
“Blue Orchid” was a highly anticipated single when it was released in 2005. The hype’s now died down, and the song remains one of the most popular tunes by The White Stripes, the bluesy-garage-rock band that dominated the conversation around rock music in the 2000s.
Many people speculated about the meaning of the lyrics at the time. Now, with the benefit of hindsight and with Jack and Meg’s reputations firmly established, we can finally dig deeper into what “Blue Orchid” is all about.

The White Stripes’ Journey to Making “Blue Orchid”
It was all an unlikely success story. Every bit of it.
The White Stripes by 2005 was the band responsible for the international hits “Fell In Love With a Girl” and “Seven Nation Army.” That was a surprise for those who had followed them closely.
But so had been their earliest records. The White Stripes was a dynamic duo. They weren’t from New York or London. They hadn’t played in other famous bands yet. It was made up of a blues and garage rock enthusiast playing a cheap guitar, Jack White, and his “sister” Meg, a timid drummer possessing a unique style.
It didn’t take long for the press to speculate that they weren’t brother and sister at all. And, just an important, the band’s vision was a clear crystal one that was by 2005 imitated by many others.
Last but not least, the band was heavily championed by critics. Tastemakers were crying out for The White Stripes to receive the same kind of respect reserved for Bob Dylan or Leadbelly.
This was the climate in which “Blue Orchid” was the first single from the highly anticipated 2005 album “Get Behind Me Satan” was released.
The hype made it almost impossible to measure up to expectations. Still, “Blue Orchid” was a Top 10 hit in the UK and nearly a Top 40 hit singes in the U.S. Critics liked “Get Behind Me Satan” although they were now less likely to run out into the street announcing their affection.
Even more years later, “Blue Orchid” is one of The White Stripes most streamed songs on Spotify, and the band’s body of work is viewed as a modern classic.

Writing “Blue Orchid”
On the riff-heavy “Seven Nation Army,” Jack White decried the world of gossip that he and Meg had fallen into. “Blue Orchid” and Jack White’s fame didn’t much help matters when it came to this.
Gossip sites and serious publications alike speculated that “Blue Orchid” was, in fact, a song written about actress Renée Zellweger. White and Zellweger had been in a short relationship of which the tabloids were well aware.
In another indie-rock-fueled drama, Jack White got into a physical altercation with Jason Elliott Stollsteimer. The story dogged White around for years. Some fans believed “Blue Orchid” to be an angry response track.
But White denied these theories. According to him, the lyrics to “Blue Orchid” were about the old world and particularly about old forms of entertainment. Many of The White Stripes’ songs paint him as something of a Luddite, and this is no exception. White would soon be the great artisan of The Vynil Records Revival.
Like one of his heroes, Bob Dylan, Jack White is also no stranger to adding biblical references and mystical symbolism to his verse lyric. In “Blue Orchid,” the main scene is comparable to Eve taking the apple from the tree and thus being thrust out of the Garden of Eden.
In more plain terms, “Blue Orchid” is a typical song about love unfulfilled. The main character presents their lover with a flower as a gift. But they’re turned away, and the gift is refused.
White’s Approach to Recording Music
“Get Behind Me Satan” was a success and a highly anticipated album. However, by 2005, Jack White was involved with other musical projects. During the same year, White was involved in recording The Raconteurs’ “Broken Boy Soldiers.” The album’s main single, “Steady, As She Goes,” was another huge hit.
White had also gone back to using a minimalist, old-fashioned approach to recording. “I only used one microphone for both of those albums on every instrument – bass, drums, vocals. The entirety of those two albums is only a Coles ribbon mic on every single thing you hear,” he later told American Songwriter.

The Meaning of the “Blue Orchid” Music Video
The White Stripes and their director friends have helped produce memorable videos in the past. This is why there were similar expectations for “Blue Orchid.”
The end result did not disappoint. The music video would not have felt out of place for gothic-rock groups of the past or emo bands of the time.
It shows Meg and White living in an old mansion, making coordinated, machine-like movements. The video also features an Eve-like figure, played by model/actress/musician Karen Elson, being tempted by a white snake and biting out of an apple.
Karen Elson and Jack White met on the set of “Blue Orchid.” Weeks later, they were married while The White Stripes toured South America. They divorced in 2013.
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The Legacy of “Blue Orchid”
The White Stripes had achieved plenty by the time the band released the “Get Behind Me Satan” album. This and the few other releases Meg and Jack still had in the future were generally well received, albeit not with the enthusiasm of old.
Still, “Blue Orchid” has ended up being one of The White Stripes’ most enduring songs. In a brilliant discography, this says plenty of the song.
Few famous bands have yet attempted to cover it. However, The White Stripes and their fans are quite affectionate for the tune. “Blue Orchid” was played as an encore during the band’s final live performance in 2009.