Lazaretto meaning jack white biography

What Is a Lazaretto?

This could signify intense energy or a dynamic thought process.

Despite the mental acuity, the speaker engages in physically demanding and challenging work, suggesting a contrast between mental and physical aspects of their life.

"Yo trabajo duro" translates to "I work hard" in Spanish, underscoring the speaker's strong work ethic.

The repetition of "Como en madera y yeso" (Like in wood and plaster) reinforces the speaker's dedication and skill in their work.

A play on the notion of God having plans for individuals, with the speaker claiming to have more plans than even God herself.

Despite the speaker's prolific plans, they acknowledge that God doesn't assist them freely in their schemes.

A metaphorical image of God interacting with the speaker, using a stick to poke at them, suggesting divine intervention or testing.

The speaker claims that their silence conveys everything, possibly indicating a complex relationship with communication.

Emphasizes the power of silence, where saying nothing holds significant meaning.

Reiterates the idea that silence is a powerful form of expression for the speaker.

Describes being placed in a lazaretto, historically a quarantine station for travelers with infectious diseases.

There, the Welsh scholar writes, writes of a house “two miles from Venice, called the Lazaretto” where people sick with the plague are cared for.

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According to Jane L. Stevens Crawshaw’s Plague Hospitals: Public Health for the City in Early Modern Venice, the term is a corruption of the name of that original building, a converted monastery located on an island outside Venice that reopened as Santa Maria di Nazareth in 1423.

The image of God poking at them with a stick when they remain silent implies a lack of divine assistance, forcing the protagonist to rely on their own resourcefulness.

The title, "Lazaretto," is a reference to a quarantine station, hinting at a sense of isolation and confinement. The idea of being "connected" suggests a link between emotions and physicality.

The speaker emphasizes a heightened mental state, describing every bone in their brain as electric.

Despite this, they find themselves doing menial work, digging ditches, which is juxtaposed with the Spanish phrase "Yo trabajo duro" (I work hard).

Jack White's 'Lazaretto': Embracing Resilience and Rebellion

Meaning

"Lazaretto" by Jack White is a song that delves into themes of personal struggle, isolation, defiance, and resilience.

Behind Jack White’s New Album Title

Earlier today, Jack White released a new track, the instrumental “High Ball Stepper,” and announced that on June 9th he’ll be releasing his second solo studio album, Lazaretto, a follow-up to 2012’s Blunderbuss.

So: What is a lazaretto? The protagonist uses their time in isolation to create "models of people I used to know out of coffee and cotton," which could symbolize a longing for the past or a desire to recreate connections that have been lost.

The reference to "illegitimate kids" and being "thrown down to the wolves" suggests a troubled past and perhaps a sense of victimization.

The term first appears in English – or at least, in the Oxford English Dictionary – with William Thomas’ mid-16th Century The Historie of Italie. The mention of Detroit rising from the ashes suggests resilience and the ability to overcome adversity.

In the final lines, the desire to "blow down the prison" and the imagery of "lighting fires with the cash of the masses" signify a rebellion against societal constraints and the status quo.

Being "quarantined on the Isle Of Man" can be seen as a metaphor for feeling trapped in a place of hardship or adversity.

The urgency in lines like "Damn, I have no time left" and "Time is lost" conveys a feeling of desperation and a need to break free. The song ends on a note of defiance, with the protagonist declaring that they will do things their way.

Overall, "Lazaretto" is a song that explores the complexities of ambition, isolation, and resistance to societal norms.

As you might have guessed, this Lazarus comes back to life.

Today, however, the word, which since the mid 18th Century has grown increasingly obscure, refers to a Santa Maria–like house for the occupancy of the diseased poor or a ship or building set apart for quarantine.

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The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a protagonist who feels both physically and mentally wired, with veins that are "blue and connected" and an electric brain.

It conveys a sense of frustration and a longing for freedom and self-expression in the face of adversity. The recurring imagery and phrases in the song serve to underscore these themes and emotions, making it a thought-provoking and introspective piece of music.

Lyrics

My veins are blue and connected

The speaker describes their veins as blue, possibly symbolizing a sense of coldness or detachment.

Another account, however, posits the term as descending from the Gospels – either the story in “Luke” where Lazarus, a poor man “full of sores” dies outside a rich man’s gate but finds their positions reversed in the afterlife, or the story in “John” where Jesus returns to the town of Bethany to heal a presumably different Lazarus, a man who has been dead for the past four days.

This contrast between potential and reality sets the tone for the song.

The recurring idea that "even God herself has fewer plans" than the protagonist suggests a feeling of immense ambition and purpose, yet a sense of abandonment. The line "Born rotten, bored rotten" emphasizes a feeling of discontent and aimlessness.