After his recent comments defending the value of music, it comes as no surprise that Nashville Hall of Fame inductee Jack White has decided to get a little 16th century sentimental on us. Last week, White posted a poem, titled Music is Sacred, to the Third Man Books website, an offshoot of his music label Third Man Records. White uses the poem to talk about the power of music.
In White’s recent Q&A with his own Third Man Records, he spoke about his alignment with Tidal (read what we had to say about that here.) He urged fans to pay for their music, saying “Don’t devalue musicians, man; support them. Making records is expensive, believe us. I don’t see people saying we should go to the movies for free, or Netflix should be free. That state of music is in flux. Be on the side of supporting creativity, not taking from it.”
However, in spite of any speculations surrounding this poem, Third Man have made it clear that it is not about Tidal:
Recently, Jack White was very vocal about these feelings at his Coachella performance as well, one of the final shows he did before embarking on an indefinite hiatus. He pleaded with the audience to “Do everything you can, tell everyone you know, and the children that you have one day, that music is sacred,” before the chant changed to “Music is sacred!” in the final minutes of the anthemic Seven Nation Army.
The sentiment is lovely and all, but we just can’t help but feel like Jack White is kind of losing touch with the world around him.
Read it here:
Music is Sacred
those of you who stand for the sanctity of music
so that its soul can breathe
and be heard
so that it blooms in graveyards
echoes in hotel hallways
awakens neighbors in the night
and fills peoples minds with fire
shout it out loud with whatever microphone you have
or these stones will shout for you.
jump in front of demons,
and stand over cowards and those who would intend
to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire
tell the living and the dead
what you know in your heart to be true
and what you know your ears
will forever hear
that the melody of the human race
is a song that never ends.
music is sacred.