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.
When Time Stood Still
Electric Light Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our time rolls on eternally
Got a thing about it
Just can't live without it
Sitting there inside your mind
Just waiting for the clock to chime
In a lonely land
No pictures on an empty wall
Nobody there, no one at all
Just echoes in the ivory halls
When time stood still
Days lined up outside the door
For time had stopped, there was no more
In a lonely world
Such a lonely world
No pictures on an empty wall
No Toulouse, Vincent, or Pablo
Just echoes in the ivory halls
When time stood still
No big machine or April showers
No submarines, no plastic flowers
Just echoes in the ivory towers
When time stood still
When time stood still
When time stood still
When time stood still
The song "When Time Stood Still" by the Electric Light Orchestra is a song that speaks about the passage of time and how it is relentless. The lyrics "Far beyond the things you see, time rolls on eternally" express the idea that time never stops moving forward, no matter what happens or how much one wishes it would stop. Despite this, the singer of the song has a "thing" about time and cannot live without it, which implies that the passage of time is both a challenge and a necessity for them.
The second verse describes a lonely person waiting for time to pass by. This person is isolated, with no pictures on their wall, no company, and echoes in their halls. The line "Been a lonely world, such a lonely world" expresses the isolation and loneliness that the singer feels, despite the fact that time is always passing. The third verse has a similar feel to the second, with the lyrics suggesting that without time, there is no movement, growth or change- just echoes in ivory halls.
Overall, the song seems to be a contemplation of time and its significance. The lyrics suggest that time is both a good and a bad thing, as it moves inexorably forward, but is also necessary for change and growth. It is a song that encourages reflection on the passage of time and the way that it shapes our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Far beyond the things you see
There is an entire world beyond what you perceive with your senses
Time rolls on eternally
Time is a constantly moving force that doesn't stop
Got a thing about it
I have a strong attachment to time
Just can't live without it
Without the passage of time, life would cease to exist
Sitting there inside your mind
There is a constant presence of time in your thoughts and consciousness
Just waiting for the clock to chime
Waiting for another moment to pass by, as marked by the chime of a clock
On a lonely line
Along a desolate path or journey
Stood a lonely man
A person standing alone in this vast passage of time
No pictures on an empty wall
There is nothing to distract from the isolation and emptiness
No body there no one at all
The emptiness and loneliness extend to the absence of people
Just echoes in the ivory halls
The sounds of emptiness reverberate in this stillness
When time stood still
The moment when time seemed to come to a halt, leaving only the feeling of emptiness and isolation
Days line up outside the door
The constant passage of days continues despite the feeling of stillness and isolation
Thought time had stopped there was no more
At a point in time, it seemed as though time had permanently ended
Been a lonely world
The world feels isolating and lonely
Such a lonely world
It seems like the world is irreparably empty and desolate
No toulouse, vincent, or pablo
There is no comfort found in art or artistic expression; no beauty to be found amidst the emptiness
No big machine or april showers
There are no grand events, natural or otherwise, to fill the emptiness and remind us of the passage of time
No submarines no plastic flowers
Nothing we create or imagine has the power to combat the feeling of isolation and emptiness
Just echoes in the ivory towers
The lofty and powerful places of the world are not exempt from the effects of time and its stillness
When time stood still
Once more, the reminder of when everything was frozen and lifeless
When time stood still
The repeated emphasis of the stillness of time and the emptiness that accompanies it
When time stood still
A final reminder that this moment, this freezing of time and emptiness, is a significant and unforgettable event.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFF LYNNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donald's trump
Far beyond the things you see
Our time rolls on eternally
Got a thing about it
Just can't live without it
Sitting there inside your mind
Just waiting for the clock to chime
In a lonely line
Stood a lonely man
No pictures on an empty wall
Nobody there, no one at all
Just echoes in the ivory halls
When time stood still
Days lined up outside the door
For time had stopped; there was no more
In a lonely world
Such a lonely world
No pictures on an empty wall
No Toulouse, Vincent or Pablo
Just echoes in the ivory halls
When time stood still
No big machine or April showers
No submarines, no plastic flowers
Just echoes in the ivory towers
When time stood still
When time stood still
When time stood still
When time stood still
win andromeda
Sequencia real do album "Time" de 1981 (set list original):
Prologue
Twilight
Yours Truly, 2095
Ticket to the Moon
The Way Life´s Meant to Be
Julie Don´t Live Here
Another Heart Breaks
When Time Stood Still
Rain is Falling
From the End of the World
The Lights Go Down
Here is the News
21st Century Man
The Bouncer
Hold on Tight
Epilogue
Mick Nordström
One of the most beautiful songs written! It is a mystery that it was not included on the Time album!!!
Peter Vare
Hi it was,then they took it off.hope this helps..o yess a Classic..x
Mark Stevenson
One of my very favourite songs
Michael44
@Sleven I definitely definitely agree Steven. This was b side to "Hold On Tight". Should've been other way around :) I don't really like Hold On Tight,Rock And Roll Is King,Rockaria. They are not MY version of what ELO is all about. :)
Aj The Snipe
@DreamsGatheringDust there was a video uploaded once with all the tracks together and they fit when time stood still after ticket to the moon... it seemed to sound ok in that position... but that video disappeared years ago. I would love to ask Jeff this question though.
DreamsGatheringDust
@Aj The Snipe I’ve been pondering that. It should be end of side one but Another Heart Breaks is so powerful there. Maybe early on side two to break up the bolder tracks, maybe between End of the World and Here is the News?
Double E
The most brilliant concept album of all Time (pun included). An incredible song from a remarkable musician.
Brad Rieman
Yes, this (ELO - Time) and Alice Cooper Goes To Hell, the two Best concept albums, Ever.
Bernardo Flores
la voz de jeff te lleva a la melancolia, a encontrarse consigo mismo. me enamore de la e.l.o ,cuando tenia 15 años ahora a mis 56 sigo sintiendo esa piel de gallina ,cuando escucho a jeff. yo tambien te amo jeff,y quizas no dimensiones lo hermoso que plantastes en los millones de corazones de tus millones de fans...jamas moriras eres inmortal genio.
Carolina ibarra mendoza
No puedo si no sumarme con la misma emoción de Bernardo. también la ELO produce ese erizamiento de mi piel, a veces una melancolía que no es depresiva, es ensoñadora, nostálgica y otras veces me impulsa a saltar de energia La ELO es la banda que mas amo, quizas porque es ka que me lleva a la infancia ...no se si es la mejor, pero es la que mas me emociona.x lejos. Jeff Lynne es un músico adorable y de una creatividad y conexión con la sensibiliad humana que hará y está haciendo que trascienda y sea cada vez más reconocido. estoy segura de eso. abrazos.