Drum + Fife

"Drum + Fife"
Single by The Smashing Pumpkins
Album Lyrics Tabs Spotify
Released	November 21, 2014
Studio sessions	March-April 2014 – Pumpkinland II May 2014 – The Village Recorder and Pumpkinland II June-July 2014 – Pumpkinland II
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	3:54
Label	BMG Martha's Music
Songwriter(s)	Billy Corgan
Producer(s)	Billy Corgan, Jeff Schroeder, Howard Willing
The Smashing Pumpkins singles chronology
"One and All" (2014) "Drum + Fife" (2014) "Run2me" (2015)
Monuments to an Elegy Tiberius Being Beige Anaise! One and All Run2me Drum + Fife Monuments Dorian Anti-Hero

"Drum + Fife" is the third single from The Smashing Pumpkins' ninth studio album Monuments to an Elegy. The track was premiered through NME on November 21, 2014.

Background and recording

In an interview with the NME, Billy Corgan said "'Drum + Fife' was originally a folk song. We really had a problem getting it off its almost dour Irish balladeer aspect. And I must give a lot of credit to Tommy Lee, because he's the one who turned the corner. Without saying it he was reacting in a way that told me he thought it was a bit boring. Tommy loves energy. Tommy wants to feel excitement. So he's playing the song and he's like 'I know this is a good song but it's just not working.' And he said to me 'Do you mind if I tinker around with it?' And so he got on the computer and used his experience in dance music and kind of turned the corner and found some loops and some beats and suddenly I was like...'wow'. It's almost like mid 80s new wave or something and it reminded me a little bit of early U2 or Big Country. The open strut made the Irish ballad part of the song come alive and have more of a expansive quality and from there on it got a lot easier."

The cover art shows a young Billy Corgan playing a drum, believed to aged 13 months based on the date of the photo. However, the UK single apparently states "And yes, that is Billy Corgan on the cover! Aged 5…".

Reception

The song was received positively. Consequence of Sound described it as "a melodic, yet rallying rocker", and went on to describe Corgan's vocals as "tenacious". Radio.com stated "Our latest taste is track 'Drum + Fife', a mid-tempo, melodic rock song, structured and accessible like all their best work. Essentially, the Smashing Pumpkins are not still in their experimental period. They are back to crowd-pleasing—and many are, appropriately, pleased."

Music video

The music video was directed by Jimmy Alhander and Robin Antiga, and produced by Good Company. It takes place in a rocky desert, with a group of boys carelessly playing a drum, before being interrupted by exploding mines. This serves as a metaphor to post-traumatic stress disorder and the after-effects of war. "I asked, albeit in an allegorical way, for the video to represent what our returning soldiers are going through with PTSD, and I feel that the directors [Ahlander/Antiga] captured that with poignancy", Corgan said. "I couldn't be more proud of the message we’re sending that we care what happens to those that are out there hurting."

The directors said in a statement, "Our aim was to create a film which was poetic and yet made a very direct statement about war, conflict and how we acclimatize ourselves from an early age to this course of action".

Lyrics

Away, away foul dream
You're gonna listen now to me
No rules or in-betweens
You're gonna listen now to me
Waste all your time
Find another kind of boy, whoa
A face upon the line
Offensive I don't care to hold

Come on along on an eastern shore
Come on along, you're mine
Come on along on a winter's morn
Come on along, you're mine
Mine

Inside
The drum and fife is steel
Racing scene to scene
To break this beast in me
'Cause I will bang this drum to my dying day

In my affection, too
You're gonna listen now to me
But stop what's left as rule
You're gonna listen now to me

Come on along on an eastern shore
Come on along, you're mine
Come on along on a winter's morn
Come on along, you're mine
Mine

Inside
The drum and fife is steel
Racing scene to scene
To break this beast in me
To remedy this waiting
'Cause I will bang to my dying
I will bang this drum to my dying
I will bang this drum to my dying day
'Cause I will bang this drum to my dying day

Don't you ever be afraid
Don't you ever be afraid
Don't you ever be afraid
No more, no more, no more

'Cause I will bang this drum to my dying day
Don't you ever be afraid
'Cause I will bang this drum to my dying
I will bang this drum to my dying
I will bang this drum to my dying day
'Cause I will bang this drum

Track listing

Digital download and promotional CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Drum + Fife"	Billy Corgan	3:54

Release history

Released	Label	Catalog ID	Format	Country	External sites
November 24, 2014	BMG		Digital	US	Discogs	MusicBrainz	[1]
April 7, 2015	Martha's Music • BMG	PROMOBMG1154	CD	US	Discogs	MusicBrainz	[1]

More releases: Discogs • MusicBrainz

Personnel

The Smashing Pumpkins

• Billy Corgan – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards and synthesizers
• Jeff Schroeder – guitar

Additional musicians

• Tommy Lee – drums

Availability

Title	Notes	Type
Drum + Fife	Digital download and promotional CD	Single
Monuments to an Elegy		Studio
London By Day		Live

Tour stats

• Total plays: 71 plays, 19 acoustic, 4 piano, 2 artists
• First performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2014-11-26 at Thalia Hall, Chicago, IL, US
• Last performance: Billy Corgan 2017-11-09 at Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA, US

External links

• "Drum + Fife" at SPFC