The Union Forever

THE UNION FOREVER

       Let me first start out by saying that Jack White is a genius and quite possibly the single most underrated musician ever.  With this said I will share my discovery with you even though it’s possible (if you’re a hard core White Stripes fan) that you know this.  The song “The Union Forever” is directly written about the film “Citizen Kane”.  
       Recently for my Cinema Studies 1 class we had to review Citizen Kane.  After the class I went back to my car and put in White Blood Cells from The White Stripes.  As I sit back smoking my cigar and enjoying the sweet tunes blaring from my stereo I started to here similarities in the current song I was listening to, to something I had heard earlier.  Suddenly I realized that almost line for line of The Union Forever is directly taken from “Citizen Kane”.    Here are the lyrics to “The Union Forever”

It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love

Sure I'm C.F.K.
but you gotta love me
the cost no man can say
but you gotta love me

Well I'm sorry but I'm not
interested in gold mines,
oil wells, shipping or real estate
what would I liked to have been?
everything you hate

There is a man
a certain man
and for the poor you may be sure
that he'll do all he can
who is this one?
[who's favorite son?]
just by his action has the traction
magnets on the run
who likes to smoke?
enjoys a joke?
and wouldn't get a bit
upset if he were really broke?
with wealth and fame
he's still the same
I'll bet you five you're not alive
If you don't now his name

You said the union forever
You said the union forever
You cried the union forever
but that was untrue girl
cause it can't be love

         The first verse is sung in Citizen Kane right before the singer leaves him.  They are at their “picnic” and the 2 are arguing inside a tent.  Outside there is a band playing that song but just the first verse.
        The next part of the song starts of with “Sure I’m C.F.K.”.  C.F.K., Charles Foster Kane, is the character in which the film is based on.  “You gotta love me the cost, no man can say but you gotta love me”.  Kane has loads of money and expects the people to love him no matter what.  He thinks he can buy their love.
       When Kane turns 21 he is able to control a large inheritance. Mr. Thatcher sends him a list of all he has inherited and the second verse is literally Kane’s response.

Well I'm sorry but I'm not
interested in gold mines,
oil wells, shipping or real estate

        Instead he takes the newspaper simply because he thinks it will be fun to run his own newspaper. Years later Kane meets with Thatcher again and finds out that almost all his money is gone and that the paper is broke.  Thatcher tells Kane he could have been a great man and than asks him what he would like to have been.  Kane’s response is “What would I like to have been? Everything that you hate”, which is the last part of that verse
       The whole middle part of the song is literally Kane’s song in the movie.  Once his newspaper takes off he has a huge party right before he goes to Europe.  When asked if there is a song about him, Charlie Kane responds “If you buy a bang of peanuts in this town the write a song about you” and than the band plays this.  

There is a man
a certain man
and for the poor you may be sure
that he'll do all he can
who is this one?
[who's favorite son?]
just by his action has the traction
magnets on the run
who likes to smoke?
enjoys a joke?
and wouldn't get a bit
upset if he were really broke?
with wealth and fame
he's still the same
I'll bet you five you're not alive
If you don't now his name

word for word.  Through out the rest of the film when ever there is a pivotal point involving Kane this song plays in one way or another.  
The end of the song as well as the title says The Union Forever.  When Charles is a kid he is sent away so he can have a better life.  Before he finds out the news that his mother is sending him away with Mr. Thatcher we see him outside playing in the snow and yelling “The Union Forever”
I was fascinated by this.  Citizen Kane is considered the #1 movie of all time, a statistic I never agreed with.  Not to say it isn’t a great movie but I appreciate it more now knowing that The White Stripes wrote a song about it.  If you knew this all ready I don’t care its still cool