Don't Bring Me Down
| "Don't Bring Me Down" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
| from the album Discovery | ||||
| B-side | "Dreaming of 4000" | |||
| Released | 1979 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Pop rock[1] | |||
| Length | 4:02 | |||
| Label | Jet | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
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| Discovery track listing | ||||
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9 tracks
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| Music video | ||||
| "Don't Bring Me Down" on YouTube | ||||
"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.
History
| “ | It's a great big galloping ball of distortion. I wrote it at the last minute, 'cos 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[2] and their biggest hit in the United States, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3] It also charted well in Canada (number 1) and Australia (number 6). This was the first song by ELO not to include a string section.[4]
The drum track is in fact a tape loop, coming from "On the Run" looped and slowed down.[4]
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.[4]
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.[4]
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
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, "Grooss," which some have suggested sounds like the German expression "Gruß." 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.[5][6]
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. The band's three resident string players are depicted playing keyboards in the music video.
Jeff Lynne version
| "Don't Bring Me Down" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Electric Light Orchestra | |
| from the album Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra | |
| Released | 8 October 2012 |
| Recorded | 2001–2012 Bungalow Palace |
| Length | 4:01 |
| Label | Frontiers |
| Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne |
| Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne |
| Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra track listing | |
|
12 tracks
| |
Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs and under the ELO name called Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra.[7]
Personnel
- Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer[4]
- Bev Bevan – drums, percussion[4]
- Richard Tandy – grand piano, synthesizer, electric piano, clavinet[4]
- Kelly Groucutt – bass, vocals[4]
Cover versions, samplings and remixes
- In 2001, Op:l Bastards covered the song as a single.
- In 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",[8] and as a result Jeff Lynne was officially credited as a co-writer.
- Jungle Brothers sample the song on "Because I Got It Like That" from their debut album Straight out the Jungle in 1988.
- ApologetiX parodies this song on Recovery as "Don't Bring Me Cows".
- Buzzoven covers this song on the 1998 album ...At a Loss.
Appearances in other media
- The song was featured in the 1997 mob thriller Donnie Brasco, the 2010 film Furry Vengeance (the re-recorded version), and in the 2011 films Paul and Super 8.
- The song is featured in the sky-diving scene in the 2008 comedy College Road Trip.
- The song is played in The Good Guys Season 1 episode "Hunches and Heists" while racing to cross the bridge.
- The song appeared in a commercial for Budweiser's Select 55 beer.
- 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. Near the episode's end, a clip of the original song is played in sync over a flashback of the group's performance.
- The song appears in the 2011 video game NHL 12.
- The song has been used in numerous film trailers, including those for Stranger Than Fiction, Flushed Away, Our Idiot Brother, Jack and Jill and The Pirates! Band of Misfits.
- The song is played on the 23 December 2012 Family Guy episode "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" during the Ben Hur/Him with Adam Sandler film trailer scene.
- The song appears in a trailer from the 2013 film Planes, a spin-off of Cars.
- The song appears in a trailer from the 2017 film The Emoji Movie.
Chart and sales
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
Sales and certifications
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See also
References
- ↑ Guarisco, Donald A. "Don't Bring Me Down – Song Review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- 1 2 "Archive Chart: 1979-09-22" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- 1 2 "Electric Light Orchestra – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Porter, Robert. "Electric Light Orchestra and Jeff Lynne -- Don't Bring Me Down: An in-depth song analysis". Jefflynnesongs.com. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2015). Jefflynneselo.com.
- ↑ Johnston, Maura (27 March 2012). "The Hives: Go Right Ahead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – 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.
- ↑ "Le Détail par Artiste" (in French). InfoDisc. Select "Electric Light Orchestra" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". 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 search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – 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). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 22, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 February 2011). Cash Box magazine.
- ↑ RECORD WORLD 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 May 2005). Record World. Geocities.com.
- ↑ "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 at the Wayback Machine (archived 25 August 2012). Cash Box magazine.
- ↑ "British single certifications – ELO – Don't Bring Me Down". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Don't Bring Me Down in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ "American single certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Don_t Bring Me Down". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
External links
- In-depth Song Analysis at the Jeff Lynne Song Database (jefflynnesongs.com)
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics