WHITE CROSS
   
Originally Released on:

SISTER

also appears on:

  • NME's Hat Trick 7" (live '86)
  • Hold That Tiger (live '87)
  • Dirty Boots EP (live '90)
  • Rockin On Paper - The Vera Club DVD (live '87)
  • 1991: The Year Punk Broke DVD (live '91)
  • 07/12/86 "LIVE IN DENVER 1986"
  • 05/22/87 "LIVE AT CITY GARDENS 1987"
  • 06/21/87 "LIVE IN TORINO 1987"
  • 06/24/87 "LIVE IN YUGOSLAVIA 1985/1987"
  • 04/xx/89 "LIVE IN MOSCOW 1989"
  • 11/03/90 "LIVE IN IRVINE 1990"
  • 08/25/91 "LIVE IN BREMEN 1991"
  • 03/05/93 "LIVE AT THE WARFIELD 1993"
  • 07/06/00 "LIVE IN COPENHAGEN 2000"
  • 08/05/00 "PERSPECTIVE MUSICALES - LIVE AT CAT'S CRADLE 2000"
  • 10/07/01 "WORLD TRADE CENTER BENEFIT 2001"

Line-up:
Thurston - guitar/vocals
Kim - bass
Lee - guitar
Steve - drums

Lyrics   status: confirmed

Burning inside
I cross myself, it doesn't help
Because I'm not smart enough
I'm diggin' into hot white
Learning not to lie
We cross it out and stay away

Burning inside
We cross it out and stay away

 Track length: 2:58

First Known Performance: 05/08/86
Last Known Performance:  11/05/11

NOTES:

  • Sonic Youth were playing this in 1986 (in fact, the NME 7" version is from '86), but I suspect it may be even older (in an alternate state, perhaps). It appears on a 1984 Bad Moon era set list as a reserve w/ Bro James/Kill Yr Idols..
  • AKA White Kross // White X
  • On their European '87 tour, SY would extend the ending of White Kross upwards to 5 or 6 minutes of pure white noise. One of these noise outros was released as "Broken Eye" on the Vera Groningen comp. SY resurrected the Broken Eye coda (or the idea of it, at least) for some 2000 tour performances of White Kross.
  • Jim O'Rourke played guitar on this song while he was in the band.

ALTERNATE VERSIONS:

  • On "NME's Hat Trick" - LIVE - ?

    Recorded live on 11/10/86 in Tallahassee, Florida @ OA Club. 7" compilation released prior to Sister, I think.

  • On "Rockin on Paper" - LIVE VIDEO - ?

    Recorded live on 06/11/87 at the VERA in Groningen, Holland.

  • On "Hold That Tiger" - LIVE - 2:57

    Recorded live on 10/14/87 at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago, Illinois. Preceded by Thurston's remark "Um, this song is the Big Black reunion theme song, it's called 'White Cross'."

  • On "Dirty Boots" EP - LIVE - 5:06

    Recorded live on 11/3/90 in Irvine, California @ Irvine Meadows. Preceded by Thurston's remark "This song is called 'Orange County Shred'"

  • On "BLUES SCALE" film - LIVE - ?

    Recorded live on 08/27/91 in Bremen, Germany.