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Steady, As She Goes

"Steady, As She Goes" is the debut single of American rock band the Raconteurs from their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers (2006). In early 2006, a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl record was released as a double A-sided single with the relatively unpromoted "Store Bought Bones" as the flipside. "Steady, As She Goes" was released physically on April 24, 2006, 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.

"Steady, As She Goes"
Single by the Raconteurs
from the album Broken Boy Soldiers
ReleasedApril 24, 2006 (2006-04-24)
GenreGarage rock,[1] power pop[2][3]
Length3:36
LabelV2, XL, Third Man
Songwriter(s)Jack White, Brendan Benson
Producer(s)Jack White, Brendan Benson
The Raconteurs singles chronology
"Steady, As She Goes"
(2006) 		"Hands"
(2006)
Alternative covers
7-inch cover

In the United States, the song reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. It achieved top-10 success in the UK and Denmark, peaking at number four in both countries.

Background

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"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

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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

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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 soapbox 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.

Track listings

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[33] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States March 20, 2006
[34]
United Kingdom April 24, 2006
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • XL
  • Third Man
 [35]
Australia May 8, 2006 [36]

Covers

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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.[37] It was additionally covered in an October 2019 video essay by Abigail Thorn.[38] It was also covered by Infadels and released as a B-side on the single release of "Girl That Speaks No Words".[39]

References

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  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. ^ 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. ^ Steady, As She Goes (US 7-inch single A vinyl disc). The Raconteurs. V2 Records, Third Man Records. 2006. 63881-27843-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Steady, As She Goes (US 7-inch single B vinyl disc). The Raconteurs. V2 Records, Third Man Records. 2006. 63881-27848-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ Steady, As She Goes (US 7-inch single C vinyl disc). The Raconteurs. V2 Records, Third Man Records. 2006. 63881-27847-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  14. ^ Steady, As She Goes (US CD single disc notes). The Raconteurs. V2 Records, Third Man Records. 2006. 63881-27846-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  15. ^ Steady, As She Goes (UK CD single disc notes). The Raconteurs. XL Recordings, Third Man Records. 2006. XLS229CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. ^ Steady, As She Goes (Australian CD single disc notes). The Raconteurs. XL Recordings, Third Man Records. 2006. XLS229CDAUS.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ "The Raconteurs – Steady, As She Goes". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  18. ^ "The Raconteurs – Steady, As She Goes" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  19. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  20. ^ "The Raconteurs – Steady, As She Goes". Tracklisten. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  21. ^ "Eurocharts: Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 118, no. 19. May 13, 2006. p. 67.
  22. ^ "The Raconteurs: Steady, As She Goes" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  23. ^ "The Raconteurs – Steady, As She Goes". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  24. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  26. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  27. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  28. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  29. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
  30. ^ "The Raconteurs Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2021.
  31. ^ "Top Canada Rock Songs" (PDF). Radio & Records. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  32. ^ "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  33. ^ "British single certifications – Raconteurs – Steady As She Goes". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  34. ^ "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1649. March 17, 2006. p. 19.
  35. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. April 22, 2006. p. 25.
  36. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 8th May 2006" (PDF). ARIA. May 8, 2006. pp. 28–29. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 19, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2021. The source credits the band as both the Raconteurs and the Saboteurs.
  37. ^ "Adele - Steady As She Goes on Backstage at Radio One's Big Weekend (May 10 2008)". Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  38. ^ "Queer✨ Philosophy Tube". Retrieved December 9, 2022 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ "Infadels – Girl That Speaks No Words (2006, Viny) - Discogs". Discogs. June 5, 2024. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024.
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  • NME Review "...wonderful..." link Feb 2006
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