| Electric Light Orchestra – Ordinary Dream Lyrics | 11 years ago |
|
Ordinary Dream is a man’s reaction to the receipt of a break up letter. The letter itself is what is discussed in the second stanza. However, in the first stanza the writer is surprised that he did not see this coming. It is apparent that he thought things were going well but obviously he was mistaken. One thing that is interesting to me is the final line of both stanzas in which the writer stated that how things began was where things went wrong. The first time he said it mattered how they began and the second time he said it did not matter but he was mistaken because it actually did. A bit of second guessing that is normal when one is trying to figure out how things ended as they did. The chorus evokes a lot of varied images that are primed for speculation. Was the writer saying that he didn’t want the relationship to end and so to maintain it, he had to live in a dream world in which they were still together? Or, was the writer stating that this was typical of all of his relationships and that while he was struggling and tormented, the partner in the failed relationship was largely unaffected? Only Jeff Lynne knows for sure what he meant in these lyrics. I believe both concepts are not mutually exclusive and so I believe he meant both. At face value this is a simple song and a pleasant melody. It would be easy to walk past the simple brilliance of the lyrics and miss the insight one can gain into this tale. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.