The Electric Light Orchestra song that reminds Jeff Lynne of a ‘children’s nursery rhyme’

A song off the latest Electric Light Orchestra album reminds Jeff Lynne of a “children’s nursery rhyme.”

The ELO frontman shared as much during a track-by-track breakdown of From Out of Nowhere, the album he and the band released in 2019. Discussing what he likes about each song featured on the album, Lynne, who will retire from live performance later this year with a show at Hyde Park, shared that he liked one song in particular. The veteran frontman confirmed it was the “simplicity” of the song he liked most of all. In a conversation with Louder Sound, the Evil Woman hitmaker shared it was the guitar part he liked most of all, and that it gave the song a simpler structure to make the most of its children’s nursery rhyme-like detail.

Lynne said: “It reminds me of a children’s nursery rhyme. I really like it because of the sounds of the two guitars. It sounds like a 12-string, but it’s actually two six-strings, one playing two octaves above the other. I like its simplicity.”

The song in question, Down Came the Rain, has not been performed by Lynne live. Whether he performs it at one of the shows in the lead-up to his retirement from performing is yet to be seen, though it remains unlikely.

Lynne has spoken fondly of many of the songs featured on From Out of Nowhere, with particular praise for one track which avoided a sad ending. Lynne said: “Songbird is actually a true story. These doves moved into an alcove above my window and had babies. They were all living in there, looking at us through the kitchen window.

“Often these songs have a sad ending, but I wanted to give it a good ending, and fortunately I could do it because they learnt to fly. Suddenly they could fly, like harriers, straight off the ground up into the air, up to the telephone wires.

“It was such a great moment, and in the end they all flew off together. So what I turned all this into was a song about them coming home. Because I believe that the babies come back to where they were born, to make their own nest. My songbird came home.”

Five more dates on the Over and Out tour remain, with ELO set to bow out from live performance at Hyde Park, London, on July 14.

In a post made to the r/ELO subreddit, long-time listeners shared their thoughts on what could be in store for the group. One user wrote: “It would be nice to see Bob Dylan and Dhani Harrison come out to do some Wilburys’ songs.” Another added: “Dhani Harrison is probably a high probability. Joe Walsh, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr less so but still.”