Analyzing Effect And Cause, The White Stripes

I guess you have to have a problem
If you want to invent a contraption
Well you cause a trainwreck
And then you put me in traction
First came an action
And then a reaction
But you can't switch around
For your own satisfaction
Well you burnt my house down
And then got mad at my reaction


Well in every complicated situation
There's a human relation
Making sense of it all
Takes a whole lot of concentration
Well you can't blame a baby
For her pregnant ma

And if there's one of these unavoidable laws 

It's that you just can't take the effect

And make it the cause

Well you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
Cos you made up the law
Blame me for robbing Peter
Don't you blame Paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause


I ain't the reason that you gave me
No reason to return your call
You built a house of cards
And got shocked when you saw them fall
Well I ain't saying I'm innocent
In fact the reverse
But if you're heading to the grave
Don't blame the hearse
You're like a little girl yelling at her brother
Cos you lost his ball


You keep blaming me for what you did
And that ain't all
The way you clean up the wreck
Is enough to give one pause
You seem to forget just how this song started
I'm reacting to you
Cos you left me broken hearted


It's just that you can't just take the effect and make it the cause


Well you can't take the effect
And make it the cause
I didn't rob a bank
Cos you made up the law
Blame me for robbing peter
Don't you blame paul
Can't take the effect
And make it the cause

            Shifting slightly from generality to specificity in “Effect and Cause”, Jack White provides strategic ambiguity and metaphorical hyperbole in order to emphasize the importance of taking responsibility; “I ain’t saying I’m innocent/in fact the reverse”.

            White, in not being straight-forward or incredibly detailed, incorporates relatability into the song; because of the vagueness of lyrics, empathy and understanding from the audience are catered to. Generalizing the contents of the song and the events which inspired it as merely “complicated situation[s]”, other than leaving the speaker “broken hearted”, no cause is actually specified. Still, White manages to hilight how the subject “keep[s] blaming” the wrong party, rather than taking accountability. Integrating universally recognized events, such as pregnancy and offense, White encompasses “cause” as well as the paired “reaction”, as to outline the order in which they occur: “you can’t switch around/for your own satisfaction”. Through use of the broad circumstances, from “buil[ding] a house of cards” to “a little girl yelling at her brother”, it is implied that the subject of the song has been guilty on more than one occasion, and most likely, for many reasons. The line “the way you clean up the wreck/is enough to give one pause” hints at the unorthodox and inappropriate way in which the subject deals with pressure; in being at fault, the subject seems to “switch around” who is to blame rather than accepting it themselves.

Offering a variety of dramatic, meaningful examples, White draws attention to where blame lies, and outlines the indecency of not taking responsibility for one’s own actions. The song, in response to being “left…broken hearted”, refers to how the subject “burnt [the speaker’s] house down/and then got mad at [his] reaction” where the burnt house symbolizes disappointment in the subject. The aforementioned “house of cards”, which is ultimately destined to “fall”, signifies the relationship between the speaker and the subject: the subject plants the seeds of destruction in starting “a problem”, yet seems “shocked” when the relationship fails. Where credit should be taken for “the wreck”, the subject decided, alternately, to place blame on the “innocent”. Similar to the fact that “if you’re heading to the grave/[you] don’t blame the hearse”, one should not place fault on another solely to ignore “what [one] did”.

Though seemingly straightforward, “Effect and Cause” outlines a commonly seen and key dynamic in a toxic relationship. In pairing ambiguity with exaggeration, White intensifies the anger felt at the subject’s wrongdoing, as well as the distress caused in being wounded by such wrongdoing. White clearly depicts that “in every complicated situation/ there’s a human relation/ making sense of it all”, and lies can easily be seen through.