I went to see the preacher

To teach me how to pray
He looked at me and smiled
Then the preacher turned away
He said if you want to tell him something
You ain't gotta fold your hands
Say it with your heart
Your soul and believe it
And I'd say amen

Bang a drum for the sinners
Bang a drum for the sins
Bang a drum for the losers
And those who win
Bang a drum bang it loudly
Or as soft as you need
Bang a drum for yourself son
And a drum for me

I called upon my brother just the
Other day, he said: John I'm gonna
Die if I don't start to live again
I work each day and night like clockwork
Just trying to make ends meet
I could kick this bad world's ass
If I could just get on my feet

I'd bang a drum for the dying
Bang a drum for the truth
Bang a drum for the innocence
Lost in our youth
Bang a drum bang it loudly
Or as soft as you need
Bang a drum for you brother
And a drum for me

I don't know where all the rivers run
I don't know how far, I don't know how come
But I'm gonna die believin'
Each step that I take
Ain't worth the ground that
I walk on
If we don't walk it our
Own way

No I don't claim to be a wiseman
A poet or a saint
I'm just another man who's searching
For a better way
But my heart beats loud as thunder
For the things that I believe
Sometimes I wanna run for cover
Sometimes I want to scream

Bang a drum for tomorrow
Bang a drum for the past
Bang a drum for the heros
That won't come back
Bang a drum for the promise
Bang a drum for the lies
Bang a drum for the lovers
And the tears they've cried
Bang a drum bang it loudly
Or as soft as you need
But as long as my heart keeps on bangin'
I got a reason to believe


Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae

Bang A Drum song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment
    Theres a great version of this sung with Chris LeDoux.
    Boo Urnson December 13, 2006   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Trouble Breathing
Alkaline Trio
While the obvious connections with suicide or alcoholism could be drawn easily, more subtly this song could be about someone who views the world through a negative lens constantly and how as much as the writer tries to show the beauty in the world, this person refuses to see it. It's one or another between the rope and the bottle. There is no good option for this person. They can't see it. Skiba sings it in a kind of exasperated way like He's tired of hearing this negative view constantly and just allowing that person to continue feeling the way they feel knowing he can't do anything about it. You can hear it when he says maybe you're a vampire.
Album art
Sunglasses at Night
Corey Hart
In the 1980s, sunglasses were a common fashion for people who wanted to adopt a "tough guy" persona (note all the cop shows from that era -- Simon & Simon, Miami Vice, etc. -- where the lead characters wore shades). So I think this song is about a guy who wears shades as a way of hiding his insecurity after learning that his girlfriend is cheating on him. He's trying to pretend that he's a "tough guy" to hide the fact that his girlfriend's affair is disturbing him.
Album art
Mad Hatter
Avenged Sevenfold
Matt Shadows their lead singer says the song was written as per request from the developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Watching the initial trailers for the game & looking at production sketches reminded him of the 'S-Town' podcast & its main protagonist, John B. McLemore. Matt also comments specifically on the lyrics: "I decided that the lyrics would shadow McLemore's life." In 2012, antiquarian horologist John B. McLemore sent an email to the staff of the show 'This American Life' asking them to investigate an alleged murder in his hometown of Woodstock, Alabama, a place McLemore claimed to despise. After a year of exchanging emails & several months of conversation with McLemore, producer Brian Reed traveled to Woodstock to investigate. Reed investigated the crime & eventually found that no such murder took place, though he struck up a friendship with the depressed but colorful character of McLemore. He recorded conversations with McLemore & other people in Woodstock. McLemore killed himself by drinking potassium cyanide on June 22, 2015 while the podcast was still in production. In the narrative of the podcast, this occurs at the end of the second episode; subsequent episodes deal with the fallout from McLemore's death while exploring more of McLemore's life & character.
Album art
Better Than Feeling Lonely
Olivia O'Brien
This standalone single is the latest in the artiste's album run out. It was produced by Rogét Chahayed, Taylor Dexter & Wesley Singerman, and released via major streaming platforms on January 1, 2021.
Album art
2021
Lauv
This standalone single by Lauv marks the end of the year 2020. The track was produced by Jamil “Digi” Chammas & Lauv, being released via major streaming platforms on December 31, 2020.