Telephone line

~ susie

I only half listened to the lyrics of the ELO version, because all that orchestration can be overwhelming. It was only when I first heard this stripped-down version that the lyrical power got to me.

First of all, the sheer yearning in Jeff Lynne’s voice! The tentative “Hello?”

Are you still the same? Don’t you realize the things we did, we didWere all for real? Not a dreamI just can’t believe they’ve all faded out of view.
Seems like there’s some history here. Sounds like old Jeff blew off the relationship as “not a big deal” because otherwise, why would she doubt the reality? these lines are the closest he’ll get to an apology. Come on, Jeff, if you want her back, man up!
But it doesn’t matter, she’s not picking up. And his imagination is creating explanations, all of them bad. Listen to the way his voice breaks on “Okay”:
Okay, so no one’s answeringCan’t you just let it ring a little longer, longer, longer? I’ll just sit tight, in shadows of the nightLet it ring forevermore.
He finally needs her as much as she needed him, and as a result, he’s living in twilight. His big move went nowhere.
I look into the sky
(The love you need ain’t gonna see you through)And I wonder why
(The little things you planned ain’t coming true)
Oh, telephone line, give me some timeI’m living in twilight.
And the utter pathos of this song, the desperate attempt to rekindle the flame over the telephone wire will be lost to upcoming generations. “She didn’t answer? What’s the big deal? Send a text!”
I wonder if it ever worked out. Maybe he finally choked out the words, “I’m so sorry.”
He could have always written an actual letter. That would have been impressive, because no one writes letters anymore.