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:
quote:
"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."
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.
quote:
Afraid to move
Afraid to lose
A piece of faith
A piece of heart
Not sure if LB was talking about himself or her, I would guess himself.
quote:
Surprised to find someone willing to lose
Just to keep herself from falling apart
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.
quote:
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."
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?) 
quote:
Bang the drum
Bang it louder
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.
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"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]