- Don't Bring Me Down
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For other uses, see Don't Bring Me Down (disambiguation).
"Don't Bring Me Down" 
Single by Electric Light Orchestra from the album Discovery B-side "Dreaming Of 4000" Released July 1979 Format 7" Recorded Musicland Studios
Munich, Germany (1979)Genre Disco, Pop rock Length 4:08 Label Jet Records Writer(s) Jeff Lynne Producer Jeff Lynne Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology "The Diary Of Horace Wimp"
(1979)"Don't Bring Me Down"
(1979)"Confusion"
"Last Train To London""Don't Bring Me Down" is a song by the band Electric Light Orchestra, and is the last track from their 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest charting hit in the US to date.
Contents
History
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the band's second highest charting hit in the UK where it peaked at #3 and their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also charted well in Canada (#2) and Australia (#6). This was the first song by ELO not to include a string section.
The drum track is in fact a tape loop, coming from "On the Run" looped and slowed down.
The song was dedicated to the NASA Skylab space station, which re-entered the Earth's atmosphere over the Indian Ocean and Western Australia on 11 July 1979.
On 4 November 2007, Jeff 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.
In popular culture
The song was featured in the 2011 films Paul, Super 8, and the trailer for Our Idiot Brother and Jack & Jill. The song is also featured in the sky-diving scene in the Disney comedy College Road Trip. The song appears in the 2011 video game NHL 12.
Misheard lyric
A common mondegreen in the song is the perception that, following the title line, Jeff Lynne shouts "Bruce!" However, according to liner notes, he is actually saying a made-up word "Grroosss". This is similar to a German word for "greeting", Gruß, possibly referring to the Austrian and Bavarian greeting Grüß Gott that the group would have heard while recording the album in Munich. However, after the song's release, so many people had misinterpreted the word as "Bruce" that Jeff Lynne actually began to sing the word as "Bruce" for fun at live shows.[1]
Music video
A music video for the song was produced, which showed video of 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.
Covers
- L.E.O. includes a shortened cover of the song as a hidden track on their album Alpacas Orgling.
- Status Quo covered the song on their 2003 album Riffs.
- OK Go performed the song and released on their Live From SoHo EP in 2007.
- The New Pornographers have covered this song in various concerts.[2]
- Part of the song is performed by LINDA, a group of characters from the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters", before they are interrupted by the arrival of the mysterious Victor Kennedy.
- The band J Church recorded a version that appears on the Mailorder is Fun compilation released by Asian Man Records.
- Finnish symphonic metal supergroup Northern Kings covered the song on their 2007 album Reborn.
- Jpop band PUFFY (a.k.a Puffy Amiyumi) have a cover of the song featured on their single Hataraku Otoko.
- The North Carolina sludge metal band Buzzov•en covered the song on their album ...At a Loss.
- Donna Loren covered the song on her album Love It Away (2010).
Chart positions
Chart (1979) Peak
PositionCertifications
(sales thresholds)Australian ARIA Singles Chart 6 Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40 2 Canadian RPM Top Singles 2 Dutch Top 40 5 German Media Control Singles Chart 5 Irish Singles Chart 6 New Zealand Singles Chart 6 South African Singles Chart 9 UK Singles Chart[3] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 4 RIAA: Gold U.S. Cash Box Top 100 Singles 4 U.S. Record World Singles 3 References
- ^ Wild, David. "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band and the Pop Genius Who Dared to Go Baroque." Flashback.
- ^ http://www.covermesongs.com/2010/08/consequence-of-sound-presents-best-fest-covers.html
- ^ "Chart Stats - Electric Light Orchestra". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=2340. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
External links
- In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com)
1970s 1972: "10538 Overture" • "Mr. Radio" • 1973: "Roll Over Beethoven" • "Showdown" • 1974: "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle/Daybreaker" • "Can't Get It Out of My Head" • 1975: "Boy Blue" • "Evil Woman" • 1976: "Nightrider" • "Strange Magic" • "Livin' Thing" • 1977: "Rockaria!" • "Do Ya • "Telephone Line" • "Turn to Stone" • 1978: "Mr. Blue Sky" • "Wild West Hero • "Sweet Talkin' Woman" • "It's Over" • "The ELO EP" • 1979: "Shine a Little Love" • "The Diary of Horace Wimp" • "Don't Bring Me Down" • "Confusion"/"Last Train to London"1980s 1980: "I'm Alive" • "Xanadu" • "All Over the World" • "Don't Walk Away" • 1981: "Hold On Tight" • "Twilight" • 1982: "Here Is the News"/"Ticket to the Moon" • "Rain Is Falling" • "The Way Life's Meant to Be" • 1983: "Rock 'n' Roll Is King" • "Secret Messages" • "Four Little Diamonds" • "Stranger" • 1986: "Calling America" • "So Serious" • "Getting to the Point"1990s 1990: "Destination Unknown"2000s Categories:- 1979 singles
- 1980 singles
- Electric Light Orchestra songs
- Songs produced by Jeff Lynne
- Songs written by Jeff Lynne
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