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 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 Lights Go Down
Elo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One day
I gotta get out of here
I gotta make everything clear
I gotta see you, oh, oh
I know
But I gotta carry on
When you ain't around
I believe things are going wrong
And the night goes on and on
All your dreams have flown away
And the sun won't shine today
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
I know
You're waiting so close to me
But how will you ever see
As time rolls away?
Lonely
But trying to be so proud
And just as I turn around
The lights go down
I believe things are going wrong
And the night goes on and on
All your dreams have flown away
And the sun won't shine today
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
"The Lights Go Down" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) that tells the story of a person trying to escape from their current situation and longing to be with someone they love. The song begins with a desire to leave the current situation and make everything clear. The lyrics convey a feeling of melancholy and despair, emphasizing the importance of being with someone you love. The singer has a sense that things are going wrong, and as night falls, they feel more and more alone. Despite the closeness of their loved one, they feel isolated as time rolls away, a realisation that is emphasised in the repetition of the line "The lights go down, and there's no one around."
The chorus of the song is the singer expressing their longing for their loved one, "The lights go down, I want you baby, the lights go down, I need you baby, the lights go down, and there's no one around." It is a heartfelt expression of their need and desire for companionship.
Interestingly, this song is significantly slower and less bombastic than many other ELO songs. Instead, it is a more personal and intimate song with a focus on emotions, rather than grandiose production. Jeff Lynne, the frontman of ELO, wrote the song and played most of the instruments on the track, including drums and bass. He also sang the lead vocals, along with backing harmony parts.
Line by Line Meaning
The lights go down
The atmosphere becomes dim
One day
At some point in the future
I gotta get out of here
I need to leave this place
I gotta make everything clear
I need to clarify everything
I gotta see you, oh, oh
I need to see you
I know
I am aware
The way that I feel is wrong, so wrong
My emotions are incorrect
But I gotta carry on
But I must continue
When you ain't around
When you are not present
I believe things are going wrong
I think things are going poorly
And the night goes on and on
And the night continues
All your dreams have flown away
Your aspirations have disappeared
And the sun won't shine today
It will be a gloomy day
You're waiting so close to me
You are standing near me
But how will you ever see
But how can you ever understand
As time rolls away?
As time passes by?
Lonely
Feeling alone
But trying to be so proud
But attempting to remain confident
And just as I turn around
And just as I look away
The lights go down
The atmosphere becomes dim
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The atmosphere becomes dim (I desire you, darling)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The atmosphere becomes dim (I require you, darling)
And there's no one around
And there is nobody nearby
Contributed by Blake H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jmsander91
Lyrics 💛
The lights go down
One day, I gotta get out of here
I gotta make everything clear
I gotta see you, oh, oh
I know the way that I feel is wrong, so wrong
But I gotta carry on
When you ain't around
I believe, things are going wrong
And the night goes on and on
All your dreams, have flown away
And the sun, won't shine today
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
I know, you're waiting so close to me
But how will you ever see
As time rolls away?
Lonely, but tryin' to be so proud
And just as I turn around
The lights go down
I believe, things are going wrong
And the night goes on and on
All your dreams, have flown away
And the sun, won't shine today
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Lynne Jeffrey
The Lights Go Down lyrics © Emi April Music Inc.
@peterhoare3219
I usually burst into tears when Mr Lynne sings with true emotion, "And the Sun, wont shine, today........" 😢😥
And im fifty fucking seven, heard the whole album a billion times since it's release and listening to it over and over at Study Time at boarding school in Australia in '81/'82
And ever since 🙂 .......hence, my comment
Saw em live once. Aistralia, Brisbane. Smallish gig, few thousand. I was PISSED and stoned. I really can't remember it, but i think i thought they sucked, live, at the time
But you know, i wasnt in a state for rational criticism. I couldnt stand ffs.....😂
@jimmykarlsson2567
For real such an underrated song. I mean listen to the harmony of the voices and instruments. This is GOLD
@kye8378
YES PURE GOLD
@senderodeluzterapias
Totally agree
@ericstewart9499
Perfect
@loremeza2150
Hermosa Canción, como se puede traducir en Español?
@LijaMoore
His voice is pure gold ✨️
@jmsander91
Lyrics 💛
The lights go down
One day, I gotta get out of here
I gotta make everything clear
I gotta see you, oh, oh
I know the way that I feel is wrong, so wrong
But I gotta carry on
When you ain't around
I believe, things are going wrong
And the night goes on and on
All your dreams, have flown away
And the sun, won't shine today
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
I know, you're waiting so close to me
But how will you ever see
As time rolls away?
Lonely, but tryin' to be so proud
And just as I turn around
The lights go down
I believe, things are going wrong
And the night goes on and on
All your dreams, have flown away
And the sun, won't shine today
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down
And there's no one around
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down (I need you, baby)
The lights go down (I want you, baby)
The lights go down
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Lynne Jeffrey
The Lights Go Down lyrics © Emi April Music Inc.
@janewagner1601
Lovely thankyou for the lyrics a god idea to match the melody
@trudithirtle5106
❤
@sarahmcpherson3666
I will never tire of listening to ELO. One of my favorite songs.