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.
Dreaming Of 4000
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the lord of life came following, his sins to be forgiven
While the world sat back and laughed away the hours
Till the dawning of the daybreak
I heard them laugh I heard them cry
I saw them praying to the sky
I heard the wind howl in the trees
And I see the light
But I know I must be dreaming
Feel the soul, quiet emotion
Sail on by, helpless devotion
If that's how it feels, it better be real
Take care of your woman
Or you'll never ever see the light
Take heed of the warnin'
Or you know it's gonna be too late
Here, there, everywhere
They keep on movin' without fear
They look me up, they look me down
They press my body to the ground
But I see the light, see the light it's comin' shinin'
And on a summers day
When thoughts are drifting far away
And life is good and real to see
My world is saved and I am free
But in the night
Still I know I must be dreaming
The lyrics to Electric Light Orchestra's song Dreaming Of 4000 paint a vivid picture of a heavenly savior making his way down a silent river, followed by the lord of life seeking forgiveness for his sins. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is constantly laughing away their hours, unmindful of the grace and mercy being offered to them. The lyrics also talk about the emotions and experiences of the singer who has seen people pray, cry, and howl in the face of adversity, while he tries to stay grounded in the belief that light will eventually shine on him.
The song conveys a message about the importance of taking care of the people in one's life and not taking the gift of life for granted. It warns the listener that they should heed the warnings and be mindful of their actions, or they might end up losing out on the light that shines upon those who do right. In the end, the song seems to convey a sense of hope and redemption, highlighting the idea that peace and freedom can be achieved through faith and perseverance.
Line by Line Meaning
Saviour of the night came slowly on the silent river
The night's savior arrived silently on a river at a slow pace.
And the lord of life came following, his sins to be forgiven
Following the savior, the lord of life arrived, seeking forgiveness for his sins.
While the world sat back and laughed away the hours
While the rest of the world did nothing, they laughed and let time go by.
Till the dawning of the daybreak
Until the sun rose in the sky, bringing a new day.
I heard them laugh I heard them cry
I heard the world's people both laugh and cry.
I saw them praying to the sky
I witnessed them praying to the heavens.
I heard the wind howl in the trees
I heard the sound of the wind howling through the trees.
Down there on bended knee
They were on their knees in prayer.
And I see the light
I see a glimmer of hope.
But I know I must be dreaming
Despite my optimism, I realize that my hope is probably unrealistic.
Feel the soul, quiet emotion
Experience the self's spirit and calm emotions.
Sail on by, helpless devotion
Continue to move forward with complete devotion, despite feeling powerless.
If that's how it feels, it better be real
If it feels genuine, then it must be real.
Take care of your woman
Take care of the important women in your life.
Or you'll never ever see the light
Or else you'll never find any hope or happiness.
Take heed of the warning
Pay attention to the warning signs.
Or you know it's gonna be too late
Otherwise, you'll regret it when it's too late to change the situation.
Here, there, everywhere
Everywhere you look, every place you can imagine.
They keep on movin' without fear
They continue to move forward, without worrying about any possible consequences.
They look me up, they look me down
They scrutinize me completely.
They press my body to the ground
They force me to the ground and suppress me.
But I see the light, see the light it's comin' shinin'
But despite their oppressive ways, I see that hope is on the horizon.
And on a summers day
On a warm and sunny day.
When thoughts are drifting far away
When the mind is wandering without focus.
And life is good and real to see
When life is both enjoyable and truthful.
My world is saved and I am free
In that moment, my world is liberated and so am I.
But in the night
However, at nighttime.
Still I know I must be dreaming
I understand that my optimistic thoughts are unrealistic, even at night.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rey Palomarez
ELO... Jeff Lynne is a musical genius. I seen them 3 times, and by the best concert I've ever seen
Douglas Kirkland
Only a musical genius can do this fantastic stuff!
Douglas
First heard this masterpiece when it was the B-side to "Don't bring me Down" I was 12 then I'm now 56 and it still sounds great!
Jason Bohl
No one makes music like this anymore. Well other than ELO!
Alex Nelson
Jason Bohl
Of course your so right!!
Race Andros
Feel the soul quiet emotion
Douglas Kirkland
Only a musical genius can do this fantastic stuff!
VJTheHandsome
Jeff Lynne doesn't write music like this, either. I feel like this style is lost to time.
Jason Bohl
@VJTheHandsome No. Hi most recent music isn't as good as old school ELO, but it's still good.
Michael Koszowski
I enjoy opening a bottle of fine scotch and listening to this masterpiece .