After ELO's breakup in the mid 1980s, Lynne moved into production work, showing both the influence of The Beatles that characterized much of ELO's work and an influence from rockabilly-style music. The Beatles' connection was strengthened when Lynne produced George Harrison's Cloud Nine, a successful comeback album for the ex-Beatle released in 1987 featuring the popular single "(Got My Mind) Set On You." In 1989, Lynne co-produced the acclaimed album Full Moon Fever by Tom Petty, which included the hit singles "Free Fallin'," "I Won't Back Down" and "Runnin' Down A Dream," all co-written by Lynne. This album and Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, also co-produced by Lynne, both received nominations for the Grammy as Best Album Of The Year in 1989.
In 1990 Lynne released his first solo album Armchair Theatre, featuring the singles "Every Little Thing" and "Lift Me Up." The album received some positive critical attention but little commercial success.
In February of 1994, Lynne fulfilled a lifelong dream by working with the three surviving Beatles on Anthology album series, and reunion tracks "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" (overdubbing John Lennon's demos for the songs). He has also produced records individually for George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, and worked extensively on the Roy Orbison album Mystery Girl.
In 2001, Lynne released a new ELO album, Zoom, which--save for original ELO keyboardist Richard Tandy on one track--featured none of the original members of the Electric Light Orchestra, but attempted to "return to the classic ELO sound" [1]. The album received positive reviews but had no hit singles. While a concert of the album was filmed and shown on PBS stations, a planned concert tour was cancelled, although the concert was released on DVD. Also that year, Lynne appeared on a VH-1 Storytellers show filmed in New York, and EMI and Sony released remastered editions of part of ELO's catalog.
Lynne went back to the recording studio as a producer in 2002, co-producing and helping complete George Harrison's posthumously-released album, Brainwashed. He was also heavily involved in the memorial Concert for George, held at London's Royal Albert Hall in November 2002, and subsequently produced the Surround Sound audio mix for the Concert For George DVD released in November 2003. The DVD received a Grammy for Best Long Form Music Video.
Also in 2002, a tribute to Lynne called Lynne Me Your Ears was released [2], featuring two CDs full of artists performing Lynne/ELO songs, including Todd Rundgren, SWAG (featuring members of Wilco, The Mavericks and Cheap Trick), Sixpence None The Richer, Doug Powell, PFR, Jason Falkner, Fleming and John, Jerry Chamberlain of Daniel Amos, Rick Altizer and others.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine Tom Petty revealed that fellow Wilbury and Full Moon Fever producer Jeff Lynne will reunite with Petty on his upcoming solo album, due in 2006.
Jeff Lynn co-wrote, with John Farrar, the lyrics and music for the 2007 Broadway musical Xanadu. The show used several ELO songs, including "I'm Alive," "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic."
In 2012 Lynne's second solo album, a covers album entitled Long Wave, was released on 8 October 2012. A greatest hits collection of re-recorded ELO songs by Lynne titled Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra was also released under the ELO moniker on the same day.
On September 24, 2015, under the name Jeff Lynne's ELO, "When I Was a Boy", the first single from Alone in the Universe was released on the internet with a music video released not long after. The album was released on November 13, 2015 and was followed by promotional shows including the first ELO shows in the United States in 30 years. A 2016 European tour has been scheduled.
If I Loved You
Jeff Lynne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Time and again I would try to say
All I'd want you to know
If I loved you
Words wouldn't come in an easy way
Round in circles I'd go!
But afraid and shy
I'd let my golden chances pass me by!
Soon you'd leave me
Off you would go in the mist of day
Never, never to know how I loved you
If I loved you
The lyrics of Jeff Lynne's song If I Loved You convey the regrets and missed opportunities of a person who never had the courage to express their true feelings to their loved one. The opening lines "If I loved you, time and again I would try to say, all I'd want you to know" sets the melancholic tone of the song right from the start, as the singer recounts the many times they wish they could have confessed their love. However, the subsequent lines "Words wouldn't come in an easy way, round in circles I'd go!" paints a picture of the singer's insecurity and fear of rejection, which kept them from expressing their true feelings.
The song's middle section "Longin' to tell you but afraid and shy, I'd let my golden chances pass me by!" exemplifies the themes of missed opportunities and regret that define the song. The melancholic and reflective melody accentuates the sadness of the lyrics, as the singer mourns the chances they had but never acted upon. The closing lines "Soon you'd leave me, off you would go in the mist of day, never, never to know how I loved you, if I loved you" evoke a sense of hopelessness and despair, as the singer acknowledges that their unexpressed love will never be fulfilled.
Overall, Jeff Lynne's If I Loved You is a poignant and relatable song that speaks to anyone who has ever experienced unrequited love, missed opportunities, and regret.
Line by Line Meaning
If I loved you
If I truly loved you
Time and again I would try to say
I would make multiple attempts to express my feelings towards you
All I'd want you to know
I would want you to understand the depth of my feelings for you
If I loved you
If I truly loved you
Words wouldn't come in an easy way
I would struggle to find the right words to express my love for you
Round in circles I'd go!
I would feel like I am going around in circles trying to find the right way to express my feelings
Longin' to tell you
I would have a deep desire to share my feelings with you
But afraid and shy
However, my fear and shyness would hold me back
I'd let my golden chances pass me by!
I would miss many opportunities to express my love for you
Soon you'd leave me
Eventually, you would depart from me
Off you would go in the mist of day
You would leave without knowing how I truly feel
Never, never to know how I loved you
You would never know the extent of my love for you
If I loved you
If I truly loved you
Contributed by Natalie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Claumigue
If I loved you
Time and again I would try to say
All I'd want you to know
If I loved you
Words wouldn't come in an easy way
Round in circles I'd go!
Longin' to tell you
But afraid and shy
I'd let my golden chances pass me by!
Soon you'd leave me
Off you would go in the mist of day
Never, never to know how I loved you
If I loved you
Claumigue
If I loved you
Time and again I would try to say
All I'd want you to know
If I loved you
Words wouldn't come in an easy way
Round in circles I'd go!
Longin' to tell you
But afraid and shy
I'd let my golden chances pass me by!
Soon you'd leave me
Off you would go in the mist of day
Never, never to know how I loved you
If I loved you
Rancho Relaxo
Thank you for your music, it has brought so much joy to so many people God Bless you Jeff Lynne
Ron Frames
Beautiful song and Jeff Lynne does it so beautifully! I love this whole album!
Lilly Junke
I just totally agree whole heartedly.
mike page
@Lilly Junke agreed too
Deann Kelley
I've never met you, but I promise you Jeff that I truly love you for all you've given me. Thank you.
derekec
It's so true, we love them for what they've given us.
Chris Corman
Jeff does this a true justice and if he ever happened to read this I would say you were a fantastic friend to George and you must miss him like so many of us do.
Mel Bunting
This Carousel is magical, sounds a bit like the Beatles, E.L.O, Elvis Costello and Jeff Lynne all at the same time... Exquisite
derekec
John Lennon did say in a radio interview of ELO that if the Beatles had been together, this would have been the evolution of their sound (paraphrasing his comments).
Lilly Junke
Are you losing your hearing, you should get 1 of those tests to test to see, you may need hearing aides. Jeff sounds like my neighbor Paul. And.not sir Paul.