Animals – Don’t Bring Me Down

This song starts off with organ and bass and then…then the guitar comes in with a slight tremolo power chord that makes it. This was right before The Animals split and Eric Burdon formed a new version of the Animals. Their drummer in this is Barry Jenkins and he replaced original member John Steel.

The original lineup only recorded three albums, yet nevertheless managed to break out eight Top 40 hits between 1964 and 1966. Alan Price left in 1965, and John Steel the following year. Also in 1966, Chandler left to start managing artists, and he discovered Jimi Hendrix in Greenwich Village. Now a very different group, they were known as Eric Burdon & The Animals and had six additional Top 40 hits before finally disbanding in 1968.

The biggest difference between the Animals and The Beatles, Stones, Kinks, and The Who was that the Animals didn’t write many of their songs. They kept looking at the Brill Building for songs. This one was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. Those two wrote a lot of the sixties soundtrack on their own.

That would change soon. In 1966, The Animals changed labels to Decca and started writing their own material in the following years. They would release songs such as San Franciscan Nights, Monterey, and Sky Pilot.

Don’t Bring Me Down peaked at #12 on the Billboard 100, #3 in Canada, and #6 in the UK in 1966.

Eric Burdon:  “I didn’t realize that it was a Goffin, King song until I was in a doctor’s office in Beverly Hills and Ms. King came in and sat next to me. I didn’t know it was her, I was just reading a magazine and she turned to me and said, ‘You know, I hated what you did to my song.’ I didn’t know what to say, so all I said was, ‘well, sorry.’ and then as she got up to go into the doctor’s office, she turned around and said, ‘but I got used to it.'”

Eric Burdon: “I’ve always viewed myself as a punk. The Animals could have evolved that way. We had the energy and the anger, but we didn’t stick together. When the punk scene became commercial, I was all for the politics of the movement, but the music didn’t really stand up and ultimately, it was self destructive.”

Don’t Let Me Down

When you complain and criticize
I feel I’m nothing in your eyes.,
It makes me feel like givin’ up
Because my best just ain’t good enough.
Girl I want to provide for you and
Do the things you want me to!

But oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!
Oh, baby you know!
Oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!

Sacrifices I will make,
I’m ready to give as well as take,
One thing I need is your respect,
One thing I can’t take is your neglect,
More than anything I need your love
Then trouble’s easy to rise above.

But oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!
Oh, baby you know!
Oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!

When you complain and criticize
I feel I’m nothing in your eyes.,
It makes me feel like givin’ up
Because my best just ain’t good enough.
Girl I want to provide for you and
Do the things you want me to!

But oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!
Oh, baby you know!
Oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!
Oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!
Oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!
Oh, oh, no, don’t bring me down!

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

40 thoughts on “Animals – Don’t Bring Me Down”

  2. Yes!!! That’s such a great tune that surely won’t bring me down ever. The Animals were one hot band. I love these guys. Eric Burdon was a beast of a vocalist.

    I’m movin’ and groovin’ along in my chair as I’m writing this clever comment. Unfortunately, I’m coordination-challenged, so movin ‘n’ groovin’ make my friggin’ fingers go berserk, resulting in one typo after another. Oh, Max, what have you done? 🙂

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    1. I’ve woke you up lol.
      That guitar… as soon as it comes in…it hooks me into the song completely. Every time Eric Burdon sings anything…it’s intense.

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      1. You surely did wake me up. I kind of overslept, which is also why I published later than usual today. At some point, chronic sleep deficit catches up with you, so I guess I did need some extra bed time this morning! 🙂

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      2. Yea I just woke up this morning without an alarm…thats always good.
        I’m thankful I can go to sleep pretty much at will most nights.

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    1. You got to see the real deal…not the replacement Animals…Those caravans…. they had a lot of stars and future stars on them. I think The Who were on one of them also.

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  5. Excellent song. I didn’t recognize it right away by name but as soon as it kicked in , I went ‘oh yeah- THIS one’. Really good delivery & interplay between the guitar & organ. I didn’t realize it was yet another Carole King work- what a talent she was too.

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    1. I didnt know it right off by the title and I had their greatest hits! You know what song I think of when I hear the title…
      I heard it the other day somewhere…and I wanted to post it…I thought…surely I’ve posted this before….but no I hadn’t…the title again…it is a good song.

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      1. right, not their fault but with the title so close to ones by The Beatles and years later, ELO it can kind of get lost in the shuffle until you hear it.

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  7. I have a issue with organs from the 60s Max. lol… I was intrigued by Burdon’s comment about being a punk and about the band filled with anger and energy. Interesting comment really.

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  9. Great song Max haven’t heard that in a long while! I didn’t know about that chance encounter with Burdon and King, pretty funny actually. I’m pretty sure she never recorded it herself though she did many demos of her songs and again I never heard it.

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    1. John just gave me this link…not a studio version but she does it as part of a melody… looks like she adapted to the Animals version.

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  10. King obviously wrote it for the piano, looking at that video of her – the Animals mutated it in another direction. A better one, I think. it works better snarled Eric style than Caroles more restrained style.

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  11. King had a lot of nerve saying that to Eric! WOW! How could she hate their cover of the song? For real! I just went out to listen to hers and wasn’t impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I love the songs she’s written, but The Animals did this cover right. After Eric went on to join up with War (or formed the band, War) you know what my favorite song is 🙂

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    1. They did it the right thing. I saw that clip of her doing it and she does it the Animals way. They did a great job on it.
      I know that WAR song!

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  14. Pingback: Animals – Don’t Bring Me Down – hemyar

  15. No mention of Mickey Most, who got credit on a lot of the 45s I bought back in the day, both of the Animals and Herman’s Hermits. I know nothing about him, but I remember I bought some 45s based solely on his name. Don’t remember anything about what records those were, which might be all I need to know.

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