"Drumming Song" is a song by the English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band formed in London in 2007 by lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harp ...

. The song was released on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

on 13 September 2009 in the UK as the fourth single from the band's first album ''Lungs''. The song was the band's second consecutive single to be A-listed on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. It was the band's fourth single to enter the top 75 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #54 during its week of physical release. The B-side is a demo version of "Falling", a track which appears only on the deluxe edition of ''Lungs''. Though not as commercially successful as their other singles, "Drumming Song" is a favourite amongst fans at Florence and the Machine live performances. The single was nominated for "Best Music Video" (alongside

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

and

Mika Mika is a given name, a nickname, and a surname. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People known just as Mika * Mika (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese-born British singer-songwriter Michael Penniman, Jr. * Mika (footba ...

) at the

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, which took place on 25 October 2009.

Background

"Drumming Song" has an instrumental collaboration of drums, organ, piano, bass, violin, viola, cello and harp. James Ford, the track's producer, is credited for the bass, drums, organ and piano contributions. Ford co-wrote the song with Crispin Hunt and the song has backing vocals by Ladonna Hartley-Peters and Victoria Alkinlola. Welch elaborated on the concept of the song:

This is about when there's that electricity between you, and a boy, and it's completely unspoken. When they're standing in front of you and you can't breathe, can't think, can't do anything properly. I'm really geeky – if I like someone, I just become incapable. I remember with my first boyfriend, walking past the window of a pub, seeing he was in there and literally throwing myself on the ground and crawling on the floor because I was so scared! I feel things quite intensely, which is probably why the music is quite intense. If I really like someone, I like someone; if I'm sad, I'm sad. I was listening to a lot of
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
and I wanted to make something that had that kind of beat to it. To me it's the most forward-thinking music around. No one else is moving forward at such pace! Again, it's really Gothic imagery – fairy tales and
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
stories. I'd read a lot of Gothic horror when I was a kid.

As part of the single's promotion, the band performed the song on

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...

with their previous single "

Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their debut studio album ''Lungs (album), Lungs'' (2009). It was released as the album's third Single (music), single on June 21, 2009, by Island Re ...

". The single was also performed at numerous festivals around the UK during 2009, including

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Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

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and

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in the Republic of Ireland. A music video for the song was shot in the interior of

Christ Church, Spitalfields Christ Church Spitalfields is an Anglican church built between 1714 and 1729 to a design by Nicholas Hawksmoor. On Commercial Street (London), Commercial Street in the East End and in today's Central London it is in the London Borough of Tower H ...

, with Florence Welch and dancers. The

English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...

church, designed by

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor ( – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principal architects ...

, interpreted the overall shapes of

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

with the language of

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. The song also appears on the soundtrack of '' 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa'', the video game published by

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

Critical reception

"Drumming Song" received positive feedback from critics. David Balls from

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its initial launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television pro ...

awarded the song 4 stars out of a possible 5, he stated: "A darker and more brooding offering than 'Rabbit Heart', it's a case of drum as metaphor for love as Welch describes an unadulterated and impassioned love affair. 'Louder than sirens, louder than bells, sweeter than heaven and hotter than hell,' she wails with more enough power and passion to justify all the critical acclaim." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' named the song 48th best track of 2009, saying, "In 'Drumming Song', she elchcreated possibly one of the most intensely passionate and physically aching love songs we've ever heard."

Formats and track listings

;UK CD single #"Drumming Song" – 3:45 #"Falling" (demo) – 3:48 #"Dog Days Are Over" (acoustic) – 3:58 ;UK 7" vinyl single #"Drumming Song" – 3:45 #"My Boy Builds Coffins" (acoustic) ;Digital download #"Drumming Song" – 3:43 #"Drumming Song" (acoustic) – 3:51 #"Drumming Song" (Boy 8-Bit Remix) – 6:31 #"Drumming Song" (Jack Beats Remix) – 5:04 #"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" (acoustic) – 3:52

Charts

References

{{authority control 2009 singles Florence and the Machine songs Songs written by Florence Welch Songs written by Isabella Summers Songs written by Crispin Hunt 2009 songs