This next batch of songs will be 10 of my favorite songs of all time. They will be some very well known songs and maybe some that you don’t know, but either way, I think they are awesome. I hope you enjoy them as well…
My Sunday Song #41 is “Dream On” by Aerosmith. The song is off their debut album, ‘Aerosmith’ and was their first big hit. When it was originally released, it only made it to #59 on the Billboard Charts. When it was later re-released in 1976, it made it all the way up to #5, but for some reason never made it to #1. It was that re-release and hit that saved Aerosmith from being dropped by their record company, Columbia.
At 17 or 18, Steven Tyler started writing “Dream On”. It took him about six years to finish, but it is still amazing to me that someone so young could create something so amazing. The lyrics seem to speak about life and aging and how you have to keep trying no matter what to make your dreams come true.
The opening two lines – “Every time I look in the mirror / All these lines on my face getting clearer”, he is being reflective on his life at 17 as he is snorting the cocaine off the mirror and thinking how fast time has already gone by.
He goes on to talk about “Half my life’s in books’ written pages / Live and learn from fools and from sages” where he spent all the time in school, but his dream is to sing. That hunger to sing drives him to do whatever it takes to make it. Well, I would say he made it alright! I don’t know why I highlighted those two lines, but I find them to be great lyrics.
Some interesting stories I found on the song were at Songfacts.com if you want to check them all out. I will point out a few that I liked below…
From the Rolling Stone Article “The Emancipation of Steven Tyler,” Rolling Stone, May 12, 2011.
Tyler reminisced about his father, a Juilliard-trained musician. He recalled lying beneath his dad’s piano as a three-year-old listening to him play classical music. “That’s where I got that Dream On chordage,” he said.
With regard to the piano that was used in the song…
Tyler bought an RMI keyboard with money he found in a suitcase outside of where the band was staying. The “suitcase incident” became part of Aerosmith lore, as Tyler didn’t tell his bandmates that he took the money, and when gangsters came looking for it, he continued to play dumb.
The piano is what really sets the tone on the whole song. The added guitar brought in and then the slow build up throughout the song to the climactic point where Steven hits those trademark screams is why I think the song works so well for me. I can never get enough of that scream.
I hope you enjoyed it the write-up and I hope you enjoy the song! Have a great Sunday!!
“Dream On”
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawnIsn’t that the way?
Everybody’s got their dues in life to payYeah, I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it’s everybody’s sin
You got to lose to know how to win
Half my life’s in books’ written pages
Live and learn from fools and from sages
You know it’s true
All the things come back to you
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away
Dream on, dream on, dream on,
Dream yourself a dream come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on,
Dream until your dreams come true
Dream on, dream on, dream on,
Dream on, dream on,
Dream on, dream on, ah
Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it’s just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away…
Didn’t know about the original of the chordage. Cool fact! Knowledge gained. Thanks for this great post!
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I love finding little nuggets about a song. I am really enjoying this set of songs for My Sunday Song.
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Great post indeed! Check out Live Bootlegs version which I think is the best version of this tune….
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I think you are right on that one!! Love that version.
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Great choice. I never knew about the song origins… quite something that he was so young when he started it, actually.
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Thanks
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Really interesting, the screams are what spoil the song for me! Isn’t it funny how all tastes are so individual?
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Yes. It is interesting.
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“Dream On” is great classic song for sure, and definitely one of my favorites of theirs.
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One of my favourite Aerosmith songs.
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