Electric Light Orchestra - Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Lyrics

Wow, what a great riff!!!

Sound like The Rolling Stones in Beggars Banquet/Let It Bleed/Sticky Fingers/Exile On Main St

Did I not hear a Syd Barrett type of twist at the end of this GREAT song :>)

That nasty, gritty, rude guitar riff by Marc Bolan - damn! My fav ELO song. So raw sounding and Jeff singing his ass off "Gotta get ahold of you before I serve my time..."
Goosebumps every time.

ELO live Fusion!!!!!

sharp guitars electric violin and cello like good cheese.

Fucking LOVE that kiss ass riff!!

Now THIS is rock with strings. Always wondered why the tune didn't do better.

Elo The real beethovens of rock and roll !

Mott the hoople jerkin krokus

Griping about at&t telephone bill. Ma bell

Those f.cking silent intros!!!

ELO could rock pretty heavy when they wanted to. Do ya and don't bring me down come to mind.

And they just so happen to be some of their best songs

out of this world!

Got love, that's what you need
I got three or four babies sittin' on my knee
I got good love, waitin' for you
I come up sneakin' 'round the corner of the avenue.

You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
You know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you.

There's one thing that's on my mind
And that's getting hold of you before I serve my time
I'll got keep on, with my heavy load
Till I see you come a-strollin' down that open road.

You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, before I'll get you
Now that you know you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
Now it feelin' so, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you
You know, before you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, I will get you.

I love you, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
That's why I want to get it all, well, I'm sure you can tell
I got good soul runnin' so deep
Gonna get you in the corner so that I can keep.

Can't you hear me once, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle?
Or I will get you, yeah
You know, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you, yeah
And you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you, yeah
Now you gotta Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, or I will get you, yeah.

You gotta Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Or I will get you, yeah
Gonna see you, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Or I will see you 'round, 'round, get 'round down
Gonna see you Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
You wanna sit down, get down, get down
Gonna see you, Ma-Ma...

marc oh yeah!

Great dancing, hearing, and rhythm

Marc Bolan on lead guitar!!!!

Twin lead with Lynne, actually...

Definitely hear his influence and style 😍😍

Used to rock this so loud neighbors would hate me they stopped messing with me after awhile though cuz I never stopped playing it loud 15 in. Speakers 100 watts per channel

A pure stomper if ever there was one.

Whooooo I got happy feet

Heavy delicius sound

I love them all...one of the greatest bands of there time

This was the B-Side to 'Livin Thing' 1976 when i was a kid i thought it was The Stones at first

I was hearing this from another room the other evening and couldn't make out whether it was a Move or a Wizzard track. Oh, ELO, well that explains it, LOL.

The emo bands should take note. THIS is how you put orchestra into rock and roll.

I haven't heard this song in at least 25 years! Sounds even better now than it did back then! 😊

"My Woman From Tokyo"--Deep Purple
"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"--ELO

Just a great lick

ELO were kick ass rockers when they wanted to be! "10538 Overture", "Do Ya" and "Ma Ma Ma Belle" hold up to any hard rock band.

my brother's got me to this good music I was just *12* now I'm *53*😉😃

wow so long ago ,telephone line my fav. enjoy the journey its all good. god bless.

Apparently the title is a pun on both the French "belle" and the Bell telephone company.

"Ma Bell" was what the US public called the Bell Telephone Company.

terrypussypower Ohh now I get it. Cheers

@terrypussypower yep. Everyone knows that

Nancy Markiewick No. They don’t. There’s even Americans who don’t know it, never mind everyone else in the world!

Marc Bolan on guitar!

gideons .mob thanks for that info, I didn't know that

Yeah, Marc and Jeff were on twin lead guitars...

True!😎👍

You are so right, Marc Bolan does play guitar on this, Marc had been a fan of Jeff Lynne's music since his days with The Idle Race.

Classic Rock and roll. Great tune. Sad to say we won't ever hear the likes again.

Whatchu mean Styx, Bon Jovi, Rolling Stones, and even ELO have released albums in the past 5 years

Still forever sounding brilliant !!

hell yeah!!!! 😁😁😁 you gorgeous man! Jeff😉☺

Y yo que pensaba que solo eran ultimo tren a londres! And I thought they were just Last train to London! Greetings from Argentina!

Showdown!

1973 is on the phone...all is forgiven.

Orchestra Never sounded so good 'til ELO came along! Had most all their music at one time or another on vinyl, 8-track, and cassette. They sounded best on vinyl through an old tube driven amp and some worthy speakers.

Now go and listen to Jerkin' Crocus by Mott The Hoople...I think Mott might have been first with this one (although all the riffs came from somewhere else...even back then!). Oh btw...I still loved this song...good to hear after so long!

I used say that back in the day, but you figure that circle with Jeff Lynne, Ian Hunter and David Bowie were always playing mix gigs through the years. Ariel Bender and especially Mick Ralphs put together some memorable riffs, "Walking with a Mountain" in NY in 72", AB was flawless

Does not the intro sound like Stones' Brown Sugar?

A little.

+Denis Morissette Right. Influenced by the Beatles too (in some other songs). But mostly, very original musicians.

true musicans.not a bunch of button pushing dubbers.new music is crap

it is what it is.

I think both dubstep and ELO is good. Well, maybe not dubstep but EDM. I hate dubstep that goes so low that it rattles my eardrums, but I like the sound.

As for how much musical talent they take, this kind of music takes more to play but probably about the same to create. But Jeff Lynne is certainly a true musician

you mean rap? :P

Marc Bolan playing a his best , just as good as nut bush city limits with tina turner

I will get you!

from their 3rd album - but still sounding like The Move

I'm Mabelle,

This was the B-side of the 2nd 45 I purchased and I didn't play it for weeks. Once I did, the A-side was consistenty face-down. Thirty + years later I finally saw these guys in concert. Fantastic show.

Sorry, I cannot get what your point is. We were talking about Paul McCartney's supposed "marketer sense", not about his personality or wether he was arrogant or not.

Lynne once said that the purpose of ELO was to carry on with where "I am the walrus" left off. That was lennon's song, I guess. :D

Although McCartney was a great artist, an accomplished musician, and a fine composer who outsold not only his former band mates as a soloist but many of his contemporaries, I don't think that is why other musicians disliked him. I think what they disliked about his most was his personality. McCartney was and still is, an arrogant, pompous ass. :D

And a lot of his solo music is childish.

What does this comment have to do with the video? We're talking about Ma Ma Ma belle by Jeff Lynne. Paul McCartney has nothing to do with this LOL

Not this this comment was relevant in any way to the song, but to respond anyway, Lennon made the Beatles, so who really cares about McCartney?

I always thought it was John who was the pompous ass, not Paul. Everyone has their own opinion.

Guess who plays guitar on this track ?
Marc Bolan !

Agreed.......tired of the raging on Macca. Dudes a genius. Always was...always will be.

Of course, I was talking about McCartney. No one questions Lynne, whom I think is among the 3 biggest musical geniuses of the last century along with Macca and Lennon.

Well excuse me for the description. I love Lynne's music and some of the best was over 4 minutes and not released as singles. I like much of what McCartney has done since leaving the Beatles and like Lynne he is now making music for himself.

Not just this song, 80% of ELO's songs crashes all modern music to atoms.

Absolutely 👍

With all the respect, I don't like that common phrase of Paul McCartney's "hitmaker marketer sense" that some people use to despise him, as if he was always thinking "what could I possibly do to have another #1 and sell more". He just did songs according to his inspiration, like any other artist does. That songs happened to be great, and that's why people liked them and became hits. What happens is that other artists don't have the capacity of writing great songs and so despise him that way.

@MrELOPNE ....i have always thought E.L.O. sounded like the John Lennon-Side of the Beatles, Which is a Good Compliment I'd say.Then again 99.9% of all-bands that came after the fab-four were influenced by them,starting with my favorite band,the Stones, who took little idea's here and there.I had never heard what you mentioned about John Lennon saying:"sons of the beatles", ...really interesting, Thanks !!!

Lennon said that after hearing "Showdown." He said ELO took what the Beatles started and extended it farther with strings, which was exactly Lynne's intent.

@Dan77able
The way I found this SIK AAAAAAASSOM band.

wholly overlooked B-side to the fey Living Thing which I purchased in 75-76 as a youngun; excellent riff

@HoleHeadedLiar I just don't understand the "son of the beatles" title that was bestowed upon this band;
It came from the lips of John Lennon,
He also said that Showdown should have been a No 1 if UA had pulled their finger out.

@rebelartwork I agree totally...he is like the mind meld of the best of John Lennon with the hitmaker marketer sense of Paul McCartney...He is Pure Greatness in all aspects of being a musician and maker of records...

I have been an ELO fan since I bought the first album when it hit the shelves...Jeff Lynne is pure greatness....What a rock song this is...

The Rolling Stones? Seriously? Elo great all on their own yes but i see NO resemblance to The Stones. Are you smoking Meth or something.

Jeff Lynne is a genius. Simply the best.

I bought this vinyl LP (On The Third Day) yesterday at the swap meet for $1.00. Mint condition too. Plays like it was meant to in 1973. Sweetness.

This has officially been my favorite song since 2001. And I don't plan plan on changing that.

@tatunkha It's an instrumental? The one I just found on YouTube sounds like it is reversed when it's not and then clearly "...turn back..." when it is actually reversed. Is that what it's supposed to sound like played correctly? I read they did it in response to a group that found an unintentional backward message on the song Eldorado.

Bolan on guitar

@tatunkha Something from Time? The prologue?

great guitar work, love the slides..

@justinlust777 it tells you that on the sleeve

MARC BOLAN Played guitar on the Electric Light Orchestra hit Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (though he was uncredited in the liner notes.).

Wooooot. Good Ole ELO.

it's just ma-ma belle