"Drumming Song" is a song by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The song was released on Island Records on 13 September2009 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. 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" at the Q Awards, 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 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 stories. I'd read a lot of Gothic horror when I was a kid.
"Drumming Song" received positive feedback from critics. David Balls from Digital Spy 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 named the song 48th best track of 2009, saying, "In 'Drumming Song', she created possibly one of the most intensely passionate and physically aching love songs we've ever heard."
"Drumming Song" was the fourth single released by Florence and the Machine, and following the success of "Kiss with a Fist" and "Rabbit Heart ", the single managed to enter the UK Singles Chart, reaching at a peak of #54.
