Lyrics:

The Song:

"Black Tambourine" is a Beefheart-y funky broken blues song. Lots of guitar, and yes even some tambourine. The song is based on a beat from Serge Gainsbourg's "Requiem Pour Un Con," just as this song was. Beck was clearly into the beat, and carried it into his recording a new album.

Before Guero came out there was a lot of talk of Beck getting into electric guitar rocking, and Beck admitted that this song is the best example of what he wanted to do. He told XFM that it was the "direction I wanted to take... percussive and primitive, revolving around the melody." The song was recorded quickly, in order to keep it stripped down and simple. The beat (Beck calls it a "Bo Diddley / Adam Ant party") is a good one, and lends it to being a great song on stage.

"Black Tambourine," one of Beck's more impressionistic songs, uses short phrases strung together. (OK, a lot of his songs are impressionist.)

Beck has used a musical instrument to symbolize a feeling a few times in the past, and I reckon the key line in the second verse:

"And when the sun is down
We'll shake and rattle our bodies
To keep it warm and night
My tambourine is still shaking"

That has the idea that music is a savior; that no matter how dark it may get or troubled life is, music will still help. The rest of the lines look at troubles in various ways: public break-ups ("black hearts in effigy"), criticism ("sharks smell the blood that I'm bleedin'"), desolate situations ("broken-down buildings" / "spider webs are my home now").

I reckon the image of a black tambourine comes, as does the beat, from Serge Gainsbourg, who has a song called "Black Trombone."

Live:

Played live 164 times:
Earliest known live version: January 28, 2005
Latest known live version: November 18, 2012

Beck, as of yet, has played "Black Tambourine" at pretty much every concert since 2005.

2005-2009 Rock Versions

"Black Tambourine" really blossomed quickly on stage. The earliest bootleg version we have, from February 4 2005, which was likely the 2nd or 3rd time it was played, is pretty hot. It sounds and feels good in a natural setting, the beat enhanced, the tambourine shaking. A little studio video clip from the BBC in March 2005 shows that the song is played with two drummers and a bass player, as Beck sings and plays the big electric guitar power chords. The song is just so exuberant on stage.

Beck would continue with the song, riding that beat, that guitar riff, throughout his tours for Guero and Info. While the song continued in more or less the same arrangment every night, it never quite sounded the same. The song is too primal and energetic for that! One night may have some falsettos at the end; another may ride the drums for a long intro; others may have some beatboxing near the end. Things like that. A talented band can do all sorts of things with this song.

This was very regular in 2005, 2006, and 2007.

SOME NOTEWORTHY TAKES

There were a couple of acoustic-type gigs at shows in 2006, and a few included "Black Tambourine." The show on October 17 was a beauty, and a very relaxed, acoustic version of the song kicked things off. It's a nice twist to the usual way you hear the song. Beck played an "acoustic" show on October 22, 2006. They opened with a nifty stripped-down version of "Black Tambourine." A very nice energy, and they let the music carry the song instead of the usual bombastics.

2008-2009 SHAKE SHAKE TAMBOURINE LIVE VERSIONS

As Beck started to tour behind Modern Guilt, "Black Tambourine" remained a regular. In the beginning, it was as usual, the same rock versions as before. This lasted for a few months, until August.

I am not entirely sure the debut of this, but I believe it was August 24, 2008. There Beck and his band using little electronic GameBoy-like beat pads, played electro remix versions of "Hell Yes" and "Black Tambourine." The entire band stands there with their little toys, as Beck sings. This version of "Black Tambourine" uses the riff from the "Shake Shake Tambourine" remix from Guerolito. He often just did two verse/choruses and then it segued into "Clap Hands."

This has continued through the end of 2008 and the Japanese tour of March 2009.