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Don't Bring Me Down

"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date.

"Don't Bring Me Down"
Artwork for UK, Australian, and some other European vinyl releases
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Discovery
B-side"Dreaming of 4000"
Released24 August 1979 (UK)[1][2]
GenrePop rock[3]
Length4:02
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"The Diary of Horace Wimp"
(1979)
"Don't Bring Me Down"
(1979)
"Confusion/Last Train to London"
(1979)
Discovery track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Shine a Little Love"
  2. "Confusion"
  3. "Need Her Love"
  4. "The Diary of Horace Wimp"
Side two
  1. "Last Train to London"
  2. "Midnight Blue"
  3. "On the Run"
  4. "Wishing"
  5. "Don't Bring Me Down"
Music video
"Don't Bring Me Down" on YouTube

History edit

It's a great big galloping ball of distortion. I wrote it at the last minute, 'cause I felt there weren't enough loud ones on the album. This was just what I was after.

— Discovery remaster (2001), Jeff Lynne

"Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's second-highest-charting hit in the UK, where it peaked at number 3,[4] and their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] It also charted well in Canada (number 1) and Australia (number 6). This was the first single by ELO not to include a string section.[6] Engineer Reinhold Mack claims that this was his idea, after Lynne did not know what they should record next, and that he encouraged Lynne to "just boogie out for a night."[7]

The drum track is in fact a tape loop, coming from "On the Run" looped and slowed down and then sped up;[6][8][7] Mack recalls that Bevan was not interested in joining in the jam session that helped create the song; Mack decided to use a drum loop, and Lynne asked Mack to change the speed of the loop tape.

The song ends with the sound of a door slamming. According to producer Jeff Lynne, this was a metal fire door at Musicland Studios where the song was recorded.[6]

The song was dedicated to the NASA Skylab space station, which re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and burned up over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia on 11 July 1979.[6]

On 4 November 2007, Lynne was awarded a BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc) Million-Air certificate for "Don't Bring Me Down" for the song having reached two million airplays.

Misheard lyric edit

A common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Lynne shouts "Bruce!" In the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback and elsewhere, Lynne has explained that he is singing a made-up word, "Groos", which some have suggested sounds like the German expression "Gruß", meaning "greeting."[9][7] Lynne has explained that originally he did not realize the meaning of the syllable, and he just used it as a temporary placekeeper to fill a gap in the lyrics, but upon learning the German meaning he decided to leave it in.[9] After the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows.[10][11][9][12]

ELO engineer Reinhold Mack remembers the genesis of the term differently, stating that Lynne was actually singing "Bruce" as a joke in advance of an Australian tour "referring to how many Australian guys are called Bruce."[9][7] Mack stated that this was a temporary line, as "[they] couldn't leave it like that, so eventually we replaced it with 'Gruss,' based on the Bavarian greeting 'Gruß Gott," - 'greet God.' Gruss, not Bruce is what you hear in the song immediately following the title line."[7]

Critical reception edit

AllMusic's Donald Guarisco retrospectively praised ELO for not including a string section in the song: "Electric Light Orchestra can easily be summed up as 'pop music with strings.' Thus, it is pretty ironic that the group's biggest American hit, "Don't Bring Me Down", features no string section at all", adding that "it proved that Electric Light Orchestra could be just as interesting without the string section and thus paved the way for later string-less [sic] hits like "Hold On Tight" and "Calling America", concluding that it was a song that was "powerful enough for rock fans but dance-friendly enough for the disco set".[3] Billboard found the song to be Beatlesque while praising the multiple "irresistible" instrumental and vocal hooks.[13] Cash Box similarly described it as being influenced by the Beatles, particularly the song "You Can't Do That," and said that the song "brims with overdubbed Lynne harmonies and a pounding rhythm track."[14] Record World said that "From the opening drum blasts, through the harmony vocal/percussion break, to the echo-filled closing, this song rocks."[15] Ultimate Classic Rock rated "Don't Bring Me Down" as the 97th greatest classic rock song, saying it "may just be Jeff Lynne's most concise and representative musical statement."[16]

Music video edit

A music video was produced, which showed the band performing the song interspersed with various animations relating to the song's subject matter, including big-bottomed majorettes and a pulsating neon frankfurter. The band's three resident string players are depicted playing keyboards in the music video.

Jeff Lynne version edit

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released on a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs called Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra.[17]

Personnel edit

Partial credits from JeffLynneSongs.com[6] and engineer Reinhold Mack.[7]

Cover versions and remixes edit

Chart and sales edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  2. ^ a b "British single certifications – ELO – Don't Bring Me Down". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b Guarisco, Donald A. "Don't Bring Me Down – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b "Electric Light Orchestra – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Porter, Robert. "Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne -- Don't Bring Me Down: An in-depth song analysis". Jefflynnesongs.com. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Buskin, Richard. "Classic Tracks: Electric Light Orchestra 'Don't Bring Me Down'". SoundOnSound. Sound On Sound. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. ^ DeRiso, Nick (31 May 2019). "How Electric Light Orchestra Slimmed Down, Then Went Disco on 'Discovery'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d DeRiso, Nick (6 June 2019). "Why Did Jeff Lynne Add 'Bruce' to ELO's 'Don't Bring Me Down'?". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  10. ^ Wild, David. "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band and the Pop Genius Who Dared to Go Baroque". Flashback (Media notes).
  11. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (15 October 2014). "ELO's Jeff Lynne: 'All those hipsters with beards are copying me!'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Jeff Lynne revisits his roots with ELO and classic covers projects". Goldmine. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Billboard's Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. 4 August 1979. p. 55. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Singles Reviews > Feature Picks" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XLI, no. 12. 4 August 1979. p. 13. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 4 August 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Classic Rock Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  17. ^ . Jefflynneselo.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015.
  18. ^ Johnston, Maura (27 March 2012). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  19. ^ Moss, Marissa R. (21 September 2017). "See Little Big Town, Kacey Musgraves and Midland Cover ELO on 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  20. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  21. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  22. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6839a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  23. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  24. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Bring Me Down". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  25. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  26. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  27. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  28. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (E)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  29. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". Swiss Singles Chart.
  31. ^ . Cash Box. Archived from the original on 5 February 2011.
  32. ^ "Record World Singles" (PDF). Record World. 15 September 1979. p. 29. ISSN 0034-1622. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  33. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts – 1970s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  34. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1979" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  35. ^ "1979 Top 200 Singles". RPM. Vol. 32, no. 13. 22 December 1979. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  36. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1979" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  37. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1979" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  38. ^ "End of Year Charts 1979". Recorded Music New Zealand. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  39. ^ "Top 100 Hits for 1979". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  40. ^ . Cash Box. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012.
  41. ^ Webster, Allan (29 December 1979). "International Dateline > Australia" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. XLI, no. 33. p. 96. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via World Radio History.
  42. ^ "American single certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 April 2021.

External links edit

  • In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com)
  • Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down (Official Video) on YouTube

bring, down, this, article, about, electric, light, orchestra, song, other, uses, disambiguation, ninth, final, track, english, rock, band, electric, light, orchestra, 1979, album, discovery, their, highest, charting, united, states, date, artwork, australian,. This article is about the Electric Light Orchestra song For other uses see Don t Bring Me Down disambiguation Don t Bring Me Down is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra s 1979 album Discovery It is their highest charting hit in the United States to date Don t Bring Me Down Artwork for UK Australian and some other European vinyl releasesSingle by Electric Light Orchestrafrom the album DiscoveryB side Dreaming of 4000 Released24 August 1979 UK 1 2 GenrePop rock 3 Length4 02LabelJetSongwriter s Jeff LynneProducer s Jeff LynneElectric Light Orchestra singles chronology The Diary of Horace Wimp 1979 Don t Bring Me Down 1979 Confusion Last Train to London 1979 Discovery track listing9 tracksSide one Shine a Little Love Confusion Need Her Love The Diary of Horace Wimp Side two Last Train to London Midnight Blue On the Run Wishing Don t Bring Me Down Music video Don t Bring Me Down on YouTube Contents 1 History 2 Misheard lyric 3 Critical reception 4 Music video 5 Jeff Lynne version 6 Personnel 7 Cover versions and remixes 8 Chart and sales 8 1 Weekly charts 8 2 Year end charts 8 3 Sales and certifications 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksHistory editIt s a great big galloping ball of distortion I wrote it at the last minute cause I felt there weren t enough loud ones on the album This was just what I was after Discovery remaster 2001 Jeff Lynne Don t Bring Me Down is the band s second highest charting hit in the UK where it peaked at number 3 4 and their biggest hit in the United States peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 5 It also charted well in Canada number 1 and Australia number 6 This was the first single by ELO not to include a string section 6 Engineer Reinhold Mack claims that this was his idea after Lynne did not know what they should record next and that he encouraged Lynne to just boogie out for a night 7 The drum track is in fact a tape loop coming from On the Run looped and slowed down and then sped up 6 8 7 Mack recalls that Bevan was not interested in joining in the jam session that helped create the song Mack decided to use a drum loop and Lynne asked Mack to change the speed of the loop tape The song ends with the sound of a door slamming According to producer Jeff Lynne this was a metal fire door at Musicland Studios where the song was recorded 6 The song was dedicated to the NASA Skylab space station which re entered the Earth s atmosphere and burned up over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia on 11 July 1979 6 On 4 November 2007 Lynne was awarded a BMI Broadcast Music Inc Million Air certificate for Don t Bring Me Down for the song having reached two million airplays Misheard lyric edit nbsp Don t Bring Me Down 1979 by ELO source source Use of made up grooss often misheard as Bruce Problems playing this file See media help A common mondegreen in the song is the perception that following the title line Lynne shouts Bruce In the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback and elsewhere Lynne has explained that he is singing a made up word Groos which some have suggested sounds like the German expression Gruss meaning greeting 9 7 Lynne has explained that originally he did not realize the meaning of the syllable and he just used it as a temporary placekeeper to fill a gap in the lyrics but upon learning the German meaning he decided to leave it in 9 After the song s release so many people had misinterpreted the word as Bruce that Lynne actually began to sing the word as Bruce for fun at live shows 10 11 9 12 ELO engineer Reinhold Mack remembers the genesis of the term differently stating that Lynne was actually singing Bruce as a joke in advance of an Australian tour referring to how many Australian guys are called Bruce 9 7 Mack stated that this was a temporary line as they couldn t leave it like that so eventually we replaced it with Gruss based on the Bavarian greeting Gruss Gott greet God Gruss not Bruce is what you hear in the song immediately following the title line 7 Critical reception editAllMusic s Donald Guarisco retrospectively praised ELO for not including a string section in the song Electric Light Orchestra can easily be summed up as pop music with strings Thus it is pretty ironic that the group s biggest American hit Don t Bring Me Down features no string section at all adding that it proved that Electric Light Orchestra could be just as interesting without the string section and thus paved the way for later string less sic hits like Hold On Tight and Calling America concluding that it was a song that was powerful enough for rock fans but dance friendly enough for the disco set 3 Billboard found the song to be Beatlesque while praising the multiple irresistible instrumental and vocal hooks 13 Cash Box similarly described it as being influenced by the Beatles particularly the song You Can t Do That and said that the song brims with overdubbed Lynne harmonies and a pounding rhythm track 14 Record World said that From the opening drum blasts through the harmony vocal percussion break to the echo filled closing this song rocks 15 Ultimate Classic Rock rated Don t Bring Me Down as the 97th greatest classic rock song saying it may just be Jeff Lynne s most concise and representative musical statement 16 Music video editA music video was produced which showed the band performing the song interspersed with various animations relating to the song s subject matter including big bottomed majorettes and a pulsating neon frankfurter The band s three resident string players are depicted playing keyboards in the music video Jeff Lynne version editJeff Lynne re recorded the song in his own home studio It was released on a compilation album with other re recorded ELO songs called Mr Blue Sky The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra 17 Personnel editPartial credits from JeffLynneSongs com 6 and engineer Reinhold Mack 7 Jeff Lynne lead vocals 6 7 harmony and backing vocals 6 7 electric lead guitar 7 6 12 string acoustic guitar 7 additional guitars 7 12 string acoustic guitar 7 piano 6 synthesizer 6 Bev Bevan drums 7 6 percussion 6 Richard Tandy grand piano 6 7 synthesizer 6 electric piano 6 clavinet 6 Kelly Groucutt harmony and backing vocals 6 7 bass 7 6 Cover versions and remixes editIn 2012 The Hives released a song called Go Right Ahead Though not a direct cover the main riff in the song is nearly identical to the one in Don t Bring Me Down 18 and as a result Jeff Lynne was credited as a co writer Country stars Little Big Town Kacey Musgraves and Midland performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote their The Breakers Tour 19 American rock band Black Stone Cherry covered the song on their 2020 album The Human Condition Chart and sales editWeekly charts edit Chart 1979 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 20 6Austria O3 Austria Top 40 1 2Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 21 5Canada Top Singles RPM 22 1Germany Official German Charts 23 5Ireland IRMA 24 6Netherlands Dutch Top 40 25 5Netherlands Single Top 100 26 5New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 27 6South Africa Springbok Radio 28 9Spain AFYVE 29 10Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 30 2UK Singles OCC 4 3US Billboard Hot 100 5 4US Cash Box 31 4US Record World 32 3 Year end charts edit Chart 1979 RankAustralia Kent Music Report 33 34Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 34 57Canada Top Singles RPM 35 25Netherlands Dutch Top 40 36 39Netherlands Single Top 100 37 61New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 38 50US Billboard Hot 100 39 81US Cash Box 40 39Sales and certifications edit Region Certification Certified units salesAustralia ARIA 41 Gold 50 000 United Kingdom BPI 2 Gold 400 000 United States RIAA 42 2 Platinum 2 000 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Sales streaming figures based on certification alone See also editList of number one singles of 1979 Canada References edit a b Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down in German O3 Austria Top 40 Retrieved 1 June 2013 a b British single certifications ELO Don t Bring Me Down British Phonographic Industry Retrieved 19 July 2022 a b Guarisco Donald A Don t Bring Me Down Song Review AllMusic Retrieved 26 May 2013 a b Official Singles Chart Top 100 Official Charts Company Retrieved 5 March 2013 a b Electric Light Orchestra Awards AllMusic Retrieved 5 March 2013 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Porter Robert Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne Don t Bring Me Down An in depth song analysis Jefflynnesongs com Retrieved 26 May 2013 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Buskin Richard Classic Tracks Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down SoundOnSound Sound On Sound Retrieved 4 August 2023 DeRiso Nick 31 May 2019 How Electric Light Orchestra Slimmed Down Then Went Disco on Discovery Ultimate Classic Rock Retrieved 4 June 2022 a b c d DeRiso Nick 6 June 2019 Why Did Jeff Lynne Add Bruce to ELO s Don t Bring Me Down Ultimate Classic Rock Retrieved 6 June 2019 Wild David The Story of a Rock and Roll Band and the Pop Genius Who Dared to Go Baroque Flashback Media notes Sullivan Caroline 15 October 2014 ELO s Jeff Lynne All those hipsters with beards are copying me The Guardian Retrieved 23 August 2016 Jeff Lynne revisits his roots with ELO and classic covers projects Goldmine 24 June 2013 Retrieved 3 May 2023 Billboard s Top Single Picks PDF Billboard 4 August 1979 p 55 Retrieved 8 July 2020 Singles Reviews gt Feature Picks PDF Cash Box Vol XLI no 12 4 August 1979 p 13 Retrieved 1 January 2022 Hits of the Week PDF Record World 4 August 1979 p 1 Retrieved 11 February 2023 Top 100 Classic Rock Songs Ultimate Classic Rock 20 June 2013 Retrieved 10 July 2020 Mr Blue Sky The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Jefflynneselo com Archived from the original on 27 October 2015 Johnston Maura 27 March 2012 The Hives Go Right Ahead Rolling Stone Archived from the original on 7 April 2012 Retrieved 14 July 2014 Moss Marissa R 21 September 2017 See Little Big Town Kacey Musgraves and Midland Cover ELO on Fallon Rolling Stone Retrieved 17 May 2018 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved 1 June 2013 Top RPM Singles Issue 6839a RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved 1 June 2013 Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down in German GfK Entertainment charts Retrieved 1 June 2013 The Irish Charts Search Results Don t Bring Me Down Irish Singles Chart Retrieved 6 March 2013 Nederlandse Top 40 Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 1 June 2013 Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved 1 June 2013 Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down Top 40 Singles Retrieved 1 June 2013 South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 1989 Acts E Rock co za Retrieved 29 April 2013 Salaverri Fernando September 2005 Solo exitos ano a ano 1959 2002 in Spanish 1st ed Spain Fundacion Autor SGAE ISBN 84 8048 639 2 Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down Swiss Singles Chart CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending SEPTEMBER 22 1979 Cash Box Archived from the original on 5 February 2011 Record World Singles PDF Record World 15 September 1979 p 29 ISSN 0034 1622 Retrieved 17 September 2017 Forum ARIA Charts Special Occasion Charts Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts 1970s Australian charts com Hung Medien Retrieved 14 July 2014 Jaaroverzichten 1979 in Dutch Ultratop Hung Medien Retrieved 14 July 2014 1979 Top 200 Singles RPM Vol 32 no 13 22 December 1979 Retrieved 15 May 2016 Top 100 Jaaroverzicht van 1979 in Dutch Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 14 July 2014 Jaaroverzichten Single 1979 in Dutch Single Top 100 Hung Medien Retrieved 14 July 2014 End of Year Charts 1979 Recorded Music New Zealand Retrieved 30 October 2015 Top 100 Hits for 1979 The Longbored Surfer Retrieved 14 July 2014 The CASH BOX Year End Charts 1979 Cash Box Archived from the original on 25 August 2012 Webster Allan 29 December 1979 International Dateline gt Australia PDF Cash Box Vol XLI no 33 p 96 Retrieved 1 December 2021 via World Radio History American single certifications Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 28 April 2021 External links editIn depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database jefflynnesongs com Electric Light Orchestra Don t Bring Me Down Official Video on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Don 27t Bring Me Down amp oldid 1178872960, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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