Obviously rs180216 is right. The song is an opener to a concept album on time travel, and describes the imaginary fact of being taken ahead of time by some mysterious being which is a liar and a very proud being ("with your head held high and your scarlet lies") which may be referred to some kind of artificial intelligence or even postmodern society as an entity.
The song and the album verse so much about transhumanism and its bitter and sour influence in our lives that one wonders if mr. Lynne wasn't actually taken forward to the future (2019?) to see how everything was to become so automatised and cold, so lifeless and materialistic. The energetic pulse of the very much ahead of its time sound of drum machine and the colourful sweeping synths create a sound picture which has hardly been taken over by any other pop song ever.
Shame they were so much ahead of the time I think the great public wasn't prepared for this. It would have been hit every number one in 1986, year in which they instead created the decadent, Caribbean 'Miami Vice' sounding 'Balance of Power' which holds a lot of quality in a few numbers but highlights tiredness and lack of inspiration in way too many parts. Shame but success also is an inspiring force and sadly ELO were a progressively deflated baloon in the 80's, just the opposite as what happened to them in the 70's. Nothing lasts forever but their music has aged well and they keep on selling big stadiums out in 2019.
Obviously rs180216 is right. The song is an opener to a concept album on time travel, and describes the imaginary fact of being taken ahead of time by some mysterious being which is a liar and a very proud being ("with your head held high and your scarlet lies") which may be referred to some kind of artificial intelligence or even postmodern society as an entity.
The song and the album verse so much about transhumanism and its bitter and sour influence in our lives that one wonders if mr. Lynne wasn't actually taken forward to the future (2019?) to see how everything was to become so automatised and cold, so lifeless and materialistic. The energetic pulse of the very much ahead of its time sound of drum machine and the colourful sweeping synths create a sound picture which has hardly been taken over by any other pop song ever.
Shame they were so much ahead of the time I think the great public wasn't prepared for this. It would have been hit every number one in 1986, year in which they instead created the decadent, Caribbean 'Miami Vice' sounding 'Balance of Power' which holds a lot of quality in a few numbers but highlights tiredness and lack of inspiration in way too many parts. Shame but success also is an inspiring force and sadly ELO were a progressively deflated baloon in the 80's, just the opposite as what happened to them in the 70's. Nothing lasts forever but their music has aged well and they keep on selling big stadiums out in 2019.
So good!!