Take, Take, Take

Pretty much, its about a person who fools himself into thinking he is what he really isn't. He pretends as though he's so content, but he keeps asking for more, while trying to put up a cool demeanor to impress said celebrity. "Its almost as if she didn't appreciate how cool I was bein'" He ends up pretty much tormenting her until she leaves and then doesn't quite understand why. And still after how reasonable she was about the whole situation he wants more from her no matter how much she gave to this stranger. And yet he thinks, "I guess you couldnt call me greedy". Take, take, take.

To me this song is about how ambition leads to disappointment, or at least how it can snowball. The constant repitition of "All that I needed" shows how he fools himself into believing he's satisfied with where he is, but in fact, he always wants more.

On a more surface level, this song is about how annoying fans can be to celebrities, how celebrities can't enter a club or bar without someone recognizing them and asking for an autograph. The "Need to go to sleep" shows the weariness celebrities have for these kind of fans.

A subtle hint from Jack to back off

The obvious meaning is that Jack White is very annoyed with fans bothering him. He shows the way an innocent meeting can become extremely uncomfortable for him, whereas the fans remain oblivious to both his feelings and also just how much they are escalating things.

But then there's the other POV of interpreting this completely free of any knowledge of Jack White. The lyrics have an interesting use of storytelling signifiers and characterization which, though subtle and sly, is an apt metaphor for the relation of fans to the famous. Through repetition of the phrase "that was all that I needed", the narrator's voracious appetite for experience with the famous is never satiated. He can't even tell a recognizable story about the interaction with a traditional beginning, middle, and end. It's all beginnings and false endings with no real climax. The real ending only arrives with his disappointment. Following a long trail of increasingly intimate interactions with Mz. Hayworth, he is shocked when she finally leaves in the most respectful way possible. It's possible that the only way such a story possibly could have ended was with disappointment, since the narrator continued to ask more and more from a stranger without any sign of being satisfied.

Meanwhile, Hayworth actually gets a story. She shows up at a bar, is bothered by a fan (though she never shows any direct signs of being bothered), and leaves when she presumably can't take any more intrusion (though we don't really know this for sure). She hardly has any voice even. Her communication is lipstick on a paper, possibly a written note to accompany it, and words of parting about being tired and saying goodnight.

Though the narrator communicates frustration and claims of being disrespected, his behavior throughout almost the whole song is transgression. Meanwhile, there is no evidence of any rude behavior from Rita, despite the narrator's claims. So there's an element of irony to the lyrics: the narrator is unreliable, and the reader/listener needs to think of themselves and look at the evidence before supporting one side or the other.

So what does all that mean? You can do whatever you want with it, but maybe it's fair to say that stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end, conflict that comes from both sides, and characters that have fully-fledged voices will read as more trustworthy to audiences.

I love the mixing on this song... especially when you're wearing headphones and you hear Jack's voice bouncing off your brain from different directions

Yeah I agree the song is about the pushy media and how they're always asking for more and more always making it seem like thats all they want and when the celeb finally says no the media always sees it as the celeb being unfair or stuck-up hence the line "Well, she didn't even care That I was even there.What a horrible feeling" after she says goodnight.

this song shows the fans point of view as well as the artists -he understands how poeple feel when they meet someone that inspires them, they all just want a bit of him("take, take, take") because it means so much to them when they meet him/some other artist

• coming from the artists point of view because he is trying to tell fans that he does appreciate them very much, but he cant give himself up for them, he is only human afterall- "so she said to me “I need to go to sleep” And it seems so mean. It's almost as if she Did not appreciate How cool I was being."

....well maybe anyways

completely agree. Jack White, also being a celebrity himself of course had the same experieces. In fact, I believe that his point of view is from rita hayworth's side. It's not that he's greedy and dumb and always wants more. It's that he's showing what people do to him and how they push on him from an ironic point of view I guess. So yes, I'm pretty sure that this rita hayworth thing wasn't just out of the blue and not true...mabey he really did do that...who knows. but anhow his repitition of 'that was all that I needed'...shiws he always wants more basically.

great song.....I'm absolutely in love with the white stripes...probably the best new band out there infulenced by the good ol original tunes of classic rock. its something we really needed nowadays.

Is it just about fans or life in general? How we think we will be fullfilled by getting one thing, but the satisfaction never is fullfilled.

I think there's more to this than a comment on how Jack White feels to be famous. It reminds me of some of Randy Newman's work, where a song is a glimpse inside the head of a (not always very attractive) character. Check out 'In Germany before the war' as an example.

'Take take take' is a peek into a stalker's mentality as they become more and more obsessed. I love the double meaning of 'And that was all that I needed' - to satisfy me, but also to get me going onto the next thing, and the next ...