"White Flag" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

, released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from her second studio album, ''

Life for Rent ''Life for Rent'' is the second studio album by English singer Dido, released by Arista Records on 29 September 2003. The album was produced by her brother Rollo Armstrong and American songwriter Rick Nowels. Work on the album began in mid-2002 ...

''. The song was first released to US radio on 7 July 2003 and was issued in the United Kingdom as a physical single on 1 September 2003. The song performed well on record charts around the world, peaking at number one in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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, the

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Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

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, and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. In Dido's native UK, it reached number two on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and in the United States, it climbed to number 18 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song's music video, directed by

Joseph Kahn Joseph Kahn may refer to: *Joseph Kahn (director) (born 1972), a film and music video director *Joseph Kahn (journalist) (born 1964), American journalist * Joseph Kahn (shipping executive) (1916–1979), American businessman See also *Joseph Hahn ...

, features actor

David Boreanaz David Paul Boreanaz ( born May 16, 1969) is an American actor, television producer, and director known for playing the roles of vampire-turned-private investigator Angel on The WB/UPN ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' supernatural drama (1997–2003 ...

as Dido's

love interest ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

. "White Flag" was nominated for the

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

at the

46th Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized acc ...

but lost to

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

's "

Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

". It won the Best British Single at the 2004

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

. "White Flag" ranked at number 317 on Blender's list "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".

Background and composition

"White Flag" was written and produced by

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as Rollo, is an English music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithl ...

. In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if she knows her relationship is over. Dido has stated the song was inspired by a real break-up she had with a former fiancé. "White Flag" features "multi-layered" sound, delicate piano outro, and strings. The majority of the song is in the key of D minor, but constantly alternates between that key and its relative major, F major. The tempo is 90 beats per minute, and Dido's vocals range from the low note of A₃ to the high note of C₅.

Critical reception

David Jeffries from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

praised "Dido's sweet delivery" and stated that "It’s all very beautiful, the perfect soundtrack for weeping, and the definition of "wistful" in a song." Derryck Strachan wrote for

BBC Music BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...

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 Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

–

Meg Ryan Meg Ryan (born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra; November 19, 1961) is an American actress. She began her acting career in 1981 when she made her acting debut in the drama film ''Rich and Famous''. She later joined the cast of the CBS soap opera ...

romantic comedy." Alexis Petridis from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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."

Awards and success

The song was nominated for

at the

2004 Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized acc ...

, but lost to

's "

". The song won the award for "Best Single" at the

2004 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2004 was the 24th edition of the annual Brit Awards, a pop music award ceremony in the United Kingdom run by the British Phonographic Industry. The event took place on 17 February 2004 at Earls Court in London. The awards were marked ...

Music video

The music video, directed by

, was filmed in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and features actor

as Dido's love interest. The video tells a story about a relationship that is over, but where Dido is obviously still smitten with her ex, who is oblivious of her. They have numerous occasions where they are near each other without him noticing. Dido is clearly still not over him, and he is clearly not over her. At the end of the video, they return to their apartments and Dido's room is filled with photos of him and, in a twist ending, his apartment is also filled with Dido's photos (showing he's still as much in love with her as well.) The screen rotates throughout the entirety of the video, never standing still. The song's opening is also cut out entirely from the video.

Track listings

European and Japanese CD single # "White Flag" – 3:58 # "Paris" – 3:23 European 12-inch single :A. "White Flag" (Beginnerz Remix) – 7:33 :B. "White Flag" (Version Idjut) – 7:12 US promo CD # "White Flag" (radio edit) – 3:36 US 7-inch single :A. "White Flag" – 4:00 :B. "

Don't Leave Home "Don't Leave Home" is the third single released from English singer Dido's second album, ''Life for Rent'' (2003). The song was first released as a digital download in various territories on 10 April 2004 before its physical UK release two days ...

" – 3:46 Australian CD single # "White Flag" # "Paris" # "White Flag" (Johnny Toobad mix)

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the European CD single liner notes. Studios * Recorded and mixed at The Church (London, England) * Additional recording at The Ark (

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England) * Strings recorded at

Angel Recording Studios Angel Recording Studios Limited (also referred to as Angel Studios) was a British recording studio based in the eponymous recording and mixing complex in Islington, London. The company was incorporated by James Warren Sylvester de Wolfe on 5 De ...

(London, England) * Mastered at

Metropolis Studios Metropolis Studios is a music production and entertainment industry company established in 1989 by Gary Langan, Carey Taylor and Karin Clayton.Donald Brackett It is located in the Powerhouse, a Grade II listed building, at 70 Chiswick High Roa ...

(London, England) Personnel * Dido – writing (as Dido Armstrong), vocals, production * Rick Nowels – writing, guitar, keyboards * Rollo – writing (as Rollo Armstrong), production * Paul Herman – additional acoustic guitar *

Rusty Anderson Rusty Anderson is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known for his work as the lead guitarist for Paul McCartney's touring band though he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career. Car ...

– electric guitar * Mark Bates – additional keyboards, piano, programming * P*Nut – drums and bass programming * Ash Howes – recording, mixing * Grippa – additional recording * Gavin Callaghan – recording assistant * Nathan Loughran – recording assistant *

Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman moved ...

– string arrangement *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, Oasis, ...

–

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

* Miles Showell – mastering * Simon Corkin – artwork design * Ellen Von Unwerth – photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References