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 āpicks up where The Beatles left off.ā
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 Woodās 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 pressās 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 dāAlbuquerque 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 Canāt Get It Out Of My Head in 1975. Eldorado would become ELOās first gold album.
After the release of Eldorado, bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt and cellist Melvyn Gale joined, replacing de Albuquerque and Edwards respectively.
Livin' Thing
ELO Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's like magic
Rollin' and ridin' and slippin' and slidin'
It's magic
And you, and your sweet desire
You took me higher and higher
It's a livin' thing
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose
Making believe this is what you conceived
From your worst day
Moving in line then you look back in time
To your first day
And you, and your sweet desire
You took me higher and higher
It's a livin' thing
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose
Takin' a dive 'cos you can't halt the slide
floating downstream
So let her go Don't start spoiling the show
It's a bad dream
And you, and your sweet desire
You took me higher and higher
It's a livin' thing
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose
The lyrics of the song āLivinā Thingā by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are quite intriguing, with the verses painting a vivid picture of being swept away by the magic and whimsy of life. The opening lines of āSailing away on the crest of a wave, itās like magic, rollinā and ridinā and slippinā and slidinā, itās magicā evoke a sense of being caught up in a moment of pure exhilaration, where one feels like they are riding the waves of life with ease. This feeling is further emphasized in the chorus, where the lyrics āItās a livinā thing, Itās a terrible thing to lose, Itās a given thing, What a terrible thing to loseā underscore the fragility of life and the importance of living it fully.
The second verse of the song changes the tone slightly, moving away from the idea of indulging in the moment and onto the concept of self-reflection. The lyrics āMaking believe this is what you conceived, from your worst day, moving in line then you look back in time, to your first dayā encourage the listener to take stock of their life and reflect on the choices they have made. The chorus is repeated again, but this time with a sense of urgency and a warning against taking life for granted.
The final verse of the song is somewhat of a resolution, with the lyrics āTakin' a dive 'cos you can't halt the slide, floating downstream, so let her go, don't start spoiling the show, it's a bad dreamā suggesting that sometimes we must let go of control and allow life to take its course. This idea is further reinforced in the chorus, which acts as a cautionary tale against taking life for granted, and reminds us that life is a precious gift that can be taken away at any moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Sailin' away on the crest of a wave
Starting anew with hope and confidence
It's like magic
Feeling powerful and unstoppable
Rollin' and ridin' and slippin' and slidin'
Experiencing both the ups and downs of life
It's magic
Feeling a sense of wonder and amazement
And you, and your sweet desire
Addressing a specific person who has a strong passion
You took me higher and higher
Helping to achieve a sense of elation
It's a livin' thing
Life is full of liveliness, possibility, and potential
It's a terrible thing to lose
Losing something that made life so full is painful
It's a given thing
Life is expected to provide both good and bad moments
What a terrible thing to lose
Reiterating the pain of losing something special
Making believe this is what you conceived
Fooling oneself into thinking something is what they imagined
From your worst day
This belief comes from a low point in life
Moving in line then you look back in time
Reflecting on the journey of life and how far one has come
To your first day
Thinking back to the very beginning of life
Takin' a dive 'cos you can't halt the slide
Giving up and letting life take its course
Floating downstream
Allowing oneself to be carried by life's current
So let her go
Letting go of something that cannot be held onto
Don't start spoiling the show
Life is a performance meant to be enjoyed, not ruined
It's a bad dream
Thinking negatively about a situation
Lyrics Ā© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-ip9yu7lp1q
Sailin' away on the crest of a wave
It's like magic
Oh rollin' and ridin' and slippin' and sliding
It's magic
And you, and your sweet desire,
You took me, ohhh higher and higher baby,
It's a livin' thing,
It's a terrible thing to lose
It's a given thing
What a terrible thing to lose.
Making believe this is what you've conceived
From your worst day, I'm takin a dive
Oh moving in line when you look back in time
To the first day, I'm taken I'm taken
And you and your sweet desire,
You took me ohh, higher and higher baby
I'm takin a dive. Off the stage. Hey!!
Takin' a dive 'cos you can't halt the slide
Floating downstream, I'm takin a dive
Ah so let her go don't start spoiling the show
It's a bad dream, I'm takin' , I'm takin'
And you and your sweet desire
Don't you do it ,
You took me ohh higher and higher baby
@clintonhoffmann9626
John Lennon and also Paul Mc Cartney once said that ELO is what the Beatles would have eventually sounded like if they had continued as a band into the 1970's and beyond.
@kahpunktscholzthetruth3738
Clinton Hoffmann Really??
@Grade.patrick
Probably bad phrasing, I believe he meant that John Lennon implied that if The Beatles would have continued, they would have sounded like ELO.
@zhangjao6328
Viking Song Sounds like John Lennon, yep.
@JS-ll8ro
Viking Song yeah, whilst a genius he might have been, he was an arrogant one!
@SM-dh3su
ELO weren't emulating.
@samjohnson9862
Why the freaking hellĀ is ELO so underrated?Ā THEY'RE AWESOME!!!!!!
@franciscoj.rodriguez243
I don't know, always happened this with some musicians.
@lukecartledge6489
for me it's because they had only 3 songs I really like.
@LSDOvideos
elo isnt underrated