"Don't Bring Me Down" was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin and was recorded as a single in 1966 by The Animals. The single was a solid hit reaching No. 6 in the UK and No. 12 in the US. There also are two subsequent songs by the same title..."Don't Bring Me Down" by Electric Light Orchestra in 1979 and "Don't Bring Me Down" by Spirits in 1995.
"Don't Bring Me Down" is exactly the sort of tune you wouldn’t think King would write. The song is about a guy (or girl depending on what point of view is singing it) trying real hard to make a relationship work, and pleading for understanding with his girl. Gerry Goffin was married to Carole King between 1959 and 1969 and seeing how the song was composed in 1966, one would wonder if it was a prelude to their upcoming divorce. "When you complain and criticize ,I feel I'm nothing in your eyes,It makes me feel like givin' up ,Because my best just ain't good enough,Girl I want to provide for you,And do all the things you want me to" is really all you need to know about the song. I think the real message that is often overlooked here is found in the lines "More than anything I need your love,Then trouble's easy to rise above". Meaning our singer is stating that with his woman's love there isn't anything he cannot overcome. "Don't Bring Me Down" represents one side of the Goffin-King, boy-girl, loneliness-togetherness duality. At college, Gerry Goffin met Carol Klein who had started writing songs under the name Carole King. The two became a writing partners. Their breakthrough hit was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" recorded by the Shirelles and went to No. 1 on the Billboard 100 in 1961. Goffin and King formed one of the most successful songwriting partnerships of the period with hit songs including "Take Good Care of My Baby" (Bobby Vee), "The Loco-Motion" (Little Eva, and later Grand Funk Railroad), "Go Away Little Girl" (Steve Lawrence, and later Donny Osmond), "One Fine Day" (The Chiffons), "Up on the Roof" (The Drifters), "I'm into Something Good" (Herman's Hermits), "Don't Bring Me Down" (The Animals and later Tom Petty),"A Natural Woman" (Aretha Franklin), and "Pleasant Valley Sunday" (The Monkees). This version of "Don't Bring Me Down" can be found on Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers 1986 live release...Pack Up the Plantation. Gerry Goffin died from natural causes on June 19th of 2014 in Los Angeles, California. He was 75 years old.
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