Can't Get It Out Of My Head by Electric Light Orchestra

Album: Eldorado (1974)

Charted: 9

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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. >>
Suggestion credit:
Logan - Troy, MT
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.
Lynne recalled in an edition of VH1's Storytellers, that he found inspiration for the song in the unfulfilled reveries of an everyday bloke. "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."
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!"

Comments: 17

Peter Haas from RenoThe original lyrics say "I saw the ocean's daughter, walking on a wave's chicane." More recent lyrics websites say "walking on a wave she came." "Chicane" would be the more elegant way to write the song...it refers to the frothy crest of a wave.
Bob from Eau Claire, WiBratt Pit: You need to listen to the Beatles Revolver album.
Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 9th 1975, "Can't Get It Out of My Head" by the Electric Light Orchestra peaked at #9 (for 1 week) on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; it had entered the chart on December 15th, 1974 at position #87 and spent 16 weeks on the Top 100...
Was track two of side one on the group's fourth studio album, 'Eldorado', and the album reached #16 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart.
Larry from Detroit, MiFirst song I ever slow danced to, 7th grade in 1974, one of my favorite ELO tunes, still evokes a strong nostalgic emotion of being a 12 yr old boy back in 1974 whenever I hear this song....
Steve from Whittier, CaThe very pretty little opening riff in the instrumental bridge, to add to the "Oz"-ness, reminds me of the "Over the Rainbow" vocal-bridges-y'know, when Judy Garland stands there in sepiatone singing "Where happy little bluebirds fly.."
Adam from West Palm Beach, FlBefore he joined The Move, Jeff Lynne was part of the Idle Race...
Bratt Pid from Algiers, AlgeriaThis is one of the most beautiful songs i ever heard surely it sounds like a beatles thing but technically it's more complex and elaborated than any of the beatles stuff which are rudimentary,even though lynne was influenced by them ,he surpasses them just showing the fact that members of ELO were virtuosi and the beatles members didn't even play instruments correctly !
Howard from Wakefield, United KingdomJeff Lynne sounds just like John Lennon on this, as he also does on 'Livin Thing'. 'Strange Magic' sounds just like John, Paul & George singing in harmony circa 1965 - 1969.
Miked from Ann Arbor, MiCorrection to the lyric posted below.

It is actually
"Walking on a wave chicane"

(not -on a wave she came).

Odd but true!
Oldpink from New Castle, InLynne's interesting delayed double-tracked vocals are a nice effect.
Very pretty song, as most of ELO's were, especially the likes of "Telephone Line."
Steve from Milford, United KingdomSharon Osbourne (Yes That One) is responsible for picking the album cover
Mark from Bradford, United KingdomJeff did not co-found the Move.The band were already established when Roy Wood asked Jeff to join.Jeff joined on the understanding that the band would try new orchestral type music in the future (ELO).
Ed from Canton, OhEldorado was a concept album about dreams. This song is about a dream that stays with you even after you awake.
Dave from Lacrosse, WiWhen I hear the part where he sings "Mid-night on the wa-ter, I saw, the ocean's dau-ghter, walking on a wave she came,staring as she called my name." I get a vision in my head of the famous Botticelli painting; The Birth of Venus.
Chet from Buffalo, NyThe Wizard of Oz is a 1939 film.
Mark from London, EnglandThis later became a UK hit but only as the lead track of the "ELO EP".
Charles from Charlotte, NcNot "appears to be"- it actually is a still from the 1933 film The Wizard of Oz.

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