They incorporated the sounds of string ensembles, vocoders and dub echos into rock songs, thereby creating a very sophisticated studio version of rock. The musical content of ELO songs often went far beyond usual chord structures, mixing pop songwriting with classical romanticism and synthesized sounds. The band claim that their music "picks up where The Beatles' 1967 song I Am the Walrus left off."
Formed in 1970 by Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan (the remaining members of the 1960s rock group The Move). The band used cellos, violin, horns and woodwinds to give their music a classical sound. This was an idea Roy Wood initially had while with The Move, to take rock music in a new direction. In 1970 when Carl Wayne left the The Move, Jeff Lynne, front man with fellow Brum band Idle Race, responded to Wood's second invitation to join the line-up, with the lure of starting the new band. To help finance the fledgling project, two more Move albums were released during the recording of their eponymous first album in 1971 which produced the UK hit 10538 Overture. In the US this album was released with the mistaken title of No Answer, due to a mix-up with an uncompleted telephone call to the American label and subsequent secretarial message.
However, tensions soon surfaced between Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. With most of the media attention focused on Roy Wood, differences in musical direction, and a disastrous first live outing, it was no surprise when the band went through the first of its many line-up changes as Wood took Hugh McDowell and Bill Hunt with him to form Wizzard. Despite the music press's predictions that the band would fold without Wood, Jeff Lynne stepped up to lead the band, with Bevan remaining on drums, bassist Richard Tandy switching to moog synthesizer, Michael d'Albuquerque on bass, Mike Edwards, Colin Walker (cello) and Wilfred Gibson replacing Steve Woolam on violin. They released ELO 2 in 1973, from which came their first U.S. chart hit, a hugely elaborate version of the Chuck Berry classic Roll Over Beethoven. After their second album, violinist Gibson was dismissed and replaced by Mik Kaminski. They also released On The Third Day in 1973, with Mike Edwards playing all the cello parts due to Colin Walker leaving the band. Later that same year saw the return of Hugh McDowell, who had jumped ship the year previous, to replace cellist Colin Walker.
In 1974 Lynne hired a thirty-piece orchestra, choir and Louis Clark, then began work on the next LP Eldorado, A Symphony, a concept album about dreams, scoring their first U.S. Top Ten hit with Can't Get It Out Of My Head in 1975. Eldorado would become ELO's first gold album.
After the release of Eldorado, bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt and cellist Melvyn Gale joined, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards respectively.
The band split in 1983. In 1985, Lynne, Tandy and Bevan reunited and recorded the album "Balance of Power". This reunion was short lived and the band split once more in 1986. Bev Bevan and Louis Clark, with the consent of Lynne, toured and recorded as ELO Part II from 1988 until Bevan's retirement in 1999. In 2000, Lynne and Tandy reformed Electric Light Orchestra and released a new record, "Zoom". "Zoom" proved to be a commercial failure, and the duo split once more in 2001.
In 2014, following support from BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans, Lynne and Tandy reunited as a part of BBC Radio 2's "Festival in a Day" to perform under the new billing, "Jeff Lynne's ELO", a name Lynne devised as a response to ELO tributes, imitation bands, and offshoots who used ELO to promote their own tours.
In February 2015, Jeff Lynne's ELO performed at the Grammy Awards with Ed Sheeran, and in September of that year they announced a new album would be released under Columbia Records. Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe was released on November 13, 2015, and was ELO’s first album of new material in almost 15 years.
The second album under Jeff Lynne’s ELO, Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out of Nowhere, was released on November 1, 2019.
There is more than one artist with the name "ELO". The vast majority of scrobbles to "Electric Light Orchestra" are for the rock band from England.
ELO, is a South Korean singer, who debuted with the album, 8 Femmes, on August 26, 2016.
Evil Woman
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But them broken dreams have got to end
Hey, woman, you got the blues
'Cause you ain't got no one else to use
There's an open road that leads nowhere
So just make some miles between here and there
There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in
You took my body and played to win
Ha, ha, woman, it's a cryin' shame
But you ain't got nobody else to blame
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman
Rolled in from another town
Hit some gold, too hard to settle down
But a fool and his money soon go separate ways
And you found a fool lyin' in a daze
Ha, ha, woman, what you gonna do?
You destroyed all the virtues that the Lord gave you
It's so good that you're feelin' pain
But you better get your face on board the very next train (train)
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
Evil woman
(Hey, hey, hey, hey)
(Hey, hey, hey, hey)
(Hey, hey, hey)
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
Evil woman
Evil woman, how you done me wrong
But now you're tryin' to wail a different song
Ha, ha, funny, how you broke me up
You made the wine, now you drink a cup
I came runnin' every time you cried
Thought I saw love smilin' in your eyes
Ha, ha, very nice to know
That you ain't got no place left to go
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
Evil woman
Evil woman
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
Evil woman (such an evil woman)
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
Evil woman (such an evil woman)
The lyrics to Electric Light Orchestra’s classic song “Evil Woman” describe the pain and betrayal felt by the singer at the hands of a woman who manipulated and used him, but ultimately got what was coming to her. The singer accuses this “evil woman” of making a fool of him and destroying the virtues he held dear. He realizes that he became ensnared in her trap and was blinded by his love for her, even as she took advantage of him.
The chorus of the song repeats the refrain “Evil woman”, accentuating the power dynamics between the two and emphasizing the woman’s status as a villain in the story. In the final verse, the singer reveals that he has finally seen through this woman’s facade and recognizes that she is an evil, manipulative force in his life. He is now free from her and takes pleasure in watching her suffer the consequences of her own actions.
Overall, the song “Evil Woman” is a cautionary tale about the dangers of giving in to temptation and how people can be easily blinded by their emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
You made a fool of me
You tricked me and made me look stupid.
But them broken dreams have got to end
But I need to stop dreaming and face reality.
Hey, woman, you got the blues
Hey, woman, you're feeling sad and lonely.
'Cause you ain't got no one else to use
Because you have no one else to take advantage of for your own benefit.
There's an open road that leads nowhere
There's a path that doesn't lead to anything meaningful.
So just make some miles between here and there
So just get away from here and go far away.
There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in
I'm not thinking clearly, and my thoughts are scattered.
You took my body and played to win
You used me for your own pleasure and to further your own interests.
Ha, ha, woman, it's a cryin' shame
It's sad to say, but you're to blame.
But you ain't got nobody else to blame
You have no one else to hold responsible but yourself.
Evil woman
You're a wicked and manipulative person.
Rolled in from another town
You came from somewhere else.
Hit some gold, too hard to settle down
You found success and couldn't stay in one place.
But a fool and his money soon go separate ways
But foolish people usually lose their money quickly.
And you found a fool lyin' in a daze
And you found me, a foolish person, in a confused and disoriented state.
Ha, ha, woman, what you gonna do?
It's funny, woman, what are you going to do now?
You destroyed all the virtues that the Lord gave you
You've gone against all the good qualities that God gave you as a human being.
It's so good that you're feelin' pain
It's good that you're finally experiencing some consequences for your actions.
But you better get your face on board the very next train (train)
But you better leave this place as soon as possible.
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
You're a wicked and manipulative person.
Evil woman
You're a wicked and manipulative person.
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
You're a wicked and manipulative person.
Evil woman (such an evil woman)
You're such a wicked and manipulative person.
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
You're a wicked and manipulative person.
Evil woman (such an evil woman)
You're such a wicked and manipulative person.
Evil woman (you're an evil woman)
You're a wicked and manipulative person.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeff Lynne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Cochran
on State of Mind
An overlooked album which more people should listen to
Rodney
on Rockaria!
Weit in die Ferne , man hört, man hört die Musik
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A nice ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A lovely ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Wild West Hero
An absolutely beautiful song.
Philip Kassabian
on Last Train to London
Never heard this ELO song before.
Philip Kassabian
on All Over the World
An ELO song that surprisingly few people know about. To me this rivals Mr. Blue Sky.
Philip Kassabian
on Ticket to the Moon
A song about a person being utterly confused in a difficult situation. He can't even fathom the journey he's about to take to the moon. It's surreal to him.
Philip Kassabian
on Strange Magic
A very mysterious and awe inspiring song. Definitely one of ELO's better songs.
Philip Kassabian
on Livin' Thing
It's a great song and to me it symbolizes the meaning of loss and how absolutely devastating it can be for a person.