Dream World

A few days ago I was doing some work on my computer. After working for a while I needed a short break. Instead of getting up I just leaned forward, placed my left elbow on the table and rested my head in my hand. As I did, my bookshelf came into view. The bookshelf is waist high and sits by my front door. It is accented by a platter of candles that sit on the very top. It contains two shelves. The bottom shelf is lined with books as you might expect. The top shelf however showcases a 3 dimensional sign that spells out the word “DREAM”.

As I stared at the sign I started to think about dreams. I tried to grasp the impact that dreams have on our very existence. There are the crazy dreams that we have that make sense while we are having them, but lack logic and reason when we try to explain them to others. There are dreams that wake us from a dead sleep. There are flying and falling dreams. I’ve personally had dreams with melodies that have been so strong that they have motivated me to wake up and capture the tune before it leaves me.

Dreams are not limited to our sleep time. There are of course day dreams that can take us away at any given moment. They can be just as motivating and just as powerful as the ones that we have during the night. I recalled thinking at one time how EVERY little thing that we see around us that was made by man was first a dream.  From the tiniest screw, to the largest rocket ship. They were all first created in the factory of the mind.

Dreams allow us to conceptualize things that may never happen. Right now, I’m recalling my dream from childhood in which I wanted to be an airline pilot. I was fascinated with planes. Little did I know color blindness would stop me in my tracks. Yes, I know, I could still pilot a small plane but that wasn’t my dream. I was going to work for Eastern and pilot a Boeing 727. To this day, I still feel a certain excitement when I enter an airport.

Dreams are a fascination to science for it remains a mystery WHY we dream. The study of dreams is called “Oneirology”. Sigmund Freud was a psychiatrist who studied dreams and the purpose behind dreams and had a belief that dreams represented our deepest inner desires. It has also been conceptualized by philosophers such as Parmenides that our very existence is a manifestation of a dream. “Ontology” or “Metaphysics” is the study of existence. Modern thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson , Phineas Quimby, Mary Baker Eddy, Charles Fillmore, Myrtle Fillmore and Ernest Holmes have redefined religious philosophy and lay their foundation in the idea that your thoughts (dreams) produce your experience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Consciously or subconsciously, dreams are the catalyst for creation. Being a songwriter I have found myself many of times lost in thought trying to mold my ideas in the most concise manner. Writing a song is giving my thoughts and dreams the vibration of sound. The moment when the song goes from my head to the paper is that sacred moment of creation. The very act of writing a song has made me think of God and the moment the universe was created. Just like my song, it was an idea in mind put into motion.

As I continued to sit with my head in my hand, I started to recall a number of songs that were about our dreams, daydreams or imagination. After much consideration, I decided to put together my top ten list of the dreamiest songs:

#1 - Imagine  – John Lennon – upon its original release in 1971 it reached #3 on the US Billboard charts. Upon Lennon’s assassination in 1980 it topped the charts at #1

#2 - What A Day For A Daydream – The Lovin’ Spoonful (John Sebastian)  Reached #2 and was Sebastian’s attempt to rewrite Baby Love by the Supremes.

#3 - Dream A Little Dream Of Me – The Mamas and Papas – This remake of the 1931 song reached #12 in 1968. John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas was personal friends with Felix Andre. Andre was one of the songs original co-writers with Gus Kahn.

#4 - Don’t Dream It’s Over – Crowded House – reached #2 in 1986. The song lyrics are non-rhyming lyrics. A feature I appreciate as a songwriter.

#5 - Pure Imagination – from Willy Wonka. (uncharted) Who can forget the scene at the end of the movie when Charlie gets to push the button and take off in the Wonkavator. Charlie (Peter Ostrum) declined a career in acting and is now a large animal Veterinarian in Lowville, NY.

#6 - Dreamboat Annie – Heart  - Charted at #42 and was frequently played as the intro to “Crazy On You” which itself cracked the top 40 at #35. The acoustic guitar in Dreamboat Annie and Crazy On You was played by Nancy Wilson. The skill and dexterity of Wilson was a tremendous influence to me in my early years of playing guitar. 

#7 - Dream On – Aerosmith  - peaked at #6 on its re-release in 1976. The song is one of the best Rock Anthems of all time and is the bands signature song.

# 8 - You Make My Dreams Come True – Hall and Oates – Reached #5 on the charts in 1981 and is by far my favorite Hall and Oates song despite having 6 songs that were #1.

#9 - The impossible Dream – from Man of La Mancha – Peaked at #35 on Billboard’s Hot 100 list but reached #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Jim Nabor’s did a stunning version of this song on the show Gomer Pyle USMC.

#10 - I Dreamed a Dream – from Les Miserables – There is only one thing to say about this song: SUSAN BOYLE. Her performance STILL brings tears to my eyes!

Honorable mention

California Dreamin’ – Mamas and the Papas

These Dreams – Heart

Dream Dream Dream – Everly brothers.

Imagination – Tommy Dorsey and Frank Sinatra

Daydream Believer – The Monkees

Dreams - Fleetwood Mac

What are YOUR dreamiest songs? Write about it on my blog. 

NOTE: click the song titles to see videos of the songs