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.
Train of Gold
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when she moved she moved to a beat, like a Cadillac
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
She was a woman of suspicious ways, never saw daylight
And in her room she sat and passed the days
And she'd creep out at night
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
Now I wait for her in the night
Looked through a window saw a velvet sky, a shade of green
A violin was playing soft and sweet, like it was a dream
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
Train of gold, train of gold
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
Now I wait for her in the night
Train of gold, train of gold
I don't believe her, it just couldn't be her
I can't get it out of my mind
The song “Train of Gold” by Electric Light Orchestra is a mysterious and haunting tribute to a woman who rides a train of gold. In the first verse, the singer sees her from across the street, dressed in black and moving to the beat like a Cadillac. She is a woman of suspicious ways who never sees daylight, spending her days locked away in her room and only coming out at night to ride her train of gold. The singer seems to be enamored with her, waiting for her in the night despite admitting that he doesn't believe her.
The second verse adds to the mystery of the woman, as the singer looks through a window and sees a velvet sky and a shade of green. A violin is playing softly in the background, creating a dream-like quality to the scene. Once again, the woman is described as riding a train of gold, reinforcing the idea that she is somehow otherworldly.
The lyrics of “Train of Gold” offer little explanation or story, leaving much up to interpretation. The song is shrouded in a sense of mystery and intrigue, mirrored by the haunting melody and use of string instruments.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw her there from across the street, she was dressed in black
From my position across the street, I noticed this lady dressed in black attire
And when she moved she moved to a beat, like a Cadillac
She had a graceful way of moving her body, just like Cadillacs gliding smoothly on the road
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
Metaphorically, the lady was in possession of something valuable, like a train loaded with gold and moving towards a destination
She was a woman of suspicious ways, never saw daylight
The lady was perceived to have questionable character and rarely ventured out in broad daylight
And in her room she sat and passed the days
She spent most of her days in her room
And she'd creep out at night
The lady would come out at night in a sneaky manner
Looked through a window saw a velvet sky, a shade of green
Observing through a window, I saw a beautiful sky colored in green velvet
A violin was playing soft and sweet, like it was a dream
A stringed musical instrument was playing softly, emitting sweet sounds that felt like a dream
Train of gold, train of gold
Repeating the image of the train loaded with gold from earlier in the song
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
An admission of making an erroneous conclusion, after spending a considerable amount of time trying to figure somethings out
Now I wait for her in the night
I'm now waiting for the lady, probably at night
I don't believe her, it just couldn't be her
There's a feeling of doubt in the artist's mind, possibly that something doesn't add up
I can't get it out of my mind
The thoughts and doubts about the lady won't leave the singer's mind
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ciudad
I saw her there from across the street, she was dressed in black
And when she moved she moved to a beat, like a Cadillac
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
She was a woman of suspicious ways, never saw daylight
And in her room she sat and passed the days
And she'd creep out at night
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
[Chorus:]
Train of gold, train of gold
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
Now I wait for her in the night
Looked through a window saw a velvet sky, a shade of green
A violin was playing soft and sweet, like it was a dream
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
Train of gold, train of gold
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
Now I wait for her in the night
Train of gold, train of gold
I don't believe her, it just couldn't be her
I can't get it out of my mind
Ciudad
I saw her there from across the street, she was dressed in black
And when she moved she moved to a beat, like a Cadillac
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
She was a woman of suspicious ways, never saw daylight
And in her room she sat and passed the days
And she'd creep out at night
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
[Chorus:]
Train of gold, train of gold
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
Now I wait for her in the night
Looked through a window saw a velvet sky, a shade of green
A violin was playing soft and sweet, like it was a dream
She rode a train, train train train, a train of gold
Train of gold, train of gold
It took me so long to find out I was wrong
Now I wait for her in the night
Train of gold, train of gold
I don't believe her, it just couldn't be her
I can't get it out of my mind
евгений кузьминов
У шамамана три
NerdGirl
Not heard this song before. I only know their earlier albums. This is awesome! The guitar sounds a bit Gilmour. Now checking out all their albums.
The Greenwood
Pink Floyd and Glamour are overrated, and the guitar doesn't sound like him at all, the music industry doesn't turn around all over that band.
Pasquale Muzzupappa
@Jonni IInferno It reminds me of another earlier J Lynne's song: From the end of the World
Jonni IInferno
same here
Klaus Keim
What a great rhythm and a marvelous composition from Jeff Lynne
Gianni Cavallo
fantastic album
Kenneth Barrett
Only true ELO fans know about Secet Messages.I feel it is their best album of all.It is a masterpiece!
Antonio C J Méndez
Una joya 💎