White Flag (song)

For the song by Gorillaz, see Plastic Beach.
"White Flag"
Single by Dido
from the album Life for Rent
B-side "Paris"
Released 1 September 2003 (2003-09-01)
Format CD single
Genre Pop
Length 4:01 (album version)
3:40 (radio edit)
Label Arista
Writer(s) Dido Armstrong, Rollo Armstrong, Rick Nowels
Producer(s) Rollo Armstrong, Dido Armstrong
Dido singles chronology
"Feels Like Fire"
(2003)		 "White Flag"
(2003)		 "Life for Rent"
(2003)

"White Flag" is a song by English singer-songwriter Dido, released as the lead single from her second studio album Life for Rent on 1 September 2003. The song is considered one of her signature songs, and helped Life for Rent sell over ten million copies worldwide. The song was nominated for the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 46th Grammy Awards, but lost to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful". It won the Best British Single at the 2004 Brit Awards.

The song ranked on Blender's list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" at number 317.[1] The single fared very well on the charts around the world, peaking at number one in Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Norway; number two on the Irish Singles Chart, and number 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number two in the UK being kept off the top spot by the UK top selling single of the year, "Where Is the Love?". The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn features actor David Boreanaz as Dido's love interest.

The song has been used in several TV series, Smallville, The Inbetweeners, Medium, The Sopranos, Tru Calling, Cold Case, Winners & Losers, and films Perfect Stranger and Mommy. Carly Rae Jepsen performed a cover version of the song on Canadian Idol.

Background and composition

"White Flag" was written and produced by Dido, Rollo Armstrong and Rick Nowels.[2] In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if they know his or her relationship is over.[3] Regarding the lyric "I will go down with the ship," it is a well-known fact that, if a ship was sinking, the captain of the ship would stay on the ship and sink with it. In a battle, a white flag signals surrender. With regard to the lyric "there will be no white flag above my door," in the 17th Century, if a captain of a ship wanted to surrender, he would hang a white flag outside the captain's cabin, above the cabin's door - this white flag would signal to the victors that the captain has surrendered and is waiting peaceably inside his cabin to be captured. By stating there will be "no white flag," she indicates that she will not deny her feelings of love or pretend that they are gone. Dido wrote the song about a past relationship, but later said that she initially regretted writing it because it caused more problems with the person involved. However, she has said that she now likes to perform the song.[4]

"White Flag" begins with a lone synth-chord reminiscent of Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U".[5] It features "multi-layered" sound, delicate piano outro, and strings.[3] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is written in the key of D minor and Dido's vocals range from the low note of A3 to the high note of C5.[6]

Critical reception

David Jeffries from AllMusic wrote a largely positive review, praising "Dido's sweet delivery" and stating that "It’s all very beautiful, the perfect soundtrack for weeping, and the definition of "wistful" in a song."[3] Derryck Strachan wrote for BBC Music that the song is "engaging to the extent that you could easily be humming along without it registering in your brain. There's something unconscious, pleasantly innocuous about it. It's comfort food for the ears" and it could be easily on a Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy.[7] Alexis Petridis from The Guardian wrote that the song "is a superb, confidently written pop song, possessed of a chorus that is impossible to dislodge from your memory without the aid of hypnotherapy."[8]

Awards and success

The song was nominated for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2004 Grammy Awards, but lost to Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful".[4] The song won the award for "Best Single" at the 2004 BRIT Awards.[9] It helped her album sell one million copies in five days on its way to total sales of over 5 million, making it the fastest selling album by a female artist.[4]

Music video

The music video, directed by Joseph Kahn, features actor David Boreanaz as Dido's love interest.[9] The video tells a story about a relationship that is over, but both still in love with each other, meeting everywhere that they go and trying to not see each other. At the end of the video, they return to their apartments and Dido's room is filled with David's photos and David's room is filled with Dido's photos.[10]

Track listings

UK CD single
  1. "White Flag" – 3:40
  2. "Paris" – 3:24
  3. "White Flag" (Johnny Toobad mix) – 6:17
USA CD single
  1. "White Flag" (radio edit) – 3:36
  2. "Stoned" (Deep Dish radio edit) – 4:02
  3. "Paris" – 3:24
  4. "White Flag" (video) – 3:40
USA DVD single
  1. "White Flag" (video) – 3:40
  2. "Life For Rent" (video) – 3:41
French CD single
  1. "White Flag" – 3:58
  2. "Paris" – 3:24

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Charts (2003-04) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[11] 1
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[12] 1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[14] 2
Denmark (Tracklisten)[15] 2
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles) 1
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 19
France (SNEP)[17] 5
Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 1
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 2
Italy (FIMI)[20] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[22] 12
Norway (VG-lista)[23] 1
Poland (Polish Singles Chart)[24] 1
Portugal (Portuguese Singles Chart)[25] 1
Romania (Romanian Top 100)[26] 9
Scottish Singles Chart[27] 2
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[28] 11
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 2
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 2
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[31] 2
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 18
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[32] 2
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs[32] 4
US Billboard Mainstream Top 40[32] 19
US Billboard Radio Songs[32] 19

Year-end charts

Chart (2003) Position
Australian Singles Chart[33] 78
Austrian Singles Chart[34] 13
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[35] 25
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[36] 30
Dutch Top 40[37] 10
French Singles Chart[38] 47
German Singles Chart[39] 12
Irish Singles Chart[40] 8
Italian Singles Chart[41] 7
New Zealand Singles Chart[42] 27
Swedish Singles Chart[43] 16
Swiss Singles Chart[44] 5
UK Singles Chart[45] 12

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[46] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[47] Gold 15,000x
Belgium (BEA)[48] Gold 25,000*
Germany (BVMI)[49] Gold 150,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[50] Platinum 10,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[51] Gold 20,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Gold 440,000[53]
United States (RIAA)[54] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Chart successions

Preceded by
"You Weren't There" by Lene Marlin		 Italian FIMI number one single
18 September 2003 		Succeeded by
"Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" by Lumidee
Preceded by
"Where Is the Love?" by The Black Eyed Peas		 Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single
28 September 2003 – 5 October 2003 		Succeeded by
"Not Me, Not I" by Delta Goodrem
Preceded by
"Unrockbar" by Die Ärzte		 German number-one single
3 October 2003 		Succeeded by
"Where Is the Love?" by The Black Eyed Peas
Preceded by
"Maria (I Like It Loud)" by Scooter		 Ö3 Austria Top 40 number-one single
5 October 2003 – 19 October 2003 		Succeeded by
"Where Is the Love?" by The Black Eyed Peas

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Brazil 28 August 2003 Digital download Sony Music Entertainment

References

  1. ↑ The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born: 301 - 350
  2. ↑ "Dido - Life for Rent (album review) - Sputnikmusic". 21 June 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 Jeffries, David. "White Flag - AllMusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 "Dido - White Flag - Lyrics Meaning". Music Banner. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  5. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (27 September 2003). "Dido: Life for Rent". Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  6. ↑ "Dido - White Flag Digital Sheet Music". Music Notes. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  7. ↑ Strachan, Derryck (20 June 2003). "Review of Dido - Life for Rent". BBC. BBC. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  8. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (26 September 2003). "Dido "Life For Rent"". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  9. 1 2 "White Flag by Dido - Songfacts". Songfacts. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  10. ↑ "Dido - White Flag - YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  11. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Dido – White Flag". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Dido – White Flag" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Dido – White Flag" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Dido – White Flag" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  15. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Dido – White Flag". Tracklisten.
  16. ↑ "Dido: White Flag" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  17. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Dido – White Flag" (in French). Les classement single.
  18. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Dido – White Flag". GfK Entertainment.
  19. ↑ "Dido - White Flag". αCharts.us. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  20. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Dido – White Flag". Top Digital Download.
  21. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Dido search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  22. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Dido – White Flag". Top 40 Singles.
  23. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Dido – White Flag". VG-lista.
  24. ↑ "Nielsen Music Control". Archived from the original on 2008-05-08.
  25. ↑ "Top40-charts.com". Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  26. ↑ Romanian Top 100: Editia 2, saptamina 12.01 - 18.01, 2004
  27. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/20030907/41
  28. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Dido – White Flag" Canciones Top 50.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Dido – White Flag". Singles Top 100.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Dido – White Flag". Swiss Singles Chart.
  31. ↑ "Chart Stats - Dido - White Flag". The Official UK Charts Company. Chart Stats. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 "White Flag - Dido". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  33. ↑ "2003 Australian Singles Chart". aria. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  34. ↑ "2003 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  35. ↑ "2003 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  36. ↑ "2003 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  37. ↑ "2003 Dutch Single Chart" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  38. ↑ "2003 French Singles Chart" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  39. ↑ https://www.offiziellecharts.de/charts/single-jahr/for-date-2003
  40. ↑ "2003 Irish Singles Chart". IRMA. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  41. ↑ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yends/hpe2003.htm
  42. ↑ "2003 New Zealand Singles Chart". Rianz. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  43. ↑ http://www.hitlistan.se/netdata/ghl002.mbr/lista?liid=43&dfom=20030001&newi=0&height=420&platform=Win32&browser=MSIE&navi=no&subframe=Mainframe
  44. ↑ "2003 Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Swisscharts. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  45. ↑ http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2003.pdf
  46. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  47. ↑ "Austrian single certifications – Dido – White Flag" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Dido in the field Interpret. Enter White Flag in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
  48. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2003". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  49. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Dido; 'White Flag')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  50. ↑ "Norwegian single certifications – Dido – White Flag" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  51. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Dido; 'White Flag')". Hung Medien.
  52. ↑ "British single certifications – Dido – White Flag". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Enter White Flag in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  53. ↑ Myers, Justin (27 August 2013). "Dido announces greatest hits collection". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  54. ↑ "American single certifications – Dido – White Flag". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH

External links

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