Discuss Dreams
 

This song is truly timeless, IMO - it would be very hard for someone who'd never heard it before to date it after listening. Of course, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't heard it, whether they realized it or not. All you have to say is "you know, the 'thunder only happens when it's rainin' song!" :D

From the first beat of the drum, I'm hooked. Actually, I think the rhythm portion is my favorite part of the song. Maybe it's the lyric, but it really does sound/feel like a heartbeat - esp. John's bass. It's so easily identifiable, even if you hear it from a distance. At work, it comes on the radio pretty often, and I can pick up that beat from several feet away - I can't hear lyrics, or guitar, or anything else - and I know that it's Dreams. :nod: So relaxing, dreamy.


The vocal is perfection, absolute perfection. Lush harmonies from Chris & Lindsey, one of the best examples of the 3 voices meshing together effortlessly. Lyrically, I love that this is a break-up song, but it's not as bitter as GYOW or Planets, for example. It's more of a "oh well, it's your loss" type of song.

I enjoy the album version most - that, and the demo ("second verse") on the remaster/reissue. For some reason, I much prefer more recent live ('97 - today) performances than older ones. :shrug:
Not sure why.

Great song, with great harmonies, but just OVERPLAYED TO DEATH. I'm so sick of hearing it, I could puke coathangers.:thumbsup:

Are there different lyrics on the demo.? I do not think I have heard that.

And, Dreams is indeed timeless and her voice perfection. Also, the harmonies are stellar.

This song is soooo hippy witchey Stevie.

What can I say, I never get tired of this song. I do however want to say that this is one of those songs of which I actually prefer the album version instead of the live version. There are some exceptions, ofcourse, but I skip mostly through it on boots or other live registrations, whereas I hardly ever skip it on the album. Like Paula said, it's timeless. It's hypnotizing actually. That's why I can't turn it off when it comes on. :shrug: That John McVie guy does some stellar bass playing on this. And those lyrics...hard to beat.

I spent at least an hour last week explaining to my dad what the song was about. He was complaining that he was never able to understand what she was saying, and the parts he could understand, didn't make any sense. :laugh: He was going like "When the rain washes you clean you'll know? You'll know what? What the hell is she talking about?" Made for an interesting car ride. Ofcourse, this came from the same guy who asked what Meatloaf meant when he sang "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that." I guess the man is not as into the lyrics as I am. ;)

as far as live versons go, I prefer the new ones (97-today) as well.

Not one of my faves from stevie, but still a classic.
I love the vocal deliverance on -well who am I to "keep you down" on the studio version. It sounds so fragile and innocent. With that said..i hate the "down..down..down" on the older live versions :laugh:

there is also a drum part...(second chorus?? maybe third) I'm thinking the chorus where she does "oooooh..thunder only happens when it's raining" drum skip thing....dun dunt.....dun dunt..:lol: Kinda hard to explain since I have no musical background, and I don't have the song right in front of me to spot the exact time.

Great harmonies, and one of my fav john basslines :nod:
plus I dig wrapping around some dreams, now :shrug: haha.

My favourite FM song. One of my favourite songs ever.

Yes it is overplayed and I will sometimes skip it on Rumours or a greatest hits CD but I would never have got into FM if it wasn't for dreams.
I was still at school when I first heard it and rock bands with bearded guitarists was not my thing at all (I was into clean shaven boybands and thought the Eurovision song contest was a place for great music - the Brits on the board will understand that reference!). But when I saw Stevie singing it on television one night I was hooked.
Love it.

Pure Perfection. It has definitely stood the test of time and deserved to be a #1 song.

There's nothing more to say than what has already been said. I never tire of this song.....show after show....repeats after repeat on my IPOD......The lyrics give me chills. The music soothes my soul. I remember in my Jr. High music class, Dreams was in my textbook as one of the greatest sounds coming from the 70s. Stevie should be (and is) proud of this song.

Some of my favorite versions:

album cut
Live '80 Album Version
Weedsport, NY '86 "who will be the wildest heart...this time?"
LIB (I adore this version)

Love that volume pedal guitar, as important as the rhythm section on this to me!

That said, my favourite part is probably when John dances beautifully around the "wrap around your dreams" line - goes to show what an intuitive musical sense he has. :nod:

My favorite versions are the rosebud special, the album version and The Dance. I like how you described John's bass as sounding like a heartbeat almost. I never even took that into consideration until now.

A lot of people get sick of this song with good damn reason, but I rarely get tired of hearing it. They really do play it to death. IMO Dreams is one of those songs that most people seem to like whether they like FM or not. People I know who are into mostly Metal or Hip Hop (and don't like much else) even like this song.

For me this song kinda holds a special place with me along with Sliver Springs, Gypsy, Rhiannon, Little Lies and The Chain. Throughout my childhood I would hear those songs but never knew who the artist was until my family told me and saw a commercial for TVBOFM in 2002. I downloaded those six songs and was amazed. I then decided to stop being cheap and bought TVBOFM and the rest is history.

The harmonies are great and I love the chorus. The song is just really relatable for anyone.

I actually wanted to add that my username isn't because of the song. Most people think that but its a username I have always used even before I heard it.

BTW Dana I LOVE your banner. It's gorgeous.

ITA with all of the above. Well said! :nod:

:lol: That's cute. Sometimes I am a little unsure about Stevie's lyrics (like most at some point) but it was easy to understand what Dreams meant right off the bat for me. I guess because I was going through something similar at the time I first heard it

Well, you know men. They never make an effort. ;)

I want to add to this thread that this song has a very personal meaning to me also. My mom died of cancer almost two years ago, and though she was fond of Fleetwood Mac, Rumours has always been one of those 'gawd, them again?' things. She always said she did her best bar hopping during the time Rumours came out and got played to death everywhere. So, she was pretty sick of it, except Dreams. She'd be the first to agree it's a timeless song. Dreams was one of those songs that we'd put on often and both sing our lungs out to while in the car or while doing dishes, or anything really. It was one of her favourite songs and it will always remind me of her. :)

:( Wow I am so sorry about your mother. I am very close to my mom and she had a cancer scare a few years ago. I would go nuts without her so it always breaks my heart when someone experiences that type of lost. Thanks for sharing that story. And I mentioned this before but I really love your banner. Did you make that or someone else?

Thanks. Yeah, I made that myself. I decided last night I was sick of my old banner. :p

You did a really good job. I wouldn't mind learning how to do that myself.

aaw v. That was such a beautiful story :nod: (((hugs))) man, that really made me emotional all of a sudden.

I'm back! :laugh: i have to agree on the "john dancing around 'wrap around your dreams'" part. I had never paid any attention until now. Also love the faint "humming" in the beginning that i never knew was there until about a year ago :rolleyes: To add about her vocal, i like how it goes from gritty to clear within the blink of an eye- clear-"you want your" gritty/raspy-"freeeeedom" also- anyone notice a "bell" on the "aand what you lost" right before the second chorus its at about 2:54 during the "aaaaaahhh" i swear that thing sounds like the aol you've got mail thing :laugh: favorite line-well who am i to keep you down? PERFECT! :nod:

AND - I have always thought Stevie is not the one saying the words. I think it is a conversation where LB told her that, which, to me, makes more sense because Stevie was the one who left, i.e. "you want your freedom" and LB was like "who am I to keep you down" :shrug:

Don't you remember the interview (I saw it recently, but can't remember where from) where she says "everyone thinks it was only me that wanted to leave, which wasn't true - Lindsey wanted to break up as well"

LOL - well for the last 30 years, she has repeatedly said LB did not want the breakup -- LB has indicated as much and that, perhaps he wanted to marry her - hence the I'm packing up and leaving because all you want to do with me is shck up as opposed to being my wife -- which is one interpretation.

Well, she said "Lindsey wasn't happy either", she never said he wanted out as well. Just that he wasn't happy, which to me indicates he was willing to work on it, he didn't necessarily want her gone.

But, I do think it's Stevie saying to Lindsey 'here you go again, you want your freedom, who am I to keep you down', because I don't think it's her talking about their personal relationship, but more about their positions within the band, which was a direct result of their break-up. They were BOTH not on the same wavelength, and it just didn't work. Stevie said she couldn't be his 'old lady' and tell him it didn't matter that things weren't going well, when on the other hand, as a bandmember, she was pissed because things weren't going well.

The band aspect is one part of it, I think there were many things going on that we just don't know about. Take Silver Springs for example...another song that would make you think Lindsey is the one that left Stevie.

I love this song...like Curty said, it's stood the test of time and deserved its #1 spot.

nothing beats the studio version or the HBO concert version, imo.

That isn't the impression I got at all from the interview I saw. And I thought she said specifically "Lindsey wanted to break up". I'd have to review, though.

But then of course during that other interview (behind the music?) she said "Lindsey didn't want this breakup, he didn't NOT want to be with me..." so, :rolleyes:
It must be behind the music cause I remember it so well.

Edit: Like Strand said.
But I don't think he said that to her. But I have no better basis for my opinion than Strand does, so...:laugh: Except for pronoun consistency within the song, like I don't think Lindsey said to Stevie "It's only me, who wants to wrap around your dreams and..." :p

Oh yeah, very emotional performance. I love all the 'darlings' she threw in there.

I saw it more like a 'hey, don't put all the blame on me now, Lindsey wasn't happy either'. You know Stevie never likes to take the blame for anything. ;) Like she was saying she left him for his benefit as well. But I don't think that's how Lindsey saw it. As has been said many times, he didn't want to not be with her. I don't think it's ever been said that he did.

How do you know we are talking about the same one? Not saying we aren't, just how do you know?
And I think Lindsey was sick of her and they went back and forth with one or the other wanting to break up for years. But usually when it's really, really time to break up, the guy starts hanging on like a big baby, even though he was an ass and wanted to break up before.
JMO. :laugh:

I think the dreams are the songs and she knew, or was beginning to know, that she was the break out star and his songs were not the hits. In other words he needed her just as she needed him to craft her songs. Dreams, to me, is a very complex song put into rather horrifyingly few lines of poetry.

I also think that LB and La Nicks did not just have one break up in that time period. I think there were many.

I think there were many break ups too, like I said, back and forth between them. Since way back, when LB left her in Aspen with the car and the dog to go on the road...:laugh:

I can't see the rest of what you said being true, but it is a very interesting interp, and I mean, it could be true. I just don't think at that stage, if at all, that she would be thinking yet that she/her songs were "the break out stars" and that his would not be hits. I mean, they'd only done the white album before that. Yes, her songs were big, but Chris had a couple, too. It doesn't seem like she is the type of person who would be thinking that LB's songs wouldn't be hits, anyways. She seems a bit more generous of spirit...but again, I know as much as you do, so...:shrug: I must say that I definitely take the words more literally, and it's cool to hear an indepth, more meaningful view.

And as for discussing the song itself, Vanessa said almost exactly what I would have said about it in post #4 of this thread. Minus the dad part.

Cause the second I read your words the image popped into my head with her saying exactly what you said, only she didn't say that Lindsey wanted to break up also, she said he wasn't very happy either. I'm just trying to remember where she said it. I thought it was BTM also, either her own or Lindsey's, but I'm going through it right now and I can't find it. I know what her hair looks like and what she's wearing. How sad is that?

It's not her own BTM for sure, as I know every word...:laugh: I think it is Lindsey's.

Oh, for sure. Many, many, many.

Okay, amber, has to be Lindsey's. I'm too lazy to dig up the dvd now. But this is what she looks like when she says it :laugh: :

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...x6/capture.jpg

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Totally, that's exactly what she looks like. Wait, no, I think the camera was farther away...

Screw you, I'm getting the dvd.

Sounds like a fun night so far...:shrug: :D I like a little DVD watching afterwards...

I usually prefer a cigarette. :p

Okay, effin' found it! Lindsey's BTM: "I wish all the time that it could have just worked out. Sometimes I feel everybody thinks it was just me, but Lindsey wasn't happy either."

(and the camera was not further away!)

Well, at least we both like to smoke.

mmmm, I think it was. I don't believe you. Nevermind that you probably just looked at it. :laugh:

And to me, here's what her sentence means: "Everybody thinks it was just me [that wanted to break up] but Lindsey wasn't happy either [and wanted to break up as well]. :D

heheheh, made you look!

No, no, no, no. :mad:

It was more like: "Everybody thinks it was just me [being a bitch], but Lindsey wasn't happy either [so I actually did him a favor by leaving]."

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. :laugh:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I'm not agreeing to it. :mad:

Hehehehe, but no, another reason I think what i do is some other interview with Stevie, it seemed like she was talking about how before Mac they were wanting to break up, and the way she said it or described something strongly implied that at some time or another both of them wanted to. This was a written interview.

Anyway, no big, obviously. :woohoo:

No, I have to step away from this discussion now, for a minute there I felt compelled to look up that interview you mentioned, because I think I know which one you mean. :eek:

Back on topic, here's Stevie Dreams'ing on the piano:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/z5601d

Wow, you would have done that? I read and hear so much stuff here, I can't remember where it was all from. Or, I guess I don't want to that much. I just like to use it all to form my opinions, storing the impression vaguely in my brain, gaining a new insight with each new bit of information. Dates and exact words would just clog all that. :laugh: But I don't have a bad memory, if I've bothered to remember the impression, the words, if found, will support it (subject to interpretation of course).

Thanks for the piano thingy. It's okay. A large part of what makes that song so special is the work of the entire band on it. Of course Stevie always supplies the brilliant if unpolished seed. :cool: