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in: Duran Duran singles, Cover songs, Thank You singles

White Lines

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White Lines
Duran-Duran-White-Lines-cov
cover single by Duran Duran
B-side "Save A Prayer"
"None of the Above" (Drizabone Mix)
"Ordinary World" (Acoustic)
Released 3 July 1995
Recorded 1995
Format 12", MC, CD
Genre Alternative rock, Rap rock
Length 5:31 minutes
Label Capitol, EMI
Writer(s) Melle Mel, Sylvia Robinson
Producer(s) Duran Duran
John Jones
Duran Duran

"White Lines" is a cover song by Duran Duran, released as the second single from the covers album Thank You by Capitol-EMI on 3 July 1995.

About the song[]

This is a cover version of the 1983 song "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)" by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel.

Originally the song was intended to be an ironic celebration of a cocaine-fueled party lifestyle, but it was abridged with the "don't do it" message as an anti-cocaine song as a concession to commercial considerations.

The lines "A businessman is caught with 24 kilos / He's out on bail and out of jail and that's the way it goes" refers to car manufacturer John DeLorean, who in 1982 became entrapped by the FBI, who offered him drugs which he might sell in order to save his motorcar company from bankruptcy. The entrapment case was eventually dismissed, but DeLorean never shook off this story.

Music video[]

The black and white video was shot in January 1995 by Nick Egan. The video features the band and the Furious Five performing the song, with breakdancers and people in skeleton masks.

Bad Boys Movie Connection[]

Melle Mel said in 2023:

A crazy story was, I think it was in Bad Boys, when we had done White Lines with Duran Duran [for Duran Duran’s Thank You covers album]. And they wanted it, I believe, in Bad Boys, because it was about super-cocaine. And one of the stations in L.A. played the remake with Duran Duran on their “Make It or Break It,” and our fans trashed the song! I think it would've been a huge song, especially being in the movie, but they trashed it. And then the producer got scared and didn't put the song in the movie. I thought it was a great [cover]. I had a good time working with Duran Duran. They was just good guys, and the keyboardist, Nick Rhodes, was the most knowledgeable. Him and the guitar player [Warren Cuccurullo] were the most knowledgeable guys about music; they would sit down and for hours would go back and forth with different records. [Rhodes] is like a walking encyclopedia with music. That's why on [Thank You] they did “White Lines” and [Public Enemy’s] “911 Is a Joke.” [1]

B-sides, bonus tracks and remixes[]

The "White Lines" 2-CD set included "None of the Above" (Drizabone Mix), "Ordinary World" (Acoustic Version), and "Save A Prayer" as B-sides on the first disc, and the remixes "White Lines" (70's Club Mix), "White Lines" (Oakland Fonk Mix)", and "White Lines" (Junior Vasquez Mix) on the second.

"White Lines" had more single and promo releases than most bands have releases altogether. Across this myriad of 12" and CD singles there were more than twenty distinct remixes and edits, many done by DJ Junior Vasquez.

Complete list of mixes for White Lines[]

  1. "White Lines" (Album Version) - 5:26
  2. "White Lines" (Edit) - 4:36
  3. "White Lines" (Single Edit) - 4:30
  4. "White Lines" (Album Re-Edit) - 4:11
  5. "White Lines" (Wrapless Album Mix) - 5:34
  6. "White Lines" (Wrapless Edit) - 4:32
  7. "White Lines" (70's Club Mix) - 7:55
  8. "White Lines" (Oakland Fonk Mix) - 5:30
  9. "White Lines" (Oakland Fonk Mix Edit) - 4:24
  10. "White Lines" (Blizzard Mix) 4:32
  11. "White Lines" (Junior's House Mix) / (Junior Vasquez Mix) - 5:37
  12. "White Lines" (Junior's House Mix Edit) - 4:02
  13. "White Lines" (Freestyle Mix) - 5:41
  14. "White Lines" (Freestyle Edit) - 4:06
  15. "White Lines" (Sound Factory Dub) - 6:30
  16. "White Lines" (Sound Factory Dub 2) - 6:20
  17. "White Lines" (Global Groove Mix) - 5:25
  18. "White Lines" (Global Groove Edit) - 3:56
  19. "White Lines" (Rif Raf Mix) - 5:35
  20. "White Lines" (Funkmaster Flex Straight Pass) - 5:21
  21. "White Lines" (Funkmaster Flex Instrumental Version) - 4:59

Chart positions[]

The song reached #17 on the UK Singles Chart, #20 on the Australia Top 50 and #31 on the New Zealand Top 50.

Track listings[]

MC: Parlophone TC DD 19 (UK)

  1. "White Lines"
  2. "Save A Prayer (Single Version) - 5:25
  3. "None of the Above (Driza Bone Mix Edit) - 4:38

CD: Parlophone 7243 8 82005 2 3 (Italy)

  1. "White Lines" (Album Version) [Actually Edit Version] - 4:42
  2. "White Lines" (70's Club Mix) - 7:54
  3. "Thank You" (Demo) - 5:06
  4. "None of the Above" (Driza Bone Mix) - 6:37
  • Demo mix originally featured on the soundtrack for With Honors.

CD: Capitol 7243 8 82097 2 4 (Canada)

  1. "White Lines" (Junior's House Mix) - 5:37
  2. "White Lines" (Oakland Funk Mix) - 5:29
  3. "White Lines" (70's Club Mix) - 7:54
  4. "None of the Above" (Driza Bone Mix) - 5:18

CD: Part of the "Singles Box Set 1986-1995"

  1. "White Lines" (Album Version)
  2. "Save A Prayer" (Single Version)
  3. "None of the Above" (Drizabone Mix)
  4. "White Lines" (70's Club Mix)
  5. "White Lines" (Oakland Funk Mix)
  6. "White Lines" (Junior Vasquez Mix)
  7. "Ordinary World" (Acoustic Version - Simon Mayo Show)

12": Parlophone 12DD19 (UK)

  1. "White Lines (Don't Do It)" (70's Club Mix) - 7:56
  2. "White Lines" (Album Version) - 5:26
  3. "White Lines" (Oakland Fonk Mix) - 5:30
  4. "White Lines" (Junior Vasquez Mix) - 5:37

12": Capitol SPRO-79542/3/4/5 (US)

  1. "White Lines" (Juniors House Mix) - 5:37
  2. "White Lines" (Sound Factory Dub) - 6:30
  3. "White Lines" (70s Club Mix) - 7:54
  4. "White Lines" (Oakland Funk Mix) - 5:29
  5. "White Lines" (Freestyle Mix) - 5:41
  6. "White Lines" (Sound Factory Dub 2) - 6:20
  7. "White Lines" (Global Groove Mix) - 5:25
  8. "White Lines" (Rif Raf Mix) - 5:35
  • US 2x12" promo

CD: EMI CDDDDJ19 (UK)

  1. "White Lines" (Edit)
  • Promo

CD: EMI 882171 2 5 (UK)

  1. "White Lines" (Single Mix)
  2. "White Lines" (70s Club Mix)
  3. "White Lines" (Oakland Funk Mix)
  4. "White Lines" (Junior Vasquez Mix)

Other appearances[]

Albums:

Singles:

Personnel[]

Duran Duran are:

Featuring:

Also credited:

  • Anthony J. Resta - additional percussion and keyboards, additional production, remixer

Lyrics[]

Freeze! Rock! 
(Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang) 
Freeze! Rock! 
(Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang) 
Freeze! Rock! 
Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang 
Freeze! Rock! 
Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang 
Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang 
 
Aaaah... AAaah... AAAah... AAAAhh 
White! Ooh-white! 
White! Ooh-white! 
White! Ooh-white! 
White! Ooh-white! 
 
(White Lines) Vision dreams of passion 
(Going through my mind) And all the while I think of you 
(Pipeline) A very strange reaction 
(Yours to unwind) The more I see, the more I do 
Something of a phenomenon, telling your body to come along 
Cause White Lines - blow away.. 
 
Blow! Rock! Blow! 
 
Ticket to ride a white-line highway, 
Tell all your friends they can go my way 
Pay your toll, sell your soul, 
Pound for pound it costs more than gold 
The longer you stay, the more you pay, 
My white lines go a long way 
Either up your nose or to your vein - 
With nothing to gain except killing your brain. 
 
Freeze! (say rock, come on y'all) 
Rock (say freeze, come on!) 
Freeze! (say rock, come on y'all) 
Rock (say freeze, come on!) 
Freeze! (say rock, come on) 
Rock (say freeze, come on!) 
Freeze! (say rock, come on) 
Rock (put 'em up, put 'em Up, put 'em UP!) 
 
Aaaaah... Higher baby, AAaaah... get higher baby, 
AAAAAhh... get higher baby, AAAAHHH! 
And don't ever come down... Free base! 
 
Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang 
Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang 
Rang-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang-diggidy-dang-a-dang 
 
Pipeline (pure as the driven snow) connected to my mind 
(and now I'm having fun, baby!) 
Highrise (it's getting kind of low) 'cause it makes you feel so nice. 
(I need some one on one, baby!) 
Tell me it'll blow your mind away, (baby) 
Going to your little hideaway 
'Cause white lines (what do white lines do?) 
Blow away.. 
 
Blow! Rock! Blow! 
 
A million magic crystals painted pure and white, 
A multi-million dollars almost overnight 
Twice as sweet as sugar, twice as bitter as salt 
And if you get hooked baby, it's nobody else's fault - 
So don't do it! 
 
(chorus) 
 
(Don't you get too high) Don't you get too high, baby 
(It turns you on) You really turn me on and on 
(Can't you ever come down) My temperature is rising, 
('Til the thrill is gone) No! I don't want you to go. 
 
A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time, 
He got out three years from now just to commit more crime. 
A businessman is caught with twenty four kilos, 
He's out on bail, and out of jail, and that's the way it goes! 
 
(Rock!) 
Cane! Sugar! (suger) 
Cane! (cane) Sugar! (suger) 
Cane! 
 
Athletes reject it, governor's correct it 
Gangsters, punks, and smugglers are thoroughly respected 
The money gets divided, the women get excited 
Now I'm broke and it's no joke, 
It's hard as hell to fight it - don't buy it! 
 
(chorus) (chorus)

Trivia[]

  • The song was played at the Live from London shows held at Wembley Arena in April 2004, but it doesn't appear on the DVD.

See also[]

  1. ↑ https://www.aol.com/entertainment/breakthroughs-kurtis-blow-melle-mel-233926060.html
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