WCSX Classic Cuts : Don’t Bring Me Down
WCSX Classic Cuts
Electric Light Orchestra: “Don’t Bring Me Down”
The Hook: Sometimes a word is just a sound.
Album: Discovery
Year: 1979
Writer: Jeff Lynne
Stats: A gold single in the U.S., “Don’t Bring Me Down” stands as ELO’s biggest American hit. It reached number-four in Billboard and spent 11 weeks in the Top 40.
The Background: In the chorus, Jeff Lynne sings the title followed by a word that many people thought was “Bruce.” It wasn’t. Drummer Bev Bevan has the explanation.
Bev Bevan explains the mystery word in The Electric Light Orchestra song “Don’t Bring Me Down.” OC:…lovely word, gros. :17
“The whole thing is built ’round the drum groove, that’s all it is. Lyrically, it’s nonsense cause it’s got that gros thing. People say ‘bruce,’ but actually, it’s gros. It’s a German word, basically means ‘greetings.’ It doesn’t make any sense — ‘don’t bring me down, greetings!’ It’s just a lovely word, Grrrrrross!”
