REVEAL: BEAT A DRUM

  The album starts to go heavy into the summer feeling here, but I've realized that summer in this album relates more to the heavy, hazy, humid feeling as opposed to the Beach Boys hitting the surf feeling. The song is lazy contentment, a sense the world is moving on without your minuscule cares and the insects are more upset than you are about the current state of things. It's really cool how halfway through the album we're halfway from coal (The Lifting) halfway to diamond (Beachball). Even the music changes at the chorus signify a weight lifting, or maybe its the 'Six Million Dollar Man' effect thrown in there, but in any case the song pushes us confidently into Imitation. I've always enjoyed the simplicity of the song.






BEAT A DRUM

The sun reflected in the back of my eye
I knocked my head against the sky
The dragonflies are busy buzzing me
Or seahorses if we were in the sea

Halfway from coal, halfway to diamond
My fall knocked a mean chip out of me
I'm gathering as far as I can reach
We're perched up on the precipice and this is what I've seen

This is all I want it's all I need
This is all I am it's everything
This is all I want it's all I need

A blue jay hectors from the felled catalpa tree
Doctorate in science and a theologian's dream
The dragonflies are trying to lecture me
Or seahorses if we were in the sea

This is all I want it's all I need
This is all I am it's everything
This is all I want it's all I need

Beat a drum for me, like a butterfly wing
Tropical storm across the ocean
But don't explain I'm sure I'll want to know
But don't forget we're just halfway from coal

This is all I want it's all I need
This is all I am it's everything
This is all I want it's all I need


   Great fun to play, again I didn't do any piano below but I did transcribe quite a bit of it to guitar, particularly in the break. Peter adds the pinky g to the high e-string pick live, but on the album it's open so do as you will--I enjoy the live version better. I also added some bass notes in the chorus to mimic the feel of the song that aren't necessarily in the guitar. I bypassed the lazy slide guitar as its just following the chorus notes.

BEAT A DRUM

Verse (F-G x2, Dm/F-C/G x2)

e|-1---3------1----1--1--1---3----3--3--3--|

B|-1---3------3--3--3--3--3--1--1--1--1--1-|

G|-2---0------2---2--2--2--2-0---0--0--0—0-|

D|-3---0------3-3------------2-2-----------|

A|-3---2------1--------------3-------------|

E|-1---3-x2---1--------------0-------------|

Chorus                 

e|-3---1-------3-------|

B|-3---1-------1-------|

G|-3---2-------0-------|

D|-5---3-------2-------|

A|-5---3-----0-3---1-0-|

E|-3---1---3-0-0-------|

Bridge

(Dm-C-Dm-Bb-F-F-Dm-C-Dm-Bb)

e|----8-7------5-8-7----6-6-5------|

B|-6-----8--5-8-----10-8-----8-5---|

G|---------5-----------------------|

D|---------------------------------|

A|---------------------------------|

E|---------------------------------|

e|----------5-8-7-10-----5-8-7----6-6-5------|

B|-8-6-----8----------5-8-----10-8-----8-5-6-|

G|----7-8-7----------5-----------------------|

D|-------------------------------------------|

A|-------------------------------------------|

E|-------------------------------------------|

Outro                  

Dm-Dm-C-F