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.
Bluebird Is Dead
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You keep movin' cross my mind
You gave me a sunny day
Now it looks as if I'll pay
[Chorus:]
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
Bluebird came to me tonight
Waiting patiently for light
She said I know that you will grieve
But my darlin' I must leave
[Chorus]
Bluebird say it is not so
Please I cannot hear you speak
It must be that you're so tired
In the darkness of the night
[Chorus]
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's song "Bluebird Is Dead" speak of a past love that continues to haunt the singer's thoughts, even though the relationship has ended. The singer reflects on the happiness that the person once brought into their life, but now the situation looks bleak as if they will pay for it somehow. The chorus suggests that people say the bluebird is dead, but the singer cannot believe that the love they shared with this person is truly over. The bluebird was a representation of the singer's love, and it is still alive in their heart.
In the second verse of the song, the bluebird returns to the singer. The bluebird advises the singer that she must leave, and while the singer knows that they will grieve, they must move on. The bluebird represents a metaphorical death of the relationship, and the necessity to move forward in life.
Overall, "Bluebird Is Dead" is a reflective and emotional song that encourages acceptance and moving on from past relationships. The bluebird is a symbol of the love shared between two people, but when the love is gone, the bird must also die.
Line by Line Meaning
Little darlin' of my life
Addressing his beloved, a woman who is his life's darling
You keep movin' cross my mind
She stays on his mind constantly
You gave me a sunny day
She brought light and joy into his life
Now it looks as if I'll pay
He's about to experience the downside of that love
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
He wonders why people say that happiness doesn't last
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
He can still feel the love she gave him
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
He can't believe that her love is gone
Bluebird came to me tonight
The memory of his love has come to him
Waiting patiently for light
He waits for happiness to come back
She said I know that you will grieve
He knows that he will feel sorrow
But my darlin' I must leave
His love is gone and he has to accept it
Bluebird say it is not so
He hopes that his love has not really left him
Please I cannot hear you speak
He can't bear to hear that his love is gone
It must be that you're so tired
He believes that maybe she has simply been worn out
In the darkness of the night
He realizes that he has lost his love
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Uthum Ukwattage
Just put this here so i can sing with them
Little darlin' of my life
You keep movin' cross my mind
You gave me a sunny day
Now it looks as if I'll pay
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
Bluebird came to me tonight
Waiting patiently for light
She said I know that you will grieve
But my darlin' I must leave
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
Bluebird say it is not so
Please I cannot hear you speak
It must be that you're so tired
In the darkness of the night
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
Kay Bee
Little darlin' of my life
You keep movin' cross my mind
You gave me a sunny day
Now it looks as if I'll pay
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
Bluebird came to me tonight
Waiting patiently for light
She said I know that you will grieve
But my darlin' I must leave
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
Bluebird say it is not so
Please I cannot hear you speak
It must be that you're so tired
In the darkness of the night
Why do they say, bluebird is dead
I can still see her, touch her, my bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, no, no, I don't believe
johnny zell
Little Darlin' of my life
You keep movin' cross my mind
You gave me a sunny day
Now it looks as if I'll pay
Why do they say -- Bluebird is dead?
I can still see her, touch her, my Bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, No, No, I don't believe
Bluebird came to me tonight
Waiting patiently for light
She said I know that you will grieve
But my darlin' I must leave
Why do they say -- Bluebird is dead?
I can still see her, touch her, my Bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, No, No, I don't believe
Bluebird say it is not so
Please I cannot hear you speak
It must be that you're so tired
In the darkness of the night
Why do they say -- Bluebird is dead?
I can still see her, touch her, my Bluebird
The love that she gave, I don't believe, No, No, I don't believe
Qaronte
For me, the Best Album from ELO, even the songs are a Little bit depressive; so far, I have not found another band that plays likeELO.
OlafttheGreat1998
There is no equal.
Crystal Comedy
Klaatu is almost its equal
KraffyBagel
there was once a similar band you may have heard of called the beatles
Greg Hansell
Another perfectly crafted song, musically and vocally...I love Jeff's vocals and Bev's percussion in particular. Just love this song.
Bernard Morris
I miss Bev Bevan's drumming.
Parlay Card
My friend's Dad copied this album from a vinyl to a cassette and years later we stumbled across it as wayward youths. We drove around in my Buick getting hammered and blasting that worn-out tape relentlessly (the bass sounded so much better on worn-out cassettes) and this was the song that made me realize there was more than just rap and pop music out there. Whoever gave it a thumbs down is a troll.
jeff Craven
Wore out the LP down this was on to a constant hiss by the time I graduated highschool in 1976. The album is a master piece. "Oh No Not Susan" is my favorite cut on the album. Your dad has good taste in music.
OlafttheGreat1998
I need more Jeff Lynne in my life.
E S
Grr Rap bad