"The Diary of Horace Wimp" is the fourth track on the Electric Light Orchestra album ''

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'', written by

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

. Released in 1979 as a single, the song is

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in nature and became a Top Ten hit in the UK and Ireland. The lyrics describe a week in the life of a repressed man who wants to express his affection towards a woman he meets, and overcomes his shy nature with the help of "a voice from above." The day Saturday is omitted – this is because, as explained by Jeff Lynne: "The football match is played on a Saturday". The music video references '' Citizen Kane'' in its ending, showing a closeup of

saying "Horace Wimp," echoing

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

' character in the film saying "Rosebud" as he dies.

B-side

"Down Home Town" first appeared on the band's fifth album '' Face the Music''. It also featured as the flip side to the US single " Last Train to London". "Down Home Town" contains an intro with a backmasked message, the backing chorus of the previous track, "Waterfall": "Face the mighty waterfall, face the mighty waterfall." This song includes an orchestral intro (after the "Waterfall" refrain) and a similar ending. These reverse recorded words were only used because of the sound effect.

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diary of Horace Wimp, The 1979 singles 1979 songs Electric Light Orchestra songs Jet Records singles Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne Songs written by Jeff Lynne Songs about fictional male characters