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.
Can't Get It Out of My Head
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw the ocean's daughter
Walking on a wave's chicane
Staring as she called my name
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
Breakdown on the shoreline
Can't move, it's an ebbtide
Morning, don't get here tonight
Searching for her silver light
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head, no how?
Bank job in the city
Robin Hood and William Tell
And Ivanhoe and Lancelot
They don't envy me
Sitting 'til the sun goes down
In dreams the world keeps going 'round and 'round
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head, no how, no now
The lyrics of Electric Light Orchestra's "Can't Get It Out of My Head" are shrouded in mystery, leaving the listener to interpret it as they will. Some believe that the song is a tale of lost love, while others see it as a depiction of drug addiction or mental illness. Regardless of its interpretation, the song’s beautiful melody and heartfelt lyrics leave an indelible impression on the listener.
"Midnight, on the water" refers to the central figure's state of mind, with the moon casting a hypnotic spell on him. The "ocean's daughter" is the light that represents all that is beautiful and pure in the world, and she beckons to him, drawing him in like a moth to a flame. The line, "Staring as she called my name," showcases how the singer is caught in an endless cycle of longing and desire, unable to resist the siren song of his obsession.
The second verse begins with "Breakdown on the shoreline", an allusion to the singer's present circumstances. He is stranded, unable to move from the ebbtide, as he waits for the morning to come. "Searching for her silver light," he is trapped in the past, constantly trying to recapture a fleeting moment of happiness. The third verse shifts the narrative dramatically, as the singer becomes embroiled in a “bank job in the city”, a Robin Hood-esque heist complete with Lancelot and Ivanhoe. However, the mundanity of reality is underscored by the line, "Sitting 'til the sun goes down,” highlighting how the singer's yearning persists even in the midst of an exciting criminal operation.
Line by Line Meaning
Midnight, on the water
At midnight, I was near the water
I saw the ocean's daughter
I saw a woman on the waves
Walking on a wave's chicane
She was walking effortlessly on the waves' twists and turns
Staring as she called my name
She gazed at me while calling my name
And I can't get it out of my head
I can't stop thinking about her
No, I can't get it out of my head
It's stuck in my mind, I can't shake it off
Now my whole world is gone for dead
Everything else pales in comparison to my thoughts of her
'Cause I can't get it out of my head
I'm helpless, I can't forget her
Breakdown on the shoreline
I feel defeated near the beach
Can't move, it's an ebbtide
I'm stuck as the tide recedes
Morning, don't get here tonight
Time moves slowly and morning seems far away
Searching for her silver light
I'm seeking her glow
Bank job in the city
There's a heist in the city
Robin Hood and William Tell
Famous fictional thieves and heroes
And Ivanhoe and Lancelot
More famous heroes
They don't envy me
They don't want to be in my place
Sitting 'til the sun goes down
I'm sitting and waiting until sunset
In dreams the world keeps going 'round and 'round
In my dreams, the world is constantly turning and repeating
No how
In no way
No now
Not even now
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Jeff Lynne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Desdinova69
Midnight, on the water
I saw the ocean's daughter
Walking on a wave's chicane
Staring as she called my name
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head
Breakdown on the shoreline
Can't move, it's an ebbtide
Morning, don't get here tonight
Searching for her silver light
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head, no no
Bank job in the City
Robin Hood and William Tell
And Ivanhoe and Lancelot
They don't envy me ...yeah
Sitting 'til the sun goes down
In dreams the world keeps going 'round and 'round
And I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head, no no
Oh I can't get it out of my head
No, I can't get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
'Cause I can't get it out of my head, no no no no !
Brooke Hanley
This is one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.
M.E.D.
And Roxy Musics “More than This””
Matt Gauthier
I personally think the velvet revolver version is better
Kevin McDonald
A very good song but I can't say most beautiful ever. Plus the lyrics, while lyrical, are nonsensical. I still like it though. Everything good doesn't have to make sense.
Planet Jason
@Kevin McDonald beauty don’t have one standard, it could be a number of things that make this beautiful and I think it’s how the instruments come together
Classic Rock Fan
As a musician, i totally agree with you! ELO the best ever musically!!!
Rusty Bearden
Jeff Lynne famously said "I picked up where the Beatles left off and ran away with it"........kudos to ELO - I never get tired of listening to it!😃
Rodrigo Gojar
i was a young man ,then, in the navy stationed in jax,fla ,bring back memories of my smoking doobies ,those were great times !!!!!
Zelda Williams
Ikr!!😍😍😍
ocean babin
But so much better than the Beatles.