Dream Dream Dreaming

Album: Euphoric Heartbreak (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Frontman James Allan felt bad about penning the Glasvegas track "Daddy's Home," in which he criticized his absent father. He explained to the Sunday Mail that this song is an attempt to tell another side of his father's story. Said the Scottish vocalist: "I felt a lot of guilt about the song Daddy's Gone. I felt bad, as it only showed one side of my father. God knows he beats himself up enough.

    When I wrote the songs for the first album I never imagined it going out to all those people. The Everly Brothers wrote a song about a boyfriend talking to his girlfriend and all he can do is dream to get close to her. In this song it's my father dreaming about his brother, who committed suicide, and how his thoughts and dreams can give him relief as he can see or speak to him. It was instinct that I turned words into solid things, on a CD or vinyl record. Maybe it makes up a little for Daddy's Gone."
  • The track is a love song about both Allan's father and also his uncle, after whom he was named, and who hanged himself when James was in his early teens. He explained to the NME: "I was thinking about 'Mister Sandman,' you know, 'Mister Sandman, bring me a dream;' and it's a really sad song. And I thought about The Everly Brothers, (their version of) 'All I Have To Do Is Dream,' and what those songs were saying was that for some people; the closest they're gonna get to the lover that they want or to getting something that's gonna ease that pain or just a bit of release, they do it through a dream, and I thought that was the saddest thing. But then I thought if that's all somebody's got, man, then that's all somebody's got and that's that."
  • Allan recalled to Q magazine visiting Uncle James's flat as a boy and seeing Biblical quotations written on betting slips. Allan's father eventually stopped drinking with his brother because, "his company was too heavy, the thing's he'd talk about." He added: "The song is a love letter from my dad to his dead brother. I suppose I wrote it cos 'Daddy's Gone' was only one side of the coin. It was hard for him, too. He was just a young guy who was lost in his way and when I meet up with him I recognize we're pretty similar."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sam Hollander

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went Mainstream

Jesus In Pop Hits: The Gospel Songs That Went MainstreamSong Writing

These overtly religious songs crossed over to the pop charts, despite resistance from fans, and in many cases, churches.

Divided Souls: Musical Alter Egos

Divided Souls: Musical Alter EgosSong Writing

Long before Eminem, Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj created alternate personas, David Bowie, Bono, Joni Mitchell and even Hank Williams took on characters.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

The Real Nick Drake

The Real Nick DrakeSong Writing

The head of Drake's estate shares his insights on the late folk singer's life and music.

Rupert Hine

Rupert HineSongwriter Interviews

Producer Rupert Hine talks about crafting hits for Tina Turner, Howard Jones and The Fixx.