Drip Drip Drip

"Drip Drip Drip"
Single by Chumbawamba
from the album Tubthumper
B-side "Drip Drip Drip (album version)"
Released 1998
Format CD single,[1] cassette single[2]
Genre Pop rock, electropop[3]
Length 3:57 (album version)
3:43 (single edit)
Label EMI (UK)
Universal (US)
Songwriter(s) Chumbawamba
Producer(s) Chumbawamba, Neil Ferguson[4]
Chumbawamba singles chronology
"Amnesia"
(1998)		 "Drip Drip Drip"
(1998)		 "Top of the World (Olé, Olé, Olé)"
(1998)

"Amnesia"
(1998)		 "Drip Drip Drip"
(1998)		 "Top of the World (Olé, Olé, Olé)"
(1998)

"Drip Drip Drip" (sometimes stylised as "Drip, Drip, Drip") is a song by British alternative band Chumbawamba, from their eighth studio album, Tubthumper.[5] In the spirit of their oft-politicized lyrics, the song discusses slumlords and the injustice faced by tenants; the song can also be viewed as a metaphor for politicians' control and dishonesty.[6][7] It was the third and final single from the album.[5][2]

Lyrics and composition

"Drip Drip Drip" uses horns, synthesizers, and a moderately-slow drum as its primary instrumentation. The lyrics discuss slumlords and the unfairness behind wealth distribution and housing ownership. The song also contains wordplay, with lyrics such as "It's trickle-down theory, and it's coming to me" and "life's a whip-round and I've got the whip."[6] Allmusic classifies the song as "dreamy," "lively," "mechanical," "pulsing," and "striding;" they state that the song's themes are "everyday life," "relationships," and "politics/society."[3]

Release

The song was released as the third and final single from Tubthumper in the United States in 1998, as a follow-up to "Amnesia," which had reached number 101 in the United States. A promotional CD single was made available, featuring the album version and the radio edit of the song.[1] The song was never officially released in the United Kingdom, and thus never charted there.[8]

Despite the failure of "Amnesia" on modern rock radio stations, Universal Records still released "Drip, Drip, Drip" to the stations; it received little play.[9]

Critical reception

The song was met with generally mixed to favorable reviews from music critics. Larry Flick of Billboard magazine called the song, which he thought "oozes with a political subtext," "clever," but felt the song didn't have what it took to be a hit and that the "instrumental energy doesn't always quite match the intensity of the vocals and chants."[2] The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music commented that the song, as well as "The Good Ship Lifestyle" and "Mary Mary", "lay(s) a strong bite in the lyric".[10]

Remix

The song was reworked on "The ABC's of Anarchism." The new version, titled "Smelly Water," discussed water pollution.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Chumbawamba – Drip Drip Drip". Discogs. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Flick, Larry. "Singles". Billboard. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Chumbawamba Drip, Drip, Drip Composed by Chumbawamba". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "CHUMBAWAMBA - DRIP, DRIP, DRIP (translated)". Austrian Charts. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Chumbawamba Tubthumper". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Chumbawamba – Drip, Drip, Drip". SongMeanings. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Tubthumper album booklet
  8. ↑ "UK Albums Chart history". Official Singles. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Carter, Kevin; Coveney, Janine; Ross, Sean (April 18, 1998). "Radio, Labels Debate 'Ownership'". Billboard. 110 (16): 70–71. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2000). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music. Virgin. p. 89. ISBN 0753504278. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (July 1999). "Review: The ABC's of Anarchism". CMJ New Music Monthly (71): 68. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
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