The song is appropriately named because it’s hard to get it out of your head after you listen to it. The song peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100 in 1975. The song was on the Eldorado album that peaked at #16 in 1975.
Jeff Lynne recalled that he found inspiration for the song in the unfulfilled duties of an everyday guy. “It’s about a guy in a dream who sees this vision of loveliness and wakes up and finds that he’s actually a clerk working in a bank,” he said. “And he hasn’t got any chance of getting her or doing all these wonderful things that he thought he was going to do.”
From Songfacts
This is one of several fan favorites from the Eldorado, considered by many to be Jeff Lynne’s best album. The album cover shows what appears to be the scene from the movie The Wizard Of Oz, as the Wicked Witch tries to snatch Dorothy’s Ruby Red Slippers.
This was Electric Light Orchestra’s first Top 40 hit in the US, however, it did not chart in their native UK, despite their four previous Top 40 hits there.
Jeff Lynne wrote this track. Lynne had previously led The Idle and later co-founded The Move with Roy Wood and Bev Bevan before creating ELO. The album Eldorado sold gold, becoming the sixteenth Best-Selling Album in 1974 in the US.
“Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” was featured on the 1977 soundtrack of the film Joyride.
This song was later covered live by Fountains of Wayne on their 2005 Out of States Plates album and in 2007 by Velvet Revolver on their 2007 set Libertad.
Jeff Lynne revealed during an interview with Uncle Joe Benson on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show that he wrote the song to prove a point to his dad. He explained that they were arguing about something when his father said, “That’s the trouble with your tunes… They’ve got no bloody tune!'”
So Lynne said to himself, I’ll show you a tune then, and wrote “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head,” “just to show him I could write a tune!”
Can’t Get It Out Of My Head
Midnight, on the water
I saw the ocean’s daughter
Walking on a wave’s she came
Staring as she called my name
And I can’t get it out of my head
No, I can’t get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
‘Cause I can’t get it out of my head
Breakdown on the shoreline
Can’t move, it’s an ebbtide
Morning, don’t get here tonight
Searching for her silver light
And I can’t get it out of my head
No, I can’t get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
‘Cause I can’t get it out of my head, no how?
Bank job in the city
Robin Hood and William Tell
And Ivanhoe and Lancelot
They don’t envy me
Sitting ’til the sun goes down
In dreams the world keeps going ’round and ’round
And I can’t get it out of my head
No, I can’t get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
‘Cause I can’t get it out of my head
And I can’t get it out of my head
No, I can’t get it out of my head
Now my whole world is gone for dead
‘Cause I can’t get it out of my head, no how, no now
I liked the 70’s ELO- it seems once the decade turned they went down hill- like that song Rock and Roll is King- was awful. But their 70’s stuff- great.
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Jeff was so productive through the seventies…I guess it came to an end. Funny thing is they didn’t try to follow the 80s sound…I hated Rock and Roll is King… Hold On Tight was not as bad but yea it went down hill.
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Off Topic – 430 million for Trout. The Angels are smart in locking him up unless he gets hurt really bad but that is with any player….I still think the Angels got a much better deal than the Phillies.
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I was glad to see Trout sign with the Angels.. I hate the Phillies and its kind of nice to see those Philly fans suffer they thought that they had Trout for sure. Hopefully Trout stays healthy and has a dozen more fantastic years- and the Angels build a good team around him.
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Their farm system is improving so they should be able to build something around him. I think that Harper remark may have nudged the Angels a little…because if he keeps it up…he is only going to cost more in two years.
Plus we won’t have this circus in two years which is great.
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This all seemed done pretty quietly- and quickly. Yes I think if they didn’t move this spring-it would have been more and more difficult down the line.
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off topic
Kershaw isn’t starting opening day but he is healthy so far…just building his arm strength…I’ll take that.
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Its a long season- no use rushing things.. when he’s ready he’s ready.. good to hear.
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This is one of my most fave ELO songs. The backstory with his dad sure inspired a lovely tune. I’d never paid much attention to what the lyrics were saying, but I should have–an average working guy yearning for a more fulfilling life.
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And when I hear it…the title comes true but it a great way…not a bad one.
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ELO took their name because the group combined electric rock instruments with orchestral instruments. “Light Orchestras” were small orchestras popular in England in the ’60s.
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I listened a lot to ELO in my youth. Regarding my favourite, it’s between this and Telephone Line. But I am probably not familiar with a lot of their music.
I like that story about Lynn showing his Dad he could write a tune. Great post Bad.
Can I recommend you listen to Mike Batt’s album ‘Tarot Suite’ which often gets overlooked as far as great 70 albums go. It’s easily in my top 10 albums of all time.
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Great band and great song. Like many of you, think almost all of their 70s singles were excellent… but their turn to simplicity in the ’80s didn’t help their sound .
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After Xanadu they went down
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I’m never sure if I like this band – I find them a bit hokey but great tunes as well.
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Jeff Lynne can write a pop song. They are not a rock band nor progressive. It is kind of hard to place them.
Off Topic What did you think of Primus? They are an acquired taste.
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Listened to it this morning, and I liked it – more novelty than most of their stuff, right?
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Yes that is true.
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ELO was wonderful during their time in the sun.
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OMG, I LOVE ELO. I loved this song. And, I agree. They sucked (out loud) after Xanadu.
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I can take Hold On Tight but Rock and Roll is King…is Lynne trying to hard. I believe he was getting on the Stray Cats bandwagon
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I got sick of hearing it when it became the intro song for the Rock -n- Roll Express wrestlers.
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Never saw them…it was also on a commercial.
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You didn’t miss a thing. My dad loved ‘wrastlin’. 🙄 I was forced to watch. 😖
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It was big here in the 70s and 80s and 90s and it’s still may be… just wasn’t my thing. My grandmother loved it
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Ken was watching it when John Cena was really active, before he got married and became an actor. Even he got fed up with the nonsense. It’s like a soap opera, now, but with crazy outfits, crazy hair and cleavage.
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We had local ones…the biggest I remember it getting was when Jerry Lawler and Andy Kauffman did their thing on the Letterman show.
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Jerry the King…hm. Kaufman was WEIRD.
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Andy was weird…his comedy was different. He went out on limb for sure….he did the best Elvis imitation ever.
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Reblogged this on Observation Blogger and commented:
The next song to appear in my music library project is ELO’s ‘Can’t Get It Out My Head’. My good blogger friend Max recently showcased this one, so I’ll relay his post instead. I listened a lot to ELO in my youth. Regarding my favourite ELO song, it’s between this and ‘Telephone Line’, but I am hardly abreast of much of their discography.
I like the story about Lynn showing his Dad how he could write a tune.
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