• John Hampton – mixing
• Adam Hill – assistant engineer
• Matthew Kettle – recording

Artwork

• Arthole – layout
• "The Third Man" – design
• Ewen Spencer – photography
• Nick Pavey – photo assistant

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2005) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[38] 3 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[39] 12 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 3 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[41] 11 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] 3 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[43] 12 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[44] 13 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[45] 13 French Albums (SNEP)[46] 7 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[47] 5 Irish Albums (IRMA)[48] 3 Italian Albums (FIMI)[49] 15 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[50] 3 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[51] 3 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[52] 36 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[53] 8 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 8 UK Albums (OCC)[55] 3 US Billboard 200[56] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[57] 72 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[58] 34 French Albums (SNEP)[59] 157 UK Albums (OCC)[60] 57 US Billboard 200[61] 110

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62]	Platinum	70,000^
Belgium (BEA)[63]	Gold	25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[64]	Platinum	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65]	Platinum	15,000^
Poland	—	20,000[66]
United Kingdom (BPI)[67]	Platinum	300,000^
United States (RIAA)[68]	Gold	920,000[69]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.