Don't Bring Me Down

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This article is about the Electric Light Orchestra song. 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 21 July 1979
Format 7" single
Recorded
Genre
Length 4:02
Label Jet
Writer(s) Jeff Lynne
Producer(s) Jeff Lynne
Certification
  • Gold (US)
  • Silver (UK)
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"The Diary of Horace Wimp"
(1979)		 "Don't Bring Me Down"
(1979)		 "Confusion"/"Last Train to London"
(1979)
Audio sample
file info · help
Discovery track listing
Music video
"Don't Bring Me Down" on YouTube

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

History

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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 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!". According to the liner notes of the ELO compilation Flashback, he is saying a made-up lyric, "Grroosss," which some have suggested sounds like the southern German expression "Grüß Gott." 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]

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

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.[6]

Cover versions, samplings and remixes

  • In 1998, punk rock band J Church recorded a version that appears on the Mailorder is Fun compilation released by Asian Man Records.
  • In 1998, North Carolina sludge metal band Buzzov•en covered the song on their album ...At a Loss.
  • In 2001, Op:l Bastards covered the song as a single.
  • In 2003, Status Quo covered the song on their album Riffs.
  • In 2005, Parthenon Huxley covered the song on his Homemade Spaceship album. Huxley's version is a Goons-ish sendup featuring ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt (credited as Jelly Donut) on spoken vocals and ELO violinist Mik Kaminski (credited as Poppadom Screech) on violin.
  • In 2006, L.E.O. includes a shortened cover of the song as a hidden track on their album Alpacas Orgling.
  • In 2006, J-pop band PUFFY (a.k.a. Puffy AmiYumi) have a cover of the song featured on the B-side of their single "Hataraku Otoko".
  • In 2007, Finnish symphonic metal supergroup Northern Kings covered the song on their album Reborn.
  • In 2010, Donna Loren covered the song on her album Love It Away.
  • 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",[7] and as a result Jeff Lynne was officially credited as a co-writer.
  • 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.[8]
  • Jungle Brothers sample the song on "Because I Got It Like That" from their debut album Straight out the Jungle in 1988.
  • "Don't Bring Me Down" was remixed by Remix Artist Collective member Karl Kling.

Appearances in other media

Chart and sales

Preceded by Canadian RPM 100 Singles number-one single
6 October 1979 (1 week)		 Succeeded by
"Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" by Robert Palmer

References

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External links

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Archive Chart: 1979-09-22" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  11. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1181 – Saturday, September 01, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 July 2007). CHUM. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  14. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6839a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  17. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Don't Bring Me Down". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Electric Light Orchestra - Don't Bring Me Down search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  20. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Electric Light Orchestra – Don't Bring Me Down". Swiss Singles Chart.
  24. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 22, 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 February 2011). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  25. ↑ RECORD WORLD 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 May 2005). Record World. Geocities.com. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1979 at the Wayback Machine (archived 25 August 2012). Cash Box magazine. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. 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
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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