Lyric Interpretation: Bang the Drum [Archive]

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Stewy

02-02-2001, 10:56 PM

Hey All!!

I'm taking a crack at an interp. It's been too long since I've done one, so I'm getting back in the foray.

I've always like this one...let's see what ya'll can come up with for this one!!

It'll help to play it while you write....

Stewy

Bang The Drum

Written by Lindsey Buckingham.

Afraid to move
Afraid to lose
A piece of faith
A piece of heart
Surprised to find someone willing to lose
Just to keep herself from falling apart

Bang the drum
Bang it louder

She said, "One thing, baby, I think you should know,
This world treats me oh so rough
Got this deep down sorrow that won’t let go
And I just don’t think I’m tough enough."

Bang the drum
Bang it louder

BBALLGYPSY17

02-03-2001, 04:23 PM

Hey Stewy,LOL http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/biggrin.gif
By reading those lyrics,I KNOW IT'S NOT but it sounds like an answer to "No spoken word"by Stevie-which is http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/eek.gif a little weird.

"and I just don't think I'm tough enough..."~L.B.
(about a girl he knows)

"I play to hard but still I'm not tough enough..."~S.N.
(about herself)

They don't try to do this BUT there lyrical styles are so similar that they can't ecscape doing it on accident.Lindsey and Stevie don't listen to eachothers solo work http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/frown.gif,so how do these things happen...who knows... "Oh Well"

It's hard to interpret his songs because I'm still in this slump where I'd like to think that most of them are about her http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/redface.gif Just hopeless http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/rolleyes.gif BUT if I had to take a real guess at this it sounds like a message in song to Carol Ann-I guess it depends on who he was dating at the time....what year was this written??? http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/confused.gifI like Lindsey's work,however I don't keep up with it....

LOL http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/cool.gif
~alex~*
 
[Edited 1 times, lastly by BBALLGYPSY17 on February 03, 2001]

BBALLGYPSY17

02-05-2001, 03:34 PM

Hey Jessica,LOL http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/biggrin.gif
Ok so it's another one about Carol http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/wink.gifSo he really did leave her because of a drug problem? http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/confused.gifThen that part in "Go Insane" must be a reference to Stevie's drug problem then http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/eek.gif
"and I call your name SHE'S A LOT LIKE
YOU"~L.B.

I know I'm off the subject now BUT I just heard the real version of "Go Insane"-while watching the video,AND they thought Stevie was experimental,she's pretty tame compaired to Lindsey http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/rolleyes.gif It was good though,I got to drool over how sexy he was-have you ever watched it??? I still think that the live version is the best http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/tongue.gif

LOL http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/cool.gif
~alex~*

Barbara

02-05-2001, 07:22 PM

YAY - A Lindsey Song!

Bang the Drum from the Go Insane album is about the "death" of Lindsey's relationship with Carol Ann Harris. My memory bank told me the title was a familiar reference to death so I looked it up and found it in the refrain to "Streets of Laredo" an old cowboy song:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>"Oh, bang the drum slowly and play the fife lowly, Play the Dead March as you carry me along; Take me to the green valley, there lay the sod o'er me, For I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In this song, Lindsey is mourning the death of his relationship with Carol Ann. The beginning music sounds funereal, suggestive of an organ music dirge. As the lyrics kick in, the music reminds me of a caliope or a circus sound, possibly the sound of some kind of funeral parade.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Afraid to move
Afraid to lose
A piece of faith
A piece of heart<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not sure if LB was talking about himself or her, I would guess himself.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Surprised to find someone willing to lose
Just to keep herself from falling apart<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is a contradictory statement. Willing to lose to keep yourself from falling part is a no-win situation because either way you lose. It could mean Carol Ann couldn't make the hard choices that he needed her to in order for them to stay together. He can't understand her weakness.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>She said, "One thing, baby, I think you should know,
This world treats me oh so rough
Got this deep down sorrow that won’t let go
And I just don’t think I’m tough enough."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is pretty clear. Carol Ann wasn't strong enough to give up the behavior that was making Lindsey crazy. (Of course, it's hard for me to relate to how rough could Carol Ann have it? - I mean, REALLY?) http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/biggrin.gif

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Bang the drum
Bang it louder<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think this is just a statement of "It's Over".

Stewy's suggestion to listen to this song before you write about it is a good one. Musically I think this is one of Lindsey's most interesting songs - it has an array of sounds, vocal inflections and distortions that are so different it holds your attention just to see what's coming next. I'm glad I gave it a "new" listen!

It's also another one of Lindsey's sunny sounding songs with dark underpinnings.

Barbara

P. S. I don't think any of Lindsey's solo works are about Stevie, especially the Go Insane album which is dedicated to Carol Ann Harris.

------------------
"You can heal someone's soul, you don't even know why."
Turn It On 
[Edited 2 times, lastly by Barbara on February 05, 2001]

Barbara

02-05-2001, 09:12 PM

I think the lyrics in "I Must Go" from the Go Insane Album make it pretty clear that drugs contributed to the breakup. Here's an excerpt from a review of the album from the Blue Letter Archives:

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Buckingham calls the new "Go Insane" a "sort of high-tech folk album." The record was also a catharsis: It's frayed-nerves feel reflects the breakup of a six-year romantic relationship. "A lot of the album deals with things that are very personal, with breaking up and with going insane with somebody else," he says with a nervous laugh. "Secondhand insanity is real strange."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

B.

------------------
"You can heal someone's soul, you don't even know why."
Turn It On

Lisa

02-05-2001, 09:35 PM

Bang the Drum, as with all Go Insane songs (with the exception of D.W. Suite) is about Lindsey's relationship with Carol Ann, and the conflicting emotions he was feeling as the relationship neared an end.

Afraid to move
Afraid to lose
A piece of faith
A piece of heart

I think he's talking about himself here, he is afraid to end the relationship; afraid to lose someone he loves. He is trying to keep hope alive that somehow things can still work out.

Surprised to find someone willing to lose
Just to keep herself from falling apart

He can't believe that Carol is choosing drugs over him/them. She would rather destroy herself with cocaine (lose), than fall apart (go through all the withdrawls associated with ending a drug addiction), even though giving up the drugs would most likely salvage their relationship.

She said, "One thing, baby, I think you should know,
This world treats me oh so rough
Got this deep down sorrow that won’t let go
And I just don’t think I’m tough enough.

Carol is asking him to give her another chance, trying to make him understand her point of view. She feels she needs the drugs to do whatever it is that she does all day long.

Bang the drum
Bang it louder

He is trying to convince himself he is doing the right thing by ending the relationship, reinforcing the fact that he needs to let her go in order to save himself.

-Lisa

------------------
*If you won't fly you can't be free*
-Christopher Zerbe

BBALLGYPSY17

02-06-2001, 07:59 AM

Hey All~

Alright already!!! http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/eek.gif http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/redface.gif http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/tongue.gif http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/redface.gif: http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/eek.gif I suppose I should know better,Lindsey kind of got off that cake after the "Tusk" era whereas Stevie never really recovered from it http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/rolleyes.gif

"her horse is like a dragonfly,she is just a fool..."~S.N.

LOL http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/cool.gif
~alex~*

Les

02-06-2001, 03:00 PM

Barbara, I’m particularly interested in your ideas about how “bang the drum” is meant. I think that’s a wonderful connection. The overall sound of this song, as with DW Suite, is funereal. That’s not to say it’s mournful, but more reverential, perhaps. It’s a quality that I imagine is a reflection on how deeply he’s feeling the loss (death) discussed in both songs.

I think maybe I tend to see the emotional tone of this song in a slightly different light than has been expressed here already, so I’ll go off in that direction a bit.

I think I tend to look at this song as perhaps the most tender thing he wrote for Carol Harris on Go Insane. I don’t really see this as a song where he’s questioning her (or his) choices anymore. Rather I think it’s a song where he’s accepted the outcome of their relationship. He wants her to know that he understands that she has her own sorrow and pain too and he isn’t simply awash in his own. It’s not just the lyrics that push my interpretation in that direction, but it’s also the lush music and harmonies and Lindsey’s vocal quality throughout. It’s all rather embracing and gentle, rather than abrasive or prickly.

Afraid to move
Afraid to lose
A piece of faith
A piece of heart

My thoughts are very similar to previous comments on this opening passage. Could be a comment on what both were feeling, or more specifically on what he was feeling. I think maybe this passage is a statement, of sorts, on the vulnerable and tenuous state of their relationship at the end.

Surprised to find someone willing to lose
Just to keep herself from falling apart

As B said, I think this is an indication of a no win situation. Either way, “losing” herself? him? them? or “falling apart,” she’s sacrificing something vital. But I’ve always sort of thought that maybe there was some tenderness for her in this line. He may not like her choices and is surprised by what she’s compelled to do, but he feels sympathy for her. He knows the pain she’s feeling because he’s feeling it too. Neither one is able to take control of the failing relationship enough to stop what’s happening, but he’s aware of how bad it feels for both.

[Sidebar for a second: In I'm So Afraid there is a passage where Lindsey says,

I never change
I never will
I'm so afraid of the way I feel

That song has come to mind on a few occassions when I think of the songs on Go Insane. I guess the connection in my head lies somewhere in the idea that sometimes people are fully aware of things about themselves that they want to change, but don't feel strong enough to be able to].

Bang the drum
Bang it louder

She said, “One thing baby, I think you should know”
This world treats me oh so rough
Got this deep down sorrow that won’t let go
I just don’t think I’m tough enough.”

It’s this passage that I think shows his understanding of her distress. It’s her words spoken through him. It’s really this passage that I think is full of great tenderness that colors my understanding of the rest of the song. It’s a moment of sweet sorrow in which he defines the end of their relationship and chooses to end the song by allowing her vulnerability to emerge.

But understanding isn’t enough to reverse the events set in motion. It’s over.

Bang the drum
Bang it louder

Lindsey has mentioned that he visualized Bang the Drum and DW Suite as companion pieces. He may have been linking the two pieces in a strictly musical sense since both have that dreamy, Beach Boy harmony quality about them. Both seem to represent the slide towards “insanity” that he was trying to achieve with those songs by making them less traditionally structured. But thematically both also seem to touch on death of some variety. This makes me think that this song may also contain wistful thoughts of Dennis Wilson’s self-destructive ways and vulnerabilities that led to his leaving this world.

[Another sidebar -- I've often associated this song, more than any others on Go Insane, with the picture on the back of the album, which depicts a nude woman bent over in a fetal position while Lindsey can seemingly only look and not touch. I don't think it's sexual, rather her nudity is vulnerability and his simply standing there is his helplessness to change things.]

 
[Edited 1 times, lastly by Les on February 06, 2001]

BBALLGYPSY17

02-06-2001, 03:48 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Les:

[Another sidebar -- I've often associated this song, more than any others on Go Insane, with the picture on the back of the album, which depicts a nude woman bent over in a fetal position while Lindsey can seemingly only look and not touch. I don't think it's sexual, rather her nudity is vulnerability and his simply standing there is his helplessness to change things.]

[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Hey All http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/biggrin.gif

OMG!!!

http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/eek.gif Lindsey had a naked chick on his cover,he's a naughty,naughty boy http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/tongue.gif I think he needs to be punished http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/rolleyes.gif perhaps a spanking is in order http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/wink.gif<----- http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/redface.gif I COULDN'T HELP IT!!!Me and my immature,female teenage hormonal antics, Somthing needed to be said there...and I'm always the one to say THAT SOMETHING...now aren't I??? *sigh*"Oh Well"

"looking out for loveeeee BIG BIG loveeeee..."~L.B.

LOL http://216.74.103.91/penguin/ledge/ubb/cool.gif
~alex~* 
[Edited 1 times, lastly by BBALLGYPSY17 on February 06, 2001]

Karen

02-07-2001, 10:10 PM

Wow...I don't know if I can add anything else to this interpretation that hasn't already been said. I definately agree with Barbara's interpretation and reference to the title of the song. I can also see how this whole death theme ties together with D.W. Suite, as Les pointed out.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Bang the drum
Bang it louder<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The "Streets of Laredo" quote is very interesting. The Dead March in this passage is being played after death, but there is also a variation of this march that is played just before a soldier enters battle. There's a beginning and an end to this cycle, and it's all part of a ceremonial ritual. It's almost as if the drum is signaling the beginning of a struggle (or battle), and ultimately the outcome is the death of the relationship.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Afraid to move
Afraid to lose
A piece of faith
A piece of heart<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think this describes Lindsey's physical and emotional state during the breakup of his relationship with Carol Ann. Once you enter into a relationship, it's safe to say that you'll lose a piece of everything when it's all said and done. ;-) It's a sad thing, but it's also part of life.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Surprised to find someone willing to lose
Just to keep herself from falling apart<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I totally agree with Lisa when it comes to the drug reference. This would describe Carol Ann's physical and emotional struggle. It appears that Carol Ann wasn't strong enough to change her drug habit, even though she loved him very much. This always makes me think of Victoria Principal and Andy Gibb. Victoria was deeply hurt that Andy chose drugs over her. The drug becomes a necessity and nothing else matters. Definately a "no win" situation.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>She said, "One thing, baby, I think you should know,
This world treats me oh so rough
Got this deep down sorrow that won’t let go
And I just don’t think I’m tough enough."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think that he has shared a similar experience in his past (maybe his own addiction), and can relate to what Carol Ann is going through. He understands and that is why he so desperately wants to help her. Unfortunately, she has to be the one to make that decision. You can't help someone who doesn't want help. You can only try to make them understand what the addiction is doing to the people around them (the ones that love them). They think that they are only hurting themselves. What they need to understand is that they are also hurting the people that they love the most. It's not just about them.

I guess that's all I could come up with. Les did an excellent job of interpreting the overall sound and relating the song to other songs he has written. I loved reading all the interpretations. You guys have broughts up some things that I never even thought of until now.

------------------
"I keep the dream in my pocket...Never let it fade away"
Tango in the Night

Skylark

02-17-2001, 02:34 PM

You all are just so good at this interpretation...I will humbly insert my thoughts...Lindsey is a genius at voicings and his nuances in the music and his delivery of the words just give me chills! This man can bring me to tears !!!

IMHO..... You each have reached down into Lindsey's heart and found a tad of insanity lurking...but isn't that what true love is all about...Cycles of tenderness , with the consummation of your passionate love bringing joyous moments of ecstasy followed by debilitating grief and terrible humiliation and hurt with the death of all your dreams spiraling down...down... as you...Go Insane!!!

The picture of the nude who Lindsey described..".As a good sport!"...also has the famous scream picture on the wall...Inside they are screaming for help...she's drowning in drugs...he's drowning in her love ! Lindsey must help them both to survive so,he helped her with a condo and money to live on and take acting lessons! He told the man interviewing him..."That's enough...I don't want to talk about it anymore...I don't want to hurt her..." His brother Jeff spoke about what a lovely girl Carol Ann was and how the Rock & Roll lifestyle ruined everything for them...it's very sad...I feel that Lindsey was trying to do what was right for them to move on in a positive way!

This is not an exact quote as I can't find the interview at this moment but it is as true to the text as I can be!
{Les, can you tell us what interview this was from so others can read it?}

D.W.Suite and The Prayer... show Lindsey's deep spiritual side that reaches up from his subconscious to rescue him! Lindsey tells the story of how he'd go to his Fathers grave up north. He'd ask him questions and imagine his anwers. That IS the theme of these songs! Lindsey adored and admired his Dad and still values his opinion! His Father's love and caring answer him back from beyond the grave ~ Saving Lindsey~

an interjection:Speaking of Cycles! Lindsey is now a Father with a Son of his own and a beautiful baby girl!

Now Iam crying! Lindsey is an honest, caring, loving Family Man; a Great Guitarist and a Musical Genius I admire!