One of my favourite singles from the 80's.

E.L.O. = Electric Light Orchestra.

It was 9:29
9:29, backstreet, big city
The sun was going down
There was music all around
It felt so right

It was one of those nights
One of those nights when you feel the world stop turnin'
You were standing there
There was music in the air
I should’ve been away
but I knew I'd have to stay

Last train to London
just headin' out
Last train to London
just leavin' town now
But I really want tonight to last forever
I really wanna be with you
Let the music play on down the line tonight

It was one of those nights
One of those nights when you feel the fire's burnin'
Everybody was there
Everybody to share
It felt so right

There you were on your own
Lookin' like you were
the only one around
I had to be with you
Nothing else that I could do
I should’ve been away
but I knew I'd have to stay

Last train to London
just headin' out
Last train to London
just leavin' town now
But I really want tonight to last forever
I really wanna be with you
Let the music play on down the line tonight


Underneath a starry sky
Time was still but hours must really have rushed by
I didn't realize
that love was in your eyes
I really should have gone
but love went on and on

Last train to London
just headin' out
Last train to London
just leavin' town now
But I really want tonight to last forever
I really wanna be with you
Let the music play on down the line tonight

But I really want tonight to last forever
I really wanna be with you
Let the music play on down the line tonight

9:29= Almost half past 9.

BACKSTREET= A street in a town far from the main roads

YOU FEEL THE WORLD STOP TURNING= You feel so wonderful that it’s like time stopped.

SHOULD’VE= Should have.

HEADIN’ OUT= If something is heading somewhere, it has that destination. So if the train was heading out, it was meant to leave town.

WANNA= Want to.

PLAY ON= Continue playing. The particle ON is often used with verbs to express the idea of continuity.

DOWN THE LINE= Along the line. This line may refer to the railway tracks or to the telephone wire or any other kind of electric cable.

THE FIRE’S BURNING= If the fire is burning you are feeling passionate.

ON YOUR OWN= Alone.

LOOKING LIKE YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE AROUND= Looking AS IF you were the only one in that place. To make a comparison we use AS IF (+ past) to introduce another sentence, and LIKE to introduce a noun. But in colloquial English we can use LIKE for both sentences and phrases:
- I feel like an idiot (+ noun)
- I feel as if I were an idiot (+ sentence)*
- I feel as like I was an idiot (colloquial)
*In an if-clause we don’t use the form “I was/he was”, but “I were/you were”. Nevertheless, in modern English it’s getting more and more common to say “I was/he was” (like in the normal past tense).

A STARRY SKY= A sky full of stars.

TIME WAS STILL= Time had stopped, it wasn’t moving.

RUSHED BY= Gone very fast.

LOVE WENT ON AND ON= Again we find the particle ON to express continuity. If love goes on, it continues, it doesn’t stop. If it goes on and on, we are emphasizing that it never ends.

Jeff Lynne has said it's about the band's frequent commute from Birmingham to London in the early days. He had a love in Birmingham and it was always hard for him to leave her and take the last train to London. The rest is funky filling babbling.