| Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground | |
| Cover: | Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | the White Stripes |
| Album: | White Blood Cells |
| Recorded: | [1] [2] |
| Studio: | Easley-McCain Recording (Memphis, Tennessee) |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Length: | 3:04 |
| Label: | |
| Producer: | Jack White |
| Prev Title: | Fell in Love with a Girl |
| Prev Year: | 2002 |
| Next Title: | We're Going to Be Friends |
| Next Year: | 2002 |
"Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" is a song by American garage rock band the White Stripes, featured on their 2001 third studio album White Blood Cells. Written and produced by vocalist and guitarist Jack White, "Dead Leaves" was released as the third single from the album in July 2002, charting at number 19 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.
In a review of the song for AllMusic, Tom Maginnis describes "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" as a "grimy rocker", noting it as a display of the duo's "keen understanding of musical dynamics".[3] Paste and Stereogum ranked the song number three and number five, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest White Stripes songs.[4] [5]
The music video for this song, directed by Michel Gondry, depicts Jack White coming back to his trashed London house and surveying reckless destruction. While he goes from room to room, video of the party events that led to the decimation (and of his and Meg's relationship before he left) is projected over the scenery, until in the final scene she leaves him.
All songs were written by Jack White, except "Stop Breaking Down" by Robert Johnson.
7-inch vinyl (XLS 148)
CD single (XLS 148CD)
DVD single (XLS 148DVD)
Personnel are taken from the UK single CD liner notes
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | July 1, 2002 | V2 | [7] | ||
| United Kingdom | September 2, 2002 | XL | [8] |
The song was made available to download on May 23, 2011, for play in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which takes advantage of the use of a real guitar / bass guitar, along with standard MIDI-compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to vocals.[9] [10]