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.
Mama
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She left her blue horizon just to find another home
A lonely girl who'd traveled many days
A lonely heart that could not find the way
And she said, "Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone"
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
That life must go on though the end is near
Momma, it's a sad and lonely life
A misty morning rider, she came wanderin' through the hills
A wanderin' soul appearin' over rainy window sills
A loser in her heart but in her face
A smile for everyone under God's grace
And she said, "Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone"
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
You used to make it all so very clear
That life must go on though the end is near
Momma, it's a sad and lonely life
And she said, "Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone"
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
You used to make it all so very clear
Midnight maiden madness, what to search for in this place'
Gateway to the city, night sky shadows on her face
A lady lost in nowhere but her stare
Leaves the world, her life to start somewhere
And she said, "Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone"
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
You used to make it all so very clear
That life must go on though the end is near
Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
You used to make it all so very clear
That life must go on though the end is near
The song Mama by Electric Light Orchestra is a tribute to a woman who has left behind a life with deep emotional connections to pursue a new one. The song is an ode to the loneliness that ensues when a person is faced with the prospect of starting over. The opening verse sets the scene for the song's central protagonist, a woman who has left her "blue horizon," her home, behind to find another one. She is a "lonely girl who'd traveled many days" to find herself in a new place.
The chorus, "Momma, it's a hard life now that you're gone," is a bittersweet acknowledgment of a mother who had made everything seem simple and clear, but who is no longer there to guide her daughter. The daughter feels like a "fool who lost it all," as she grapples with the difficulty of starting over when all she wants is the comfort of home.
The lyrics of the song also detail the woman's journey as she tries to find a new life. The final verse talks about her leaving the world and starting anew. The woman has found herself in a place of "midnight maiden madness," searching for a gateway to the city. Whatever she was looking for, she finds it in leaving her old world behind and starting anew.
Line by Line Meaning
She came up from the country with a smile for everyone
She arrived from the countryside, happy and friendly to all
She left her blue horizon just to find another home
She left her old familiar place to find a new one
A lonely girl who'd traveled many days
She was a girl who had traveled far and long
A lonely heart that could not find the way
She had a heart that was lost and alone
And she said, "Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone"
She expressed her pain of losing her mother, saying life is difficult without her
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
She found it hard to continue without her mother
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
She felt like she lost everything and was foolish for it
You used to make it all so very clear
Her mother was a source of guidance and clarity
That life must go on though the end is near
Her mother taught her that despite life's hardships, it must continue until the end
Momma, it's a sad and lonely life
She mourned the sadness and loneliness of life without her mother
A misty morning rider, she came wanderin' through the hills
She rode through the hills in the early morning with a mist around her
A wanderin' soul appearin' over rainy window sills
She had a soul that seemed lost and would appear at rainy windows
A loser in her heart but in her face
She felt like a failure inside, but still wore a smile on her face
A smile for everyone under God's grace
She smiled at all with the help of God's grace
Midnight maiden madness, what to search for in this place'
In the middle of the night, she was lost and confused about what to look for in the world
Gateway to the city, night sky shadows on her face
As she entered the city, the shadows of the night were cast on her face
A lady lost in nowhere but her stare
She was a woman who was lost, but her gaze remained focused
Leaves the world, her life to start somewhere
She chose to leave the world she knew behind to start anew
Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone
She repeated her feeling of difficulty in life without her mother
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
She reiterated that she struggled to move on without her mother
And I feel I'm a fool who lost it all
Once again, she expressed her feeling of foolishness and loss
You used to make it all so very clear
She remembered how her mother provided clarity and guidance
That life must go on though the end is near
Once again, she remembered her mother's lesson that despite the end being near, life must continue
Momma, it's a hard life now you're gone
She repeated once more the difficulty in life without her mother
Momma, it's so hard to carry on
And ended the song repeating the struggle of carrying on without her mother
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.