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.
Kuiama
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She smiled but the tears on her little face
Showed the pain that had been in that far off place,
So sad, treated so bad.
My my Kuiama, don´t break your heart tryin,
To say how your Ma and your Pa passed away,
And they left you to wander the ruin and decay,
See here Kuiama, now ten thousand miles,
Is a long way and you´re here today,
And you won´t go back so you might say hello,
How do you do.
Kuia stop your cryin, there´s no bombs a´fallin,
No horsemen in the night a´ridin through your dreams,
Ansd tearing at your life, baby goodnight.
No more silver rain will hit your ground,
And no more guns will sound and no more life be drowned.
No more trenchies where the soldiers lie and,
No more people die, beneath that big black sky.
Wake up Kuiama, I got somethin to tell you,
It´s just that I mean, well that is to say,
That I´m trying to explain but I´ll start again for you,
I must be true.
Kuia in this country, they got rules with no reason,
They teach you to kill and they send you away
With your gun in your hand you pick up your pay,
So cool, that no mercy tool.
Kuia please believe me, I just couln´t help myself,
I wanted to run but they gave me a gun
And they told me the duty I owed to my fatherland,
I made my stand.
Kuia I just shot them, I just blew their heads open,
And I heard them scream in their agony,
Kuiama she waits there for me,
True blue, you saw it through.
"Kuiama" by Electric Light Orchestra is a song with lyrics that tell a story of a young girl named Kuiama who suffered a tragic loss in her far-off homeland. She comes to a new country but still carries the burden of her painful past experiences. The lyrics convey Kuiama's sadness and pain, evident in the tears on her small face. Despite trying to conceal her emotions and remain strong, it is clear that she had been treated badly in her past.
The song is a message of hope for Kuiama, assuring her that she need not fear violence or suffer loss anymore in a new land far away from her war-torn homeland. The lyrics contrast the previous life she endured and the current place where she finds herself. The song's message is urging her to believe that the violent past has ended for her and she can now live her life without fear.
Overall, the song is an emotional tribute that captures the plight of refugees and immigrants who leave their homes, families, and loved ones behind to seek safety and a better future in a new land. It is a reminder that despite the many challenges and difficulties they may face, hope and a brighter future is possible.
Line by Line Meaning
My my Kuiama, she came in the morning,
Kuiama arrived early in the morning
She smiled but the tears on her little face
Kuiama was smiling despite the tears on her face
Showed the pain that had been in that far off place,
The tears revealed the pain Kuiama had experienced in the past
So sad, treated so bad.
Kuiama had been treated unfairly and was feeling sorrowful
My my Kuiama, don´t break your heart tryin,
Don't exhaust yourself by trying too hard Kuiama
To say how your Ma and your Pa passed away,
Trying to explain how her parents died is causing Kuiama distress
And they left you to wander the ruin and decay,
Kuiama feels lost and alone since her parents passed away
Real mean, that bullet machine.
The act of killing is an unkind and brutal process
See here Kuiama, now ten thousand miles,
Despite the distance, Kuiama is here right now
Is a long way and you´re here today,
It's a long journey, but Kuiama has made it this far
And you won´t go back so you might say hello,
Since Kuiama won't return, it's best to say hello now
How do you do.
Greetings
Kuia stop your cryin, there´s no bombs a´fallin,
Don't cry, Kuiama, because there are no bombs dropping
No horsemen in the night a´ridin through your dreams,
There are no nightmares or dark thoughts haunting Kuiama
And tearing at your life, baby goodnight.
Rest easy, Kuiama, and let the troubles of the day fade away
No more silver rain will hit your ground,
The rain will no longer bring sorrow to Kuiama
And no more guns will sound and no more life be drowned.
The violence and loss of life will come to an end
No more trenchies where the soldiers lie and,
There will be no more war and soldiers' graves
No more people die, beneath that big black sky.
The cycle of death will come to an end
Wake up Kuiama, I got somethin to tell you,
Waking up Kuiama because there is something important to be said
It´s just that I mean, well that is to say,
The artist is unsure how to articulate what they mean
That I´m trying to explain but I´ll start again for you,
The artist is attempting to clarify their thoughts for Kuiama
I must be true.
The singer wants to be honest with Kuiama
Kuia in this country, they got rules with no reason,
In this country, there are nonsensical rules that people must follow
They teach you to kill and they send you away
People are taught to be violent and then sent off to fight
With your gun in your hand you pick up your pay,
People are paid to do violence
So cool, that no mercy tool.
Guns are cold and merciless instruments of violence
Kuia please believe me, I just couln´t help myself,
The artist wants Kuiama to believe that they were forced to do awful things
I wanted to run but they gave me a gun
The artist would have rather avoided violence, but was given a weapon
And they told me the duty I owed to my fatherland,
The singer was told that they had a duty to their country
I made my stand.
The singer decided to do what they thought was right, even if it meant violence
Kuia I just shot them, I just blew their heads open,
The artist is admitting to killing others in a violent manner
And I heard them scream in their agony,
The sound of others' pain haunts the artist
Kuiama she waits there for me,
Despite everything that has happened, Kuiama still waits for the artist
True blue, you saw it through.
Kuiama never gave up on the singer, and remained loyal throughout their difficult journey
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Robert Cochran
on State of Mind
An overlooked album which more people should listen to
Rodney
on Rockaria!
Weit in die Ferne , man hört, man hört die Musik
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A nice ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Starlight
A lovely ELO song.
Philip Kassabian
on Wild West Hero
An absolutely beautiful song.
Philip Kassabian
on Last Train to London
Never heard this ELO song before.
Philip Kassabian
on All Over the World
An ELO song that surprisingly few people know about. To me this rivals Mr. Blue Sky.
Philip Kassabian
on Ticket to the Moon
A song about a person being utterly confused in a difficult situation. He can't even fathom the journey he's about to take to the moon. It's surreal to him.
Philip Kassabian
on Strange Magic
A very mysterious and awe inspiring song. Definitely one of ELO's better songs.
Philip Kassabian
on Livin' Thing
It's a great song and to me it symbolizes the meaning of loss and how absolutely devastating it can be for a person.