This was the first ELO song that did not use strings. After recording it, they fired their string section, leaving 4 members in the band.
This is the highest charting ELO hit in both the UK and US, although ELO’s “Xanadu” collaboration with Olivia Newton-John did hit #1 UK.
ELO leader Jeff Lynne wrote this song late in the sessions for the Discovery album. He came up with the track by looping the drums from a song he recorded earlier in the session, then coming up with more music on the piano. The words came last, as Lynne put together some lyrics about a girl who thinks she’s too good for the guy she’s with. As a little joke, Lynne put a count-in at the beginning of the song, even though there was nobody he was counting in.
This turned out to be a good theme song for astronauts enjoying their time in space. The song was played to astronauts on the Space Shuttle Columbia as their wake up call on July 6, 1996 – they were in flight longer than expected because of bad weather on the ground. ELO’s record company also tried to tie in the song with the Skylab space station, which crashed to Earth on July 11, 1979 after 6 years in space. They placed ads in trade magazines promoting the new single “Don’t Bring Me Down” by dedicating it to Skylab.
(source)
ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down”
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down.
What happened to the girl I used to know?
You let your mind out somewhere down the road.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down.
You’re always talking ’bout your crazy nights.
One of these days you’re gonna get it right.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down.
You’re looking good, just like a snake in the grass.
One of these days you’re gonna break your glass.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down. Brrooss.
Don’t bring me down.
You got me shaking, got me running away.
You got me crawling up to you ev’ry day.
Don’t bring me down.
No, no, no, no, no. Oo, ee, hoo.
I’ll tell you once more before I get off the floor.
Don’t bring me down, down, down,
Down, down, down.
I’ll tell you once more before I get off the floor.
Don’t bring me down.
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