The meaning of the lyrics of the song "Black Math" by the artist "White Stripes, The"

The song "Black Math" by The White Stripes depicts the inner conflict of a lyrical hero who is disappointed in love ("Maybe I should just forget about love") and tries to find solace in learning, particularly in mathematics ("My textbooks are right on top of the stack").

The title of the song is likely a play on words. "Black Math" phonetically resembles "black mass", which may hint at some "dark art" or the complexity of mathematics, which seems daunting and incomprehensible to the hero.

The hero tries to immerse himself in his studies but faces difficulties ("These long words are really breaking my skull"). He wonders if he is really learning, or just mechanically completing tasks ("Drawing a square with a pencil in my hand").

The phrase "Mathematically turn the page" can be interpreted in two ways: on the one hand, the hero literally turns the page of the textbook, on the other hand, he is trying to "turn the page" of his life associated with love experiences and move on.

At the end of the song, the hero asks the teacher what the lesson is really about - developing intelligence ("brains") or simply completing tasks ("fingers"). This suggests that the hero does not see the point in studying for the sake of studying and is looking for something more in it.

Overall, "Black Math" is a song about self-discovery, about the desire to escape pain and find a new meaning in life. Mathematics in this case acts as a metaphor for the complex and unknown world that the hero has yet to understand.