White Pony - Musical and Lyrical Composition

Musical and Lyrical Composition

The original opener for the album, Feiticeira lacks conventional song structure and builds over a background of guitars and bass. Chino Moreno about the lyrics to the song: "The name Feiticeira is some Portuguese name that I read in a magazine and just liked. It's based on the scenario of being taken captive. It's completely fictional. I want that people who listen to it feel like they are the ones in the situation. Because of that I sing it in first person. It's up to people to figure out if i'm having fun (with them) or not, even though it sounds a bit eerie".
Digital Bath features a trip hop drum beat with Moreno's vocals over heavy two-guitar trade-offs and a more atmospheric texture from Delgado. The song tells the story of someone who kills a girl as she bathes by way of electrocution.
Elite is more straightforward and lacks typical Deftones dynamics. Moreno has said that the song "is laughing at everybody trying to become what they already are. If you want to be one of the elite, you are."
Rx Queen contains heavy percussive effects and stuttering bass. It features guest vocals by Scott Weiland (from Stone Temple Pilots) on the vocals for the bridge. Moreno considers it "the most futuristic song in the album". The song tells the story of a man's affection for a girl despite her severe illness (Rx stands for "medical prescription").
Street Carp comes later with a brief guitar intro before the band crashes in full force. "It's a classic Deftones song, with a rolling riff and some really interesting chords in the chorus. the vocals are kinda crazy - I'm singing out loud over the top of the music, like (The Smiths front man) Morrissey or something, a cool contrast" - Chino. Although the song was not released as a single, a promo video was made for it.
Teenager consists of an acoustic riff and a scratching line with a trip-hop beat and glitch influences. The song deals with a youthful romance coming to an end. Moreno has stated that he wrote the lyrics when he was 15 after a first date and that it was originally a Team Sleep song.
The opening chords for Knife Party lead into a distorted introduction with a moving bass line and a vocal bridge sung by Rodleen Getsic in Spanish-Arabic style. "It's a seductive song with a lot of violent imagery. People don't tend to like sex mixed with violence. The mid section has amazing vocals from a girl called Rodleen who worked next door to our studio" - Chino.
Korea, an atmospheric song with a bleak guitar line and a bridge featuring a "scratch" solo by Delgado, is considered one of the album's highlights. "This was the first song we wrote for the record. It's a little heavy. It talks about the white pony, strippers, and drugs." - Chino.
Passenger features a guitar intro, vocal interplay between Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) and Moreno alongside piano and keyboard lines that leads to heavy guitar that introduces the choruses. Critics often consider it the definitive highlight of the album. Moreno on Keenan's collaboration in the record:

"We didn't plan on having any guest on the record. Honestly, when he first started working with us, he wasn't supposed to sing with us. He was just working on the arrangements, riff structures, time signatures, and things like that. It was good to have someone else who has different ways of writing songs, 'cause everyone has a different way of doing it. He came in and we started working on this one song in particular, and he just grabbed the microphone and started singing along to it. All of a sudden our band sounded like Tool; it was just crazy. Then, probably two months later, we went in to record the album, and I just kept hearing this re-occurring melody with his voice coming over it. So I called him and asked him if he wanted to come down and sing on the record, and he had no problem with it. Once he came in, I gave him sort of what I wanted the song to be about, and he wrote a couple of ideas down, and the next day he came in wjith all the lyrics written all out with blank spaces where my lyrics were supposed to be. He's very professional like that. He wants everything set perfectly, which is the complete opposite to the way that I write. And then I went in and did my vocals over it, and it just seemed that our voices blended together pretty good. Yeah, it came out pretty good, so we decided to put it on the record."

Change (In the House of Flies) was the lead single of the album, and would became a radio hit. Moreno compares it with Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and considers it "a beautiful metamorphis"
The closer, Pink Maggit is a bleak and moody song with guitar lines and a whispered melody from Moreno before the band crashes in and allows the album to finish itself with a final explosion. "The title comes from a Kool Keith song. We just thought it was some funny stuff. The song is meant to be triumphant. I'm trying to spread a little confidence. Lots of artists try to make songs for the kids who are tormented in school, telling them it's okay to be tormented. But it's not okay. Don't be ridiculed. Become the leader of your surroundings. Confidence is one of the most important things in life. If you are confident, you can do whatever you want." - Chino.
Back to School (Mini Maggit) is the intro for the re-issued version of the album, an offset interpretation of the album's closer with rap influences. Chino Moreno have declared regreting the creation and release of the song on the album.
The Boy's Republic is a song exclusive of the limited edition releases of the album, with lyrics about someone desperately seeking redemption. this track comes after "Pink Maggit," making it the last track.