2 + 2 = ?
| "2 + 2 = ?" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Bob Seger System | ||||
| from the album Ramblin' Gamblin' Man | ||||
| B-side | "Death Row" | |||
| Released | January 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1968 | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 2:45 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Seger | |||
| Producer(s) | The Bob Seger System and Punch | |||
| The Bob Seger System singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"2 + 2 = ?" is a single from The Bob Seger System on their debut album Ramblin' Gamblin' Man, released in January 1968, on Capitol Records. It is an anti-Vietnam War song.
History
Framed around a central, Animals-esque hard riff driven by bass guitar, bass drum, and a fuzz guitar line, "2 + 2 = ?" is an explicit protest against the United States' role in the Vietnam War and the drafting of young men to serve in it who will end up "buried in the mud, of a foreign jungle land." It also captures the general generational divide of the time:
And you stand and call me "upstart" ...
I ain't saying I'm a genius;
Two plus two is on my mind –
Two plus two is on my mind.
AllMusic writes that "2 + 2" is "a frightening, visceral song that stands among the best anti-Vietnam protests."[1] The original studio version had a dead stop, or sudden cut to silence, placed near the end. On the 45 version, however, there is a guitar chord added at this point in the song, because radio stations fear dead air.[2]
It was Seger's first release with Capitol and under the Bob Seger System name. But as with much of Seger's early efforts up to that point, the single was a hit in his native Detroit but went unnoticed almost everywhere else in the US. In Canada, it was actually a minor chart hit, peaking at number 79.
The song was subsequently included on Seger's April 1969 album Ramblin' Gamblin' Man. There, any concessions for radio were removed.
Alternative/garage rocker Jack White was a fan of early Seger and in an interview he once said that "2 + 2" was his favourite song;[3] writers have speculated that it may have been the inspiration behind The White Stripes' 2003 hit "Seven Nation Army" and its ubiquitous bass line.[4]
References
- ^ Ramblin' Gamblin' Man The Bob Seger System Allmusic.com Stephen Thomas Erlewine
- ^ "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man". Seger File. 1980-05-01. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
- ^ "Stephen Colbert vs Jack White". YouTube.com. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
Two plus two is on my mind
- ^ Denise Sullivan (2004). The White Stripes: Sweethearts of the Blues. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 141. ISBN 1617802271.