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.
Ma Ma Ma Belle
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I got three or four babies sittin' on my knee
I got good love waitin' for you
I come sneakin' round the corner of the avenue
You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
You know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, because it'll get you
And that's getting hold of you before I serve my time, I gotta
Keep on, with my heavy load
Till I see you come a-strollin' down that open road
You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, before I'll get you
Don't you know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you
And you're feeling sorrow, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you
And now it's all about Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you
I love you Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
That's why I want to get it all well I'm sure you can tell I got
Good soul, runnin' so deep
Gonna get you in the corner so that I can keep
Can't you hear me once Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, oh I will get you, yeah
You know I want her Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, oh I will get you
And you gotta find Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, oh I will get you
Yeah and it's all about Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you, yeah
You know Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
I'm gonna see you down, down
Gonna see about Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, gonna see you around
The Electric Light Orchestra's song "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is a rock anthem about a man's pursuit of a woman. The lyrics describe a man who has "good love waitin'" for the woman he desires. He is so focused on winning her over that it is the one thing on his mind. The chorus repeats the phrase "you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" several times, indicating that he believes the woman he desires is the titular Ma-Ma-Ma Belle. The lyrics also suggest that the man is confident in his ability to win her over, saying "I love you Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, that’s why I want to get it all well," and "I got good soul, runnin’ so deep."
The lyrics of "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" are upbeat and energetic, urging the listener to get up and dance. However, the message of the song is somewhat questionable, as it suggests that the woman in question is a prize to be won. It can be interpreted as objectifying women and reinforcing gender stereotypes. Despite this, the song's infectious rhythm and catchy chorus have made it a favorite among fans of classic rock.
Line by Line Meaning
Got love, if that's what you need
I have love to give, if that's what you're looking for
I got three or four babies sittin' on my knee
I have several children to take care of
I got good love waitin' for you
I have a lot of love for you and I'm ready to give it to you
I come sneakin' round the corner of the avenue
I'm trying to meet you but I don't want anyone to see us
You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
If you don't have a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will pursue you
You know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, because it'll get you
You need a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle because she will make you happy
There's one thing that's on my mind
I'm only thinking about one thing
And that's getting hold of you before I serve my time, I gotta
I need to see you before I go to prison
Keep on, with my heavy load
I need to keep moving forward despite my difficulties
Till I see you come a-strollin' down that open road
I'll keep going until I see you walking towards me
Don't you know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you
You need a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and I will make sure you have her
And you're feeling sorrow, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you
If you're feeling sad, I'll make sure you have Ma-Ma-Ma Belle to cheer you up
And now it's all about Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you
My focus is on getting you a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
I love you Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
I'm in love with Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
That's why I want to get it all well I'm sure you can tell I got
I want to be with Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and I'm pretty obvious about it
Good soul, runnin' so deep
I have a kind heart that goes beyond the surface
Gonna get you in the corner so that I can keep
I want to get you in a private place where we can be together
Can't you hear me once Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, oh I will get you, yeah
Listen to me, I will make sure you have a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
You know I want her Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, oh I will get you
I want you to have a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and I will make it happen
And you gotta find Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, oh I will get you
You need to find a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and I will help you
Yeah and it's all about Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you, yeah
My goal is to make sure you have a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
You know Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
I'm talking about a woman named Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
I'm gonna see you down, down
I'm going to find you eventually
Gonna see about Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, gonna see you around
I'm going to make sure you have a woman like Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, and I'll keep running into you until it happens
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeff Lynne
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donald's trump
Got love, that's what you need
I got three or four babies sittin' on my knee
I got good love, waitin' for you
I come up sneakin' 'round the corner of the avenue.
You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
You know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you.
There's one thing that's on my mind
And that's getting hold of you before I serve my time
I'll got keep on, with my heavy load
Till I see you come a-strollin' down that open road.
You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, before I'll get you
Now that you know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
Now it feelin' so, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
You know, before you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you.
I love you, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
That's why I want to get it all, well, I'm sure you can tell
I got good soul runnin' so deep
Gonna get you in the corner so that I can keep.
Can't you hear me once, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle?
Or I will get you, yeah
You know, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you, yeah
And you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you, yeah
Now you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you, yeah.
You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Or I will get you, yeah
Gonna see you, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Or I will see you 'round, 'round, get 'round down
Gonna see you Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
You wanna sit down, get down, get down
Gonna see you, Ma-Ma...
John Pinto
That nasty, gritty, rude guitar riff by Marc Bolan - damn! My fav ELO song. So raw sounding and Jeff singing his ass off "Gotta get ahold of you before I serve my time..."
Goosebumps every time.
John Pinto
@terrypussypower
Sorry you missed my point when I said I don't care if Mary Poppins herself played lead guitar, rhythm guitar or the freakin' kazoo on this song - it's still great. That was my point. Not ridiculously arguing semantics about who did what.
terrypussypower
@John Pinto Marc plays lead guitar on this tune. But if you can tell me where this lead guitar occurs in THIS mix then you’ve got a point. On the LP mix you can hear him play towards the end of the track and that’s the only place you can hear him. There’s slide guitar overdubs in both mixes but that’s Jeff Lynne.
The main intro riff that occurs throughout the song is played by Jeff Lynne.
John Pinto
@terrypussypower
Marc Bolan is definitely playing guitar on this mix.
Jeff Lynne did re-record this song later and plays all the parts himself on that particular version.
Frankly, I wouldn't give a rat's ass if Mary Poppins was playing the guitar parts, it's still a killer track.
terrypussypower
Sorry to burst your bubble guys, but the nasty, gritty, rude guitar riff was played by Jeff Lynne, not Marc Bolan. Mark played lead guitar on the album version of the track, along with Jeff, not the main riff, which was played (and written…obviously!) by Lynne. As far as I know, Bolan isn’t on this mix at all.
Dimitri Tyler
Who else could supply such gritty dirty GLAM Guitar - Thank you Marc! Ah! I miss those days.
J Mac
One of the best guitar intros ever....
Ryan Benedetti
Jeff Lynne definitely knew what he was doing
Ryan Benedetti
rip off of jerkin crocus by mott the hoople
mikaella ross
Kim Michell was definitely inspired by this knowingly or not