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.
Don
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't want to do anything
Don't want to kick, don't want to scream
Don't want to sleep, don't want to dream
Just want to sit, just want to stare
Do what you want I don't care
Wait for the phone, wait for the ring
Don't want to do anything
Chorus
Don't want to work, don't want to play
Just sit around everyday
Don't want to dance, don't want to sing
Don't want to do anything
Don't want to laugh, don't want to cry
Just want to sit and wonder why
It's just too much without your touch
Don't want to do anything
Chorus
The Electric Light Orchestra's song "Don't Want to Do Anything" seemingly embodies apathy and feelings of discontentment with life. The opening lines of the song establish a sense of listlessness, where the singer is disinterested in doing anything. The lyrics continue to express the same sentiment, with the singer not wanting to talk, walk, kick or even dream. He just wants to sit and stare. This feeling is amplified by the chorus, where it is revealed that the singer doesn't want to work, play, dance, or even laugh or cry. The only thing he desires is the touch of another person, which has been taken away from him.
The song seems to be about someone who is dealing with a significant personal loss or heartbreak. The lyrics suggest that the singer has lost the will to live and is merely existing. The lines "it's just too much without your touch" and "just want to sit and wonder why" implies that the singer is alone and struggling to come to terms with his situation. The song's overall tone is melancholic, and the lyrics are delivered in a slow and sombre manner, heightening the sense of despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't want to talk, don't want to walk
I have no desire to engage in conversation or physical movement.
Don't want to do anything
I lack motivation or any reason to take action.
Don't want to kick, don't want to scream
I have no desire to express myself emotionally or physically.
Don't want to sleep, don't want to dream
I don't even want to engage in restful sleep or the imaginative world of dreams.
Just want to sit, just want to stare
All I want to do is physically occupy space and absentmindedly look elsewhere.
Do what you want I don't care
I am indifferent to whatever actions those around me may take.
Wait for the phone, wait for the ring
I passively anticipate contact from others without pursuing it myself.
Chorus
The repetition of the chorus reinforces the artist's lack of interest in any kind of engagement with the world.
Don't want to work, don't want to play
I have no energy or enthusiasm for either professional or recreational activities.
Just sit around everyday
My daily routine is defined by aimless lounging.
Don't want to dance, don't want to sing
I have no interest in physical or vocal expression.
Don't want to laugh, don't want to cry
I am numb to both positive and negative emotional reactions.
Just want to sit and wonder why
My only activity is to question the point of existence.
It's just too much without your touch
The singer's sense of emptiness is attributed to a lack of romantic intimacy.
Don't want to do anything
Repetition of the earlier line underscores the singer's extreme level of disinterest in life.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@The_Eldest_Millenial
Fun facts:
*A common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Lynne shouts "Bruce!". In the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback and elsewhere, Lynne has explained that he is singing a made-up word, "Grooss," which some have suggested sounds like the German expression "Gruß." After the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows.
*"Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's second-highest-charting hit in the UK where it peaked at number 3] and their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also charted well in Canada (number 1) and Australia (number 6). This was the first song by ELO not to include a string section.
*The drum track is in fact a tape loop, coming from "On the Run" looped and slowed down.
*The song ends with the sound of a door slamming. According to producer Jeff Lynne, this was a metal fire door at Musicland Studios where the song was recorded.
*The song was dedicated to the NASA Skylab space station, which re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned up over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia on 11 July 1979.
*On 4 November 2007, Lynne was awarded a BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc) Million-Air certificate for "Don't Bring Me Down" for the song having reached two million airplays.
#DontBringMeDown
@bonjoviwankenobi8533
That opening was
EXTRA T H I C C
@Mastermo-fi6bv
JoviBonJon THUNDER THIGHS
@zenix9313
Thiccccccc
@setMaddy
I love t h i c c but it might be a little too thick...
@damanyocum149
Ultra PAWG 😁🤩
@ericwasinger8386
Agreed.
@r.a.4795
My boyfriend in 1980 had a Chevy Chevelle SS and we went to church camp in that car in 1980. He jammed this song and Boston, More than a Feeling as we traveled over Transmountain Road in El Paso headed to New Mexico for church camp. I will never forget it. Fast forward to 2012, we reconnected on Facebook and married. He died in 2019 after a double lung transplant gave him 4 extra years of life. He served 22 years in the US Navy. I loved this man from the age of 14 and ELO will aways be about me and Jeffrey Allen Hoagland.
@youresoakinginit2113
So sorry for your loss.
Yes Music has a visceral effect on our feelings. Kind of like scents/aromas... an orange blossom or a loaf of garlic bread. We save those experiences throughout our lives and they surface on their own when looking back gives us a good feeling. I hope you remember the good times fondly, and I wish you peace.♡
@r.a.4795
Thank you for your kind words! It is so bittersweet.
@lindafranco7489
❤️🙏