Crossword Genius

Song cover cut by ELO originally (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

lied

'song' is the definition.
(type of German song)

'cover cut by elo originally' is the wordplay.
'cover' becomes 'lid' (lid is a kind of cover).
'cut by' indicates putting letters inside (some letters cut their way into a word).
'originally' says to take the initial letters.
The first letter of 'elo' is 'e'.
'lid' going around 'e' is 'LIED'.

(Other definitions for lied that I've seen before include "Made up a story" , "Spoke falsely" , "Told an untruth" , "piece of music" , "Romantic song told a story" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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