She Bangs The Drums

I can feel the earth begin to move
Hear my needle hit the groove
And spiral through another day
I hear my song begin to say
Kiss me where the sun don't shine
The past was yours but the future's mine
You're all out of time

I don't feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow I feel weak
Passion Fruit and Holy Bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her, here she comes
She bangs the drums

Have you seen her have you heard
The way she plays there are no words
To describe the way I feel
How could it ever come to pass
She'll be the first she'll be the last
To describe the way I feel
The way I feel

Have you seen her have you heard
The way she plays there are no words
To describe the way I feel
How could it ever come to pass
She'll be the first she'll be the last
To describe the way I feel
The way I feel

Have you seen her have you heard
The way she plays there are no words
To describe the way I feel
How could it ever come to pass
She'll be the first she'll be the last
To describe the way I feel
The way I feel

Acoustic demo version (1987):

I can feel the earth begin to move
Hear my needle hit the groove
And spiral through another day
I hear my song begin to say
Kiss me where the sun don't shine The past was yours but the future's mine
You're all out of time

I don't feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow I feel weak
Passion fruit and holy bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her, here she comes
She bangs the drums

She fills me up with all I need
She gives me hope, she gives me speed
Yeah
Oh yeah

I don't feel too steady on my feet
I feel hollow I feel weak
Passion fruit and holy bread
Fill my guts and ease my head
Through the early morning sun
I can see her, here she comes
She bangs the drums

She fills me up with all I need
She gives me hope, she gives me speed
Yeah
Yeah yeah

Lyrics by:
Squire / Brown

Music by:
Squire / Brown

Written:
1987

Personnel:
John Squire (guitar)
Ian Brown (vocals)
Gary Mounfield (bass)
Alan Wren (drums, backing vocals)

Producer:
John Leckie

Engineer:
Paul Schroeder

Format:
Released July 1989:
She Bangs The Drums / She Bangs The Drums (Silvertone, ORE DJ 6, 7" promo)
She Bangs The Drums / Standing Here (Silvertone, ORE 6, 7")
She Bangs The Drums / Standing Here (Silvertone, ORE X 6, 7" with postcard, 3,000 pressed)
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here (Silvertone, ORE T 6, 12")
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here (Silvertone, ORE Z 6, 12" with print, 5,000 pressed)
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here / Simone (Silvertone, ORE CD 6, CD)
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here / Simone (Silvertone, ORE C 6, cassette)

Released 1989:
She Bangs The Drums / Standing Here (Silvertone, ALFA 09B3-46, Japanese 3" CD)
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here / Simone (Silvertone, ZD42970, German CD)

Released November 1989:
What The World Is Waiting For / Fool's Gold / She Bangs The Drums (12" mix) / Elephant Stone (12" mix) / Guernica / Going Down (Alfa-Silvertone, 18B2-103, Japanese CD)

Released February 1990:
Elephant Stone / Made Of Stone / She Bangs The Drums / Fools Gold (Silvertone, ZD43632, The UK Singles)

Released 1992:
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here / Simone (Silvertone, ZD42970, German CD from Maxi Collection)
She Bangs The Drums / Mersey Paradise / Standing Here / Simone (Alfa-Silvertone, ALCB-541, CD from Japanese Singles Collection boxset)

Released 2nd May 2005:
She Bangs The Drums / She Bangs The Drums (Elephant Remix) (Simply Vinyl S12, S12DJ194, 12")

UK chart details:
She Bangs The Drums entered the charts on 29th July 1989, spending 3 weeks in the charts and reaching a highest position of 36. It re-entered the charts on 31st March 1990 for 3 weeks, reaching a highest position of 34.

Also available on:
The Stone Roses (3.42)
The Complete Stone Roses (3.42)
The Stone Roses (10th Anniversary Edition) (3.52)
The Very Best Of The Stone Roses (3.52)

First live performance:
In late 1987

Artwork details:
The She Bangs The Drums artwork is from 'Sugar' (1988), oil on canvas, 32" x 32"

Details:
She Bangs The Drums, the Roses' first Top 40 hit, has to go down as one of the finest singles of its era, with b-sides Standing Here, Mersey Paradise and Simone on the CD and cassette versions. The two versions are identical in length but are two different mixes; the single version, the more 'pop' sounding of the two, omits the hi-hat intro and features a slightly heavier guitar sound with more bite, more bass and a superior backing vocal arrangement. Listen out for a wonderful high-pitched "La" (2.09) from Ian that is barely audible on the TSR mix. A heavier sounding guitar was used to good effect for the Second Coming homecoming performances of this song.

I think that the middle section of She Bangs The Drums borrows from The Beach Boys'* 'Here Today' (Track 11 of their 'Pet Sounds' LP).

Pet Sounds (May 1966) by The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson quit touring with the band in order to focus his attention on writing and recording, and the resulting Pet Sounds marked a higher level of sophistication in the band's recording techniques. Wilson wove elaborate layers of vocal harmonies, coupled with sound effects and unconventional instruments such as bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, dog whistles and the Tannerin. The Beatles have said that Pet Sounds was a major influence on their album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, completing a circle begun by The Beatles' influence on Wilson; Wilson describes The Beatles' 1965 LP Rubber Soul as being the catalyst for Pet Sounds.

In the following sound clips, listen out for the sharpness of each guitar and the bass.

She Bangs The Drums:

Here Today:

A euphoric first verse in which the author has an air of invincibility is followed by one in which he feels “hollow”, “weak” and unsteady on his feet. That is, until the intake of “Passion Fruit and Holy Bread” fills and comforts him, and he sees Her coming through the early morning sun. I propose that "Holy Bread" and "Passion Fruit" represent the body and blood of Christ (as is the case with Caravaggio's (1571 - 1610) Supper at Emmaus (1601), symbolism is perhaps being used here in the choice of fruit. The blemished apples and cracked figs on the table are symbolic of Man's original sin, while the pomegranate is symbolic of Christ's triumph over sin through His Resurrection. In She Bangs The Drums, is Passion Fruit symbolic of the Passion of Christ which would follow the Last Supper ? For parallel in the music sphere, see U2's 'Until the End of the World', which references bread and wine), 'She' is Jesus Christ and the scene presented to us in these lines is the Last Supper. Her coming through the early morning Sun is a clear reference to the subsequent resurrection of Christ. Thus, the narrator is an apostle of Christ who has seen Her resurrected. (Song For My) Sugar Spun Sister also appears to be written from the perspective of an apostle. The figure on that track who "wakes up with the sun" is the same one here that comes "through the early morning sun", the risen Jesus Christ. This has been depicted by many artists, e.g., Matthias Grünewald's (c. 1475 - 1528) 'The Resurrection of Christ' (1510 - 1515) (from the Isenheimer Altarpiece). At the end of the chorus, we learn that She'll be the first and the last ("to describe the way I feel" - Jesus was a spokesperson for the disciples). Several times in the Bible, Jesus proclaims Himself to be the first and the last. On three** occasions in Revelation, He proclaims himself specifically to be "the Alpha and the Omega", (which means 'the first and the last'). Whether coincidental or not, with three choruses following the two verses, the message is thus repeated three times in the song. Here are the relevant passages from the Bible:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
(Revelation 1: 8)

He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
(Revelation 21: 6)

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
(Revelation 22: 13)

The She Bangs The Drums artwork is a detail from the bottom right of the 'Sugar' piece.

"That was a detail of a larger picture that was also used later on 'I Wanna Be Adored'. We just honed in on one section of it. We were running out of time, and I didn't have time to work on it properly."
(John Squire speaking to Select Magazine, November 1997).

Two music videos were produced for She Bangs The Drums. The first was composed of video footage of the band recording in a studio in January 1989, where they are shown goofing around in slow motion, with Squire's artwork in the background. The second video featured clips from the Roses' Blackpool Empress Ballroom gig on 12th August 1989.

She Bangs The Drums, their most energetic song, remains one of band’s finest moments.

* In 1996, John Squire designed and donated a surfboard for Brian Wilson, in aid of Warchild (it was later used by Travis for their debut 7" 'U16 Girls' and also appeared on their debut LP 'Good Feeling'). This is Squire speaking about 'Warchild Surfboard' (vinyl lettering on polypropylene, 8' x 3'), on which is emblazoned some of John's favorite Beach Boys lyrics and song titles:

"The Beach Boys were the first band I fell in love with, via the TV advertising campaign for Twenty Golden Greats. I owe them a great deal, so here for Brian is a small token of my affection and, in the true spirit of a gift, it's something he'll never use."
(http://www.warchild.org)

** The statement appears four times in Revelation in the King James version - the three above and (Revelation 1: 11), the authenticity of which is disputed.

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