Candy Cane Children

Oh, the White Stripes.... good music. umm.... There modo .:if I spelt that right:. is candy canes, or peppermints, so I guess this would be more connected to there modo...

Jack has told that "Candy cane children" is a reference to the band fans and this song was like a kind of tribute to us(stripes fans) as a little extra the single contains a kick ass song called the singing of the silent night

im a candy cane child! lol and its spelled motto and u didnt use it correcty in a sentence sry kind of a grammar freak

Did anyone else notice (in the lyrics above, anyway) that with the boy it's "tell you" but there's a question mark, whilst with the girl it's "ask you", but there isn't a question mark?

the only part i understand is the first part of the verse when he says the stuff about the boy and i dont really understand that either

--candy cane boy don't you know your name boy nine people gonna tell you just the same boy you're a lone son? in the middle of a million and nobody knows how to talk to children--

jack is saying that the white stripes arent popular and then i guess the children part is their style of playing, as jack describes it how minimalistic and childish megs drumming is, it seems like shes a 4 year old little girl playing drums thats what i got out of it...

I know "Candy Cane Children" is how they refer to their fans but I always thought the lyrics referred to suicide. If you take into account all of the studies, etc. about how most suicides occur during that time of the year (though it's been disproven since, I believe) and listen to the lyrics:

"christmas once a year girl that's three hundred and sixty four tears girl so when christmas finally comes

and nobody's got a gun

I always thought that what it was actually about was gun crime amongst young people, and how important socialisation is in leading to it or deterring it. Like, when it says "don't you know your name girl/boy", thats a very clichéd thing for adults to say to young children, the kind of thing you get at family parties (i.e christmas) when you're young and you hate it, thus, 'nobody knows how to talk to children'. If you take the "dont you know your name" line as representative of 'negative' socialisation/upbringing (which could be anything from not teaching your children right from wrong properly to not paying them enough attention), then this can be seen to lead to antisocial/criminal behaviour, and obviously included in that is gun crime. And you do hear alot about young, bored children finding their parents guns (obv in America, right to bear arms and all that) and accidentally using them, or using them without fully understanding the consequences. I am rambling quite alot here but hopefully you catch my drift!

It's about White Stripes fans.

People always question WS fans about their musical taste (12 people gonna ask you just the same girl) I think the 'nobody knows how to talk to children' part is about how nobody understands the need to be childlike and innocent, and that they're always searching hard for something that isn't there, especially in the White Stripes' music, they're looking for a deeper meaning that doesn't exist, because it just is what it is.

Jack and Meg White did not write this song.. It was originally by the Laughing Hyenas, a really obscure band from Chicago, in the 70's or 80's. Think screamo-punk-ish. Btw, this site doesnt have the laughing hyenas, their version of the song is called Candy [*] and in my opinion is way better. Just google it and you'll find out. So, if the white stripes are claiming they wrote it, they're lying.

i always assumed that Jack wrote it. There is little info on the web. i couldn't find the original but found an article from SFweekly. Anyway it's a great tune and i'm sure all candy cane children are appreciative of Jack covering the tune.