Recorded February–August 1974 | Label Jet, United Artists | |
A-side "Boy Blue" (US)
"Wild West Hero" (UK) Released April 1975 (US) B-side
May 1978 (UK) B-side Genre Progressive rock, symphonic rock Length 5:17 (album)
4:50 (single) | ||
"Eldorado" is the title track from the 1974 album of the same name by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
The song was used as the B-side of the United States single "Boy Blue" in 1975 and later as the flip side to the UK hit single "Wild West Hero" in 1978.
According to the song's composer Jeff Lynne
"This song is where the dreamer wakes up to reality, then decides he likes his dream world better and tries to get back to Eldorado." - Eldorado (remastered) liner notes by Jeff Lynne, 2001
The title track gained a certain notoriety when it was claimed by some Christian Fundamentalists that "Eldorado" contained some "satanic messages." Purportedly, the line in the song that went "Here it comes, another lonely day; Playing the game. I'll sail away; On a voyage of no return to see" was claimed to sound something like "He is the nasty one - Christ you're infernal - It is said we're dead men - Everyone who has the mark will live" when played backwards. Lynne denied these allegations, then further asserted his point to his accusers — in his typical tongue-in-cheek manner — by inserting an obviously and deliberately backmasked segment into ELO's next album (Face the Music), within the opening portions of the famous "Fire On High" track. He further satirised it by releasing an entire album strewn with backmasking.
The song was also covered by Fleming & John on the tribute album Lynne Me Your Ears.