Steady, As She Goes

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"Steady, As She Goes"
SteadyAsSheGoes StoreBoughtBones.jpg
Single by the Raconteurs
from the album Broken Boy Soldiers
ReleasedApril 24, 2006 (UK)
May 9, 2006 (U.S.)
GenreGarage rock,[1] power pop[2][3]
Length3:36
LabelThird Man
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jack White
  • Brendan Benson
The Raconteurs singles chronology
"Steady, As She Goes"
(2006) 		"Hands"
(2006)
Alternative covers
7" cover
7" cover

"Steady, As She Goes" is the debut single by American rock band the Raconteurs from their first album Broken Boy Soldiers.

A limited edition, 7-inch, 45 rpm vinyl record, was released in Europe on January 30, 2006, and in North America on March 7, 2006. It was a double A-sided single, with the relatively unpromoted "Store Bought Bones" as the flipside. A CD version of "Steady, As She Goes" was released on April 24 with the B-side "Bane Rendition". Two further vinyl releases were produced: the first (marked 'B') with "Store Bought Bones" as the B-side; the second (marked 'C') an acoustic rendition of "Steady, As She Goes" with "Call It a Day" as the B-side. In the US, the song reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It achieved top ten success in the UK, where it peaked at number four, and Canada, peaking at number three.

Background[]

"Steady, As She Goes" is the first song ever written by White and Benson.[4]

Jack White and Brendan Benson lived three blocks apart from each other in Detroit, and White would often stop by Benson's house to say hi. One day, Benson showed White a slow reggae demo of what would become "Steady, As She Goes". Benson had played all the instruments on the demo, but only had one verse, "Find yourself a girl and settle down..." White took that idea and started writing.[5]

White said to Uncut in 2006, "It’s asking a question, which is, ‘Is doing that – getting married and settling down – starting a new life or is it giving up?’"[6] Speaking again to Uncut in 2006, he added, "I think the big notion in my head was we’re all getting older now and enough of goofing around. All our friends are musicians, so it was like, ‘How much of this world can we stay a part of and how much do we reject?’"[5]

Critical response[]

Entertainment Weekly said the track is "less weird than what we're used to from the ghostly singer."[7] Rolling Stone called "Steady, As She Goes" the second best song of 2006, just behind "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. The bass in the song, especially in the intro, has drawn comparisons to the song "Is She Really Going Out With Him?", by Joe Jackson.[8][9]

In 2007, "Steady, As She Goes" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[10]

Music video[]

There are two music videos for "Steady, As She Goes". The first music video was directed by Jim Jarmusch, and focuses on the band performing the song. It premiered on MTV Two on March 10, 2006, and was also available for streaming on the band's website. In the second music video, the Raconteurs teamed up with Paul Reubens. In this video, each band member plays an imaginary speed-racing hero in an old-fashioned soap box race, following the heroes on their cut-throat chase for first place. Reubens plays an unscrupulous pit boss, stooping to low levels to ensure a win for his racer, Jack Lawrence. Lawrence and Reubens (wearing standard melodrama-villain handlebar moustaches) cheat many times throughout the race, to make sure that Lawrence wins. Patrick falls off a cliff, Brendan crashes, and Reubens shoots White ("the Copper Kid") with a blow gun. Lawrence wins. The latter video premiered exclusively on Yahoo! Music on June 19, 2006.

Covers[]

The song was covered by Corinne Bailey Rae for BBC Radio 1's Live lounge.[citation needed] It was frequently covered live by Fitz and the Tantrums, and was covered live by Adele during "Backstage at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend" on May 10, 2008.[11]

Track listing[]

CD
  1. "Steady, As She Goes"
  2. "The Bane Rendition"
7" (A) & (B)
  1. "Steady, As She Goes"
  2. "Store Bought Bones"
7" (C)
  1. "Steady, As She Goes" (acoustic)
  2. "Call It a Day"

Other appearances[]

Charts[]

Chart (2006) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 54
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[14] 1

References[]

  1. ^ Perpetua, Matthew (January 19, 2012). "Jack White's Greatest Collaborations". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Raconteurs: Steady As She Goes/Store Bought Bones". NME. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Raconteurs: "Consolers Of The Lonely"". Uncut. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  4. ^ Scaggs, Austin (February 23, 2006), "SMOKING SECTION". Rolling Stone. (994):29
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Hoskyns, Barney (December 2006). "The Making Of... The Raconteurs' Steady As She Goes". Uncut. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "Interview: Jack White and Brendan Benson". Uncut. May 10, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Dombal, Ryan (February 17, 2006), "DOWNLOAD THIS". Entertainment Weekly. (864):79
  8. ^ Anderson, Shawn (April 25, 2006). "thus spake drake: Is she really going steady (as she goes?)". Drakelelane.blogspot.com. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  9. ^ "Do You Copy?". Entertainment Weekly. 2006. Retrieved September 24, 2006.
  10. ^ "GRAMMY.com". Grammy.com. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  11. ^ "Adele - Steady As She Goes on Backstage at Radio One's Big Weekend (May 10 2008)". YouTube. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  12. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  13. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  14. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2015.

External links[]

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