Played The Garage February 2013 and have a further g… Read Full Bio ↴REFORMED! 2013!
Played The Garage February 2013 and have a further gig lined up at;
Newcastle University Students Union on Friday May 10 2013. Check the NUSU website for details.
China Drum were formed in the late 80's and were made up of Adam Lee (Drums and Vocals), Bill McQueen on guitar and his younger brother Dave on Bass. (They were to be augmented later by Jan Alkema, ex Compulsion, on drums when Adam stepped from behind his kit)
They are probably best described as pop-punk but that really doesn't do them justice. They had the guitars, they had the energy and the speed, but their melodies were just that cut above the usual offerings.
Their first album, Goosefair, released in 1996 on Mantra featured a stonking version of Wuthering Heights (originally released on Fierce Panda), and the promotion of this album saw them touring the world with Green Day, Leatherface, Doughboys, Ash to name but a few, as well as numerous dates on their own.
Their follow up album followed the traditional "difficult" second album path. Self Made Maniac saw them throttle down the pace, and focus on the songs. Highlights include the single Fictions of Life, Another Toy, and the genuinely menacing 60 Seconds.
Steve Lamacq was a fan, as were John Peel and Phil Jupitus; indeed there was strong Radio 1 support for them for a while in the late 90s. The turn of the century saw them release their final album, Diskin (released as The Drum). The writing must have been on the wall, as this album ended up being the album that THEY wanted to write, and soon after they were dropped by Mantra and the band split up.
Essential China Drum:
Goosefair:
Can't Stop These Things
Cloud 9
Take it Back
Pictures
Wuthering Heights
Self Made Maniac:
Fictions of Life,
Another Toy,
60 Seconds.
Diskin:
The Beast
Dogpile
Also read Andrew Meullers article on:
http://www.andrewmueller.net/scroll.lasso?ID=62&story=_full_story
Control
China Drum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He tried that one with you
He ended up just hating himself
And more in love with you
You'll have to learn from all his mistakes
The brain can lie but your heart will never fake
Grabbing all he can find
As quickly as he could
Cause he knew you would
When he saw that distant look
He had to say goodbye
Cause he knew you could
People say that he's a bastard,
That's an unfair use of words
When I don't know what was going on, no
I never really heard
Why don't you wake up to what he's got
Do you have the time to find out
If he's lost control?
There's no point in hanging around
If happiness can't be found, you'd better go
He never stopped to ask you why
He never had to try, well he was wrong
Why don't you wake up to what you want
And listen to his lines
Cause what you two have been going through
Has happened many times
I've never seen you taking any prisoners
But I've seen you weep
Yeah, I've seen you apologizing,
But that's not gonna work with me
I've heard you're telling everybody
What you've done to him
But that doesn't add up to a sorry
And it's not gonna work with me
He's been rushing around
Grabbing all he can find
As quickly as he could
Cause he knew you would
When he saw that distant look
He had to say goodbye
Cause he knew you could
Why don't you wake up to what he's got
And stop filling him with lies
Cause what you two have been going through
Has happened many times
It's happened too many times
The song Control by China Drum is a narrative of a relationship where one person, the male speaker in this case, is losing control and trying to hold onto his partner. He has made mistakes and rushed through the relationship, grabbing all he could find as quickly as he could. But in the end, he knew he had to say goodbye, recognizing that his partner would walk away. The singer warns the partner not to make themselves hate the man and try to understand his mistakes. The brain may lie, but the heart will never fake. The singer hints that there may be more to the situation than what is known, and to not hang around if happiness cannot be found.
The lyrics of Control delve deeply into themes of control, power dynamics, and fear. The singer acknowledges that the man in the relationship tried to make the partner hate him, ultimately resulting in him hating himself. The lyrics highlight that relationships are not always perfect, and that people make mistakes. The line "There's no point in hanging around if happiness can't be found" is particularly poignant and encourages the partner to put their own happiness first. Similarly, the line "Why don't you wake up to what you want" shows a desire for the partner to take control of their own life.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't try and make yourself hate him
Do not force yourself to hate him.
He tried that one with you
He has already tried forcing himself to hate you.
He ended up just hating himself
But ended up hating himself instead.
And more in love with you
And loving you even more.
You'll have to learn from all his mistakes
You must learn from his mistakes.
The brain can lie but your heart will never fake
Your heart will always tell you the truth even if your brain tries to deceive you.
He's been rushing around
He has been in a rush.
Grabbing all he can find
Trying to get everything he can.
As quickly as he could
As fast as possible.
Cause he knew you would
Because he knew you would leave.
When he saw that distant look
When he realized that you were distant.
He had to say goodbye
He had to let go.
Cause he knew you could
Because he knew you were capable of it.
People say that he's a bastard,
Some people call him a jerk.
That's an unfair use of words
But that is not a fair thing to say.
When I don't know what was going on, no
But I do not know the full story.
I never really heard
I have not heard it from him.
Why don't you wake up to what he's got
Why don't you realize what he has to offer?
Do you have the time to find out
Do you have the time to figure it out?
If he's lost control?
If he has lost his way?
There's no point in hanging around
There is no reason to stay.
If happiness can't be found, you'd better go
If you cannot find happiness, you should leave.
He never stopped to ask you why
He never bothered to ask you why you were unhappy.
He never had to try, well he was wrong
He did not try to make things better, but he was wrong.
Why don't you wake up to what you want
Why don't you wake up and realize what you really want?
And listen to his lines
And listen to what he has to say.
Cause what you two have been going through
Because what you have been experiencing has been happening for a long time.
Has happened many times
It has happened too many times.
I've never seen you taking any prisoners
I have never seen you deliberately hurting someone.
But I've seen you weep
But I have seen you cry.
Yeah, I've seen you apologizing,
Yes, I have seen you apologize.
But that's not gonna work with me
But that is not enough for me.
I've heard you're telling everybody
I have heard that you are telling everyone.
What you've done to him
What you have said or done to him.
But that doesn't add up to a sorry
But that is not a real apology.
And it's not gonna work with me
And that is not enough for me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Adam Lee, Bill McQueen, Dave McQueen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind