Background and Composition
"White Flag" was written and produced by Dido, Rollo Armstrong and Rick Nowels. In the song, the protagonist is unwilling to give up, even if they know their relationship is over. In a battle, a white flag signals surrender. By stating there will be "No white flag," she indicates she will not give up on the relationship and that she intends to fight until the bitter end, and that she will not give up on her relationship with her partner. Dido wrote the song about a past relationship, but later said that she initially regretted writing it because it caused more problems with the person involved. However, she has said that she now likes to perform the song.
"White Flag" begins with a lone synth-chord reminiscent of Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U". It features "multi-layered" sound, delicate piano outro, and strings. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is written in the key of D minor and Dido's vocals range from the low note of A3 to the high note of C5.
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