Captain Beefheart - Bat Chain Puller

Here it is - the last one there is from the French Chorus TV show 1980.

[@magprob]

A bat chain refers to the chain that hangs down from a signal post on a train line. The signal device that was pulled down was called a bat and different bats had different colours to signal the train driver as to the condition of the track ahead, or whether the train could proceed,etc. The bat chain puller was the person who set the signals for the approaching train according to track status reports recieved by telegraph. Captain had amazing mind. Different = GOOD. This song GOOD

[@billybigtime2808]

magprob nice one for the info

[@d_walsh]

did not know that

[@debkakes]

thANK yOU!!! I thought it was just random all these years.

[@entroidolaza1874]

ES MÙSICA, NADA MÀS.Y BUENA

[@Bram25]

In this case "bat chain puller" refered to the windshield wipers of a car Don owned. Or: At least they had the exact tempo of those wipers. =D

[@snottydyck]

This song was our first dance at our wedding......makes me weep.

[@boblogan8464]

What?! Has your wife got a sister?

[@johnsrome8459]

@@boblogan8464 Hehe! Nice but naughty, Bob! Yeah, any good woman choosing Captain Beefheart as a wedding opener has to be cool...Sister? I'll take the mother n law, Bob!!! No offence and hope it's all going well, 'snottydyck'...Man, that sounds like an insult but you chose it, buddy! Hang loose, gentlemen, let that long lunar note float...

[@Manelfollon]

hahahah

[@fucketaboutit]

WRONG I danced to this first at your wedding you weren't even dancing to it yet I was already spinnin on my back on the flo

[@EatPieYes]

Were everybody offered a cup of ayahuasca at your wedding too?

[@felixfelix7447]

The Captain seemed totally sincere. He lived every song....

[@lawrencewolfe-xavier]

"Seemed" ?? - shame on you!!!

[@angellacanfora]

Simply one of the greatest songs ever by the most enigmatic figure in modern music.

[@glynwilliams1786]

Saw them 7 times live from the Zoothorn band through to this one. Always blew my tiny little mind. Genius.

[@arturodistefano3213]

I agree with every word

[@memecine]

'Bat Chain Puller' was from the 'Shiny Beast' album and this performance here is from the great tour to support the Captain's next LP 'Doc At The Radar Station', another truly classic album. Really good young musician on that tour: Jeff Morris Tepper, Gary Lucas, Eric Drew Feldman. "This could be the best batch yet."

[@LondonDada]

I need to hear this every day, just to keep me in the sane.

[@paulbellows1330]

London Dada " Brick Bats" try that once a week instead of a daily dose of Bat Chain Puller, that should do the trick. make sure you've mates around that don't get. works a treat . Trout Mask once in a blue moon/ great restoration.

[@LondonDada]

Oh ok then, I'll give it a whirl. Cheers

[@kornysinclair9145]

No, for sure daily . I've done it for quite a few months it does work. But then it gets too intense. You hafta wean yourself off.lol , I'm down to bout 12 times monthly. In spurts of 2-3 hrs. No joke.

[@AndrewHillis_2024]

Me too!

[@msgeek703]

Wish that the Captain could have performed this at the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks. Either this or Electricity.

[@72wh27]

Yes!

[@jamesdevlin2059]

That's perhaps the best thing you could possibly wish for. A match made in heaven(the white lodge).

[@rharvs41]

This is absolutely fascinating the way the band reproduce the multitracked studio version, and also deviate from it. One of my fave beefheart songs. Love it love it!

[@Bongofury361]

I love the weird interplay between the guitarists...so beautiful in it's cacophony!

[@zigzagwanderer3585]

I salute everyone who views or comments on this video. You're watching a milestone in "popular" music ! Good on you !

[@improvspirit]

I'm pretty sure that breakdown in the middle somehow had a time signature that involved the number pi. Masterful!

[@FreneticZetetic]

The math riff at 2:00 is decades ahead

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

I just read that Beefheart is friends with Billy Bob Thornton... then I got the idea that Billy Bob should play him in a movie, he'd be perfect!

[@wanderingspacecritic]

The licks are mind-blowing...

[@orchislilaclips]

Captain Beefheart is not dead.. I´m going to raise my soon coming baby with this music! With love & blue butterflies as big as the cowboy's eyes, goodbey!

[@danollano]

Poetry from the swamp set out to dry on the beach, magnificent!

[@atishraja5137]

Zappa acted weird. Beefheart was genuinely weird.

[@scott7521]

Weird AF and it's glorious.

[@enimapodofficial6618]

Both were weird in their own ways. For instance, Frank liked to fuse a bunch of dispirit styles together with a satirical sense of humor... Don was just a wall of out-of-the-box blues-lovin' awesome weirdness.

[@ElimGarakSpoonHead]

Cod Zilla Does a guy named codzilla Really need weird defined for him?

[@jordil6152]

Zappa was a normal guy who made music weirdly. Don was an odd guy who made weird music even weirder. But who wouldn’t look normal next to Don? I bet he would have been a terrific wingman.

[@pgroove163]

naah..they both were as normal as can be ..met em' 'both several times back in the day in NYC.. nothing weird bout either..weirder folks everyday in the subway or back in school daze..🕴️

[@musicplateau1]

He paints with words and sounds

[@theperfectimperfect]

he painted with paints as well

[@Muppio]

This is the soundtrack to a fever dream.

[@BrianMackenziebelovin]

I had a very vivid dream of attending a Beefheart concert in a subterranian club with a very circular layout - probably some of the upper levels of Dante's Inferno, now that I think about it... Although it was vivid at the time I do not recall many other details, I'm afraid. This music certainly seems to come directly from the Id in many ways - if you'll pardon the reference to a (largely) discredited school of psychological healing.

[@SudsMcWhiskey]

@@BrianMackenziebelovin The Id was essentially a placeholder for the unconscious mind in psychoanalysis, which is essentially the only widely accepted aspect of that school of thought in modernity.

[@jimm3205]

There will NEVER be another Don Van Vliet! Viva Captain Beefheart!

[@UndeadYakboy]

And what a coincidence that one of the most revolutionary drummers of all time (John French) would end up playing with the Captain!

[@BeatlesBowieKrimson]

Truly, a masterpiece of a song.

[@hugovargascomsille9464]

fuck y

[@lawrencehamm1478]

Not the worst he's done.

[@Captain_Millet]

Everytime I hear his music, makes me feel great. So happy I could see his concert in Paris.

[@FreneticZetetic]

The dissonant math riff at 2:00 is overlooked genius

[@terrypussypower]

Finally got my long awaited copy of the original Bat Chain Puller fresh from the Zappa vaults ! To hear it all crystal clear is a revelation so get yir orders in now 'fore they all go. Nice booklet with Drumbo and Denny Walley doing the honours, just a pity it couldn't have came out when D.V.V. was still with us, but better late than never !

[@TRICK-OR-TREAT236]

< < < ONE OF THE GREATEST SONGS EVER WRITTEN > > >

[@johnguion8141]

Chaos ensues at 2:00 with the drummer just plodding along.....brilliant!

[@sonjoestar3613]

he was a criticism against all the smooth voiced pop & rock singers. He had that crispy strong voicei, knew how to use it and he used it ultimately well

[@chiselhammer]

the dissonance at 2:00 makes perfect sense . i love their sound .

[@davejones5745]

This is an attempt to obliterate the time signature. It succeeds.

[@stephenhayesuk]

Barking mad. I love it.

[@velyogendra108]

I saw him live in Boston when "Doc At The Radar Station" was out. I really miss his music.

[@Cjbcampbell]

The song lyrics are like a painting. Extremely realistic. A landscape. And yet the whole thing is a rich metaphor.

[@CheetahSnowLeopard]

His "I'm proclaiming this to you" hand motions are hilarious.

[@sweetzbeats6092]

Fucking brilliant.

[@tfoy60]

RIP Captain. Steal softly through sunshine, steal softly through snow.

[@rustyrollers]

I woke with this noise in my ears every morning .I was entrapped by the magic of it and it was beautiful. I lived fourhundred yards from the main line .You are trapped by the song you are coupled to that train.

[@plugprod]

Thank KZbin! I love seeing this stuff! I've been listening to it for nearly 25 years - actually seeing him has always been a big mystery... Thanks to everyone posting these gems!!!

[@gustavovalverde6226]

Hello

[@TheAdvencherContinues2022]

This is the first Beefheart earworm that crawled into my scull.

[@mickaelprevost273]

he sang for arrhythmia that would shiver the current crappy singer. Sublime. Capricorn singer is the best, Captain beefheart/Syd barrett.

[@kingblee1]

My eyes are a blue million miles away...in a trance. John French says " he probed the primal atomic structure of music"... this video will not argue...RIP

[@craigcaver4051]

All hail the Captain. Man what a genius! Rest in Peace Don. We miss you. And Frankie too!

[@mannacler]

Hard to believe that this is now thirty years old. The Captain belongs to the ages.

[@written12]

That riff, beside being striking in and of itself, works nicely here to vary the texture of the song.

[@MrWARRIORMONKS]

this really is one of the best things ever

[@StrOcc]

I'm just getting into Captain Beefheart. I've known for some time that he was a big influence for Tom Waits... always meant to look into his stuff more. Then I heard that he passed away, and it gave me that final push to really check out his material. My word, I've been missing so much!!

[@bluesborn]

A chain with yellow lights That glistens like oil beads On its slick smooth trunk That trails behind on tracks, and thumps A wing hangs limp and retreats Bulbs shoot from its snoot And vanish into darkness It whistles like a root snatched from dry earth Sodbustin rakes with grey dust claws Announces its coming in the morning This train with grey tubes That houses peoples very thoughts and belongings

[@g-floyd-d8572]

This music gives me courage...Long live C.B.!

[@nigelperren5714]

I love captain Beefheart! If I got a portrait tattoo (By Darren stairs *Portsmouth) it would be either, Don van vleit(captain beefheart) or Bootsy Collins! This track reminds me of the old Marmite advert "you either love it , or you hate it" this is a rare track where I have to be in exactly the right mood! I either love it... Or hate it! Depending on my mood at the time

[@dougquidam1258]

Would have loved to have seen this live. Absolutely brilliant.

[@Jack-vy6uo]

Trust me , he was always in good form I saw him several times in NYC.I got to meet him through FZ...RIP..😩

[@RRaquello]

"you may think this is the finest pearl but it's just cardboard balls". You had to have guts to be a Capt. Beefheart fan back when I was a teenager & everyone else was listening to Styx & Foreigner. People thought there was something wrong with you when all the time there was something wrong with them.

[@wannyyydilliamsss]

That my friend is one of the best summaries of modern-day music i've ever heard.

[@jamespealing3518]

out of "this" world......where ever "this" is........

[@bogfranklin]

Incredible artist

[@angelomichelemaiorano4332]

Meraviglioso! Grazie caro Captain.

[@sufinaga]

i am a beefheart freak. saw him live 5 times. greatest psychedelic musician of all time.

[@accidentalfilms]

He was such an original. He levels what thin walls others call music.

[@LondonDada]

The rythm for this track pulled from the action of screen wipers on Don's car in a storm.. allegedly. Makes kinda sense when you listen tho,

[@Aqualash]

A true unadulterated genius...another legend falls

[@laggardly6201]

Pulla pulla The Captain - unequaled.

[@Blazingrythm]

This is one of the best songs ever to come out of this poetic genius! If you don't get it get out! All you're doing is putting tinfoil in peoples' radar. I like to see you learn to play it and do the middle section in abstact time against a drummer that doesn't budge on his windsheild wiper beat.

[@malcolmbeckett9802]

Is it you, Mr Robert Williams, the drummer who also played on the Hugh Cornwell album Nosferaru, I aplaud you, what are you up to now, are you still making music

[@robertwilliams-cg1fn]

@@malcolmbeckett9802 Thank You, My latest record (CD) is called Temporarily Immortal by Beefheart JR (Robert Williams) available directly from me via Facebook Messenger.

[@jaybird8748]

Man, sending you the utmost respect and love from Perth, Scotland. You were part of some of the greatest art ever here. wow

[@p.m.konijn2532]

Best avant garde ever.

[@Harmonicajello]

The lucky ones are able to hear it. The unlucky ones cannot. We should pity them their empty souls. The Don's magic will soar forever without the unlucky ones' approval. Fly In Peace

[@radiomorningwonder6991]

"This song GOOD" - yesss!!! This song very good indeed! Hewish, you are very right there :)

[@mishunaccomeplished]

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC

[@angellacanfora]

I'm sure I've commented on this video before, but I keep returning to it. This is one of the most interesting, creative, fascinating songs ever! Gives me chills. The 1st time I heard it, my jaw dropped. Fresh & weird & wonderful, always...

[@shovelsamo]

Favorite Captain tune, other than tropical hotdog night.....both great tho

[@beep200]

Love this one

[@fecalfoetus]

i think many of the original artists around, still borrow heavily from this Man. Hail the Capt.

[@AndrewHillis_2024]

My mind has turned to custard I have no idea what I have just seen!!!

[@hatecominupwithnames]

its funny how he at some points says "bat chain puller" kinda like he is tired of it, waving his hand as seen at 1:20 . This song is so monumental, epic! I can just barely picture the huge pumping train in the dark pumpkin and green inflated tree infested landscape... I gotta paint that some time. Got the album on vinyl, and that is one good album i say! go captain go!

[@fecalfoetus]

i am very saddened by the news,,Don was a visionary in all senses of the word, his work, be it musical or art,,,is immeasurable, peerless, timeless (still way ahead of today) and his influence is beyond reasonable imagination...the rightful godfather of true punk (sorry Iggy, Zappa, Lou Reed, no disrespect to you guys) its a shame his work is so less known, (its a crime to use the word underrated here i believe) and virtually unheard of ..RIP Captain...there are many here who know the truth...

[@RedNietzsche]

Thanks for being a Genuine Original! and a True Artist. R.I.P

[@dylanfan1969]

This is my favorite Don song. The guitar solo is insane.

[@Lumby1]

The definition of way ahead of his time, along with Frank and Jimi.

[@sharonbodea7677]

The difference is that Zappa and Jimi's music is imitable. Captain's - not.

[@Lumby1]

@@sharonbodea7677 So who imitates any of them well? Nobody, they are originals, they did it first, all of them, years ago. There are people who can play their music, even the black page. Frank thought the Captain was the world's greatest musician.

[@naisammon]

He wanted the drums to sound like windshield wipers-hypnotic!

[@Spiderman-tg9ke]

I knew Don and was visiting him with my and Dons friend Bo Griffen around 1978 or so. Don pointed to his Volvo outside and said when he pulled under his carport it was raining and he heard the sound of the rain 🌧️ and his wipers and I think also his turn signal and used it for this song

[@Spiralout-lh4dj]

So awesome!

[@workingclasshero8262]

its the only non boring music you can get . a complete artist to .

[@salsburysteakjr]

Apparently the rhythm to this song was based on a tape recording Beefheart made while waiting as a train passed his car whilst his winshield wipers were on. He gave it to the musicians, goading them into replicating it. Somehow it sounds just like that, and it's absolutely perfect.

[@Tomversal]

"Somehow" the reason is because John French is a genius!!

[@plevyman]

Love this song!

[@sleece6]

Howlin' Wolf begat Beefheart begat Waits, Andy Partridge etc..and on and on... Yeah..Bat Chain Puller!..Nice post

[@bwanna23]

this is the kind of band i'd like to invite over to play in my living room.

[@zigzagwanderer3585]

Thanks a lot for sharing this clip. This makes my day ! Wonderful stuff.

[@senarodrigo]

This is awesome!! Thanks! It's one of the best songs from Shiny Beast

[@hanshan12]

Think about this. Who else even comes close? Ever? Especially now? His being so neglected says even more about things today. At least in the 70s you could do this...

[@arglbargl]

i bet ya a million bucks ms. germanotta is a huge capt. beefheart fan

[@muskratbill]

Deliciously out of the mainstream!!!

[@sitjar]

Thanks Don....nobody ever really managed to emulate you, no matter how hard they tried.

[@FathomFrequency]

Thanks for that ! ! I love this song...all the texture they put into it is so fun😂

[@xKronzx]

seriously this is maybe the best video I've seen on YT!

[@daveymjohnson]

I enjoy the music much more not thinking about the meaning, but just listening to the visual descriptive. It makes me feel at home, and makes me laugh intensely due to my relation in perception! E.G: the way he says "glistens like oil beads" makes me lol!

[@truck2112yes]

I love the sustain Beefheart uses when singing BAT at 0:35.

[@heathwood9724]

"Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat !," (I was hooked after that)

[@Lumby1]

Me too!

[@Offmedication]

Don Van viet was a GENIUS

[@sgsoundvisuals]

Love this cut!

[@grahamcomfort5356]

Genius..long before it's time.

[@littlecave]

sometimes people actually take music and do what they should be doing with it

[@suqmadiq68]

Fantastic performance.

[@hirofan]

vocal, clarinet - Captain Beefheart guitar - Jeff Moris Tepper bass - Richard Midnight Hatsize Snyder keyboard - Eric Drew Feldman drums - Robert Williams

[@fastnbulbouss]

Always nice to hear Don again....