"My sister thanks you, and I thank you"?

[aaronmchidester]

Hey y'all!

I've heard Jack White say, "My sister thanks you, and I thank you," several times at the end of a White Stripes show. This seems to come from a phrase I've heard several people say: "I thank you, and Leslie thanks you." Some people say, "I thank you, and Nestle thanks you."

My question is, first, is this where Jack got his phrase, and second, which is it? Thirdly, what is the origin of the phrase? I think my dad said it was an ad for something, but I can't remember what. Anybody out there know? Thanks in advance!

--Aaron Chidester

[KNARF]

Aaron, Interesting question to ask. Wish more fans brought up White Stripes history questions like this.
After all, this site would not exist without The White Stripes.

"My sister thanks you and I thank you" is the correct way Jack White has said it at pretty much every White Stripes show I've been to since the De Stijl days.
I've read too many articles to count about The White Stripes since those days, but don't recall an explanation of the phrase's origins.
Curious if anyone else knows the origins.

I can tell you that there's a pair of White Stripes posters that feature an incorrect version of this phrase where the boy says it first.
But that's not the 1st White Stripes poster to get something iconic about the band wrong.

The poster that features the red Airline guitar is actually NOT the Jack White Airline guitar, but an Eastwood remake.
You can tell by the black cover plate on the headstock, the overly enlarged base for the pickups, & the wrong bridge.
Crazy how the artists designing this stuff don't do research that takes 3 seconds to get these important things right.
These are not just details, but the main focus of these entire posters.

At least they got "Nikola Tesla" right and did not mistakenly use the band "Tesla"

[aaronmchidester]

I can tell you that there's a pair of White Stripes posters that feature an incorrect version of this phrase where the boy says it first.
But that's not the 1st White Stripes poster to get something iconic about the band wrong.

The poster that features the red Airline guitar is actually NOT the Jack White Airline guitar, but an Eastwood remake.
You can tell by the black cover plate on the headstock, the overly enlarged base for the pickups, & the wrong bridge.
Crazy how the artists designing this stuff don't do research that takes 3 seconds to get these important things right.
These are not just details, but the main focus of these entire posters.

As someone who's studied design, I have to agree with you. It drives me crazy when I notice that stuff.

And you of all people would definitely notice that about the guitar, seeing as you HAD to know it inside out in order to get the right one. I loved reading your story about how you got the Airline you eventually gave Jack. That's so rad.

As for the incorrect poster with the phrase, do you mean it said, "I thank you, and my sister thanks you"? 'Cuz I've definitely never heard it that way. It's always "My sister..." first. Which is obviously intentional, seeing as he often says the band revolves around Meg and her drumming. It's really great how he makes sure little details like that are consistent. Now, that's an artist.

[Grimtale]

I always liked the "I'll never forget it and I'll always remember it" line much more.

Much like the airline poster was designed around a farce, so was "My sister thanks you, and I thank you" in my mind...

Grim

[Kaber]

The reason for an Airline guitar on the
Wallingford poster is the date of the gig
matches the date that Bob Dylan first played
an electric guitar live.
The phrase about sister / brother thanking
is on the Columbus / Indianapolis 2003 pair of
prints.
The children on the poster Are I think taken from the
same source as the Pittsburgh 03 and print mafia
Newport 01 print.
Think the FAQ on whitestripes.net has more background
on early white stripes gigs and use of the phrase
- thing it is paraphrased from Yankee Doodle dandy

[dunedin]

It's from "Yankee Doodle Dandy". George M Cohan says, "Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you!"

[flattop2001]

The Airline and brother/sister posters are not the only Stripes screw ups on merch, who can forget "No one knows how to talk to children" graphic on the stripes 7" box set?

Anybody have anymore? Great thread btw.

[aaronmchidester]

It's from "Yankee Doodle Dandy". George M Cohan says, "Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you!"

Well, that clears that up, doesn't it. Thanks! I still don't know where "I thank you, and Leslie thanks you," came from, though. But it looks like Jack didn't use that for inspiration after all.

As for White Stripes screw-ups, it always kills me when people first hear some of their songs and want to call it, "Dead Leaves on the Dirty Ground" I don't know about you, but the "and" stuck out at me the first time I saw the title.

[higherlimits]

It's from "Yankee Doodle Dandy". George M Cohan says, "Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you!"

While the quote isn't originally from the movie (seeing as it's based on real life) Jack is a big fan of James Cagney though so, yeah, he got the quote from the movie.