I was in the seventh grade at Alan B Shepard Jr High School in 1979 when ELO's Don't Bring Me Down was a hit. It was on the radio, at school dances, all over the place. Its effect was so loud and immediate: the pounding drums, the catchy descending guitar riff, the banging piano, Jeff Lynne's opening vocal slamming out of the speakers with undeniable authority. I loved it, and so did most of my classmates.
Like most everyone, I thought the lyric was Don't bring me down, Bruce on the chorus. But this was a mondegreen, like George Baker's Little Green Bag. Lynne supposedly sang a nonsense word, grooss. I didn't know anyone named Bruce other than Bruce Springsteen, so I thought he was the Bruce who was bringing Jeff Lynne down. There were no Bruces in my life whatsoever. I guess he could have meant Bruce Wayne, but I didn't make that connection. Jeff Lynne now sings Bruce in concert, since it's what the people want to hear.
I also never understood why someone would look good just like a snake in the grass. In my book, that's an alarming vision (depending on the variety of snake).
Don't Bring Me Down is the final track on the album Discovery, the cover of which shows this Aladdin-like guy holding the ELO Simon game spaceship in his hands. At the time, it was the only song by ELO not to feature strings. Rock n Roll!
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