The Dreams Of Children

Album: Snap! (1980)
Charted: 1
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Songfacts®:

  • The title was inspired by English writer Clive Barker's horror story The Forbidden, where The Candyman kills to preserve his reputation, so he can haunt "The Dreams Of Children." The book was adapted into a movie in 1992.
  • This song has a psychadelic Beatles-like interesting backwards intro. Prior to writing the song Paul Weller had been listening to his favourite album, The Beatles Revolver. Weller recalls in the book 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, "After we'd finished recording the album Setting Sons, I asked the engineer if he could record the album backwards and put it on cassette. When I listened to it there was one piece of vocal that I really liked and wrote "The Dreams Of Children" around it."
  • This was released as a double A-side single along with "Going Underground." So many people pre-ordered the single that it entered the UK charts at #1. The previous time this had occurred was Slade's "Merry Christmas Everybody" in 1974. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above

Comments: 3

  • Wulf The Black And Tan from New ZealandI read a short horror story in which one of the characters references this song, possibly by singing it. It is NOT the Clive Barker novel mentioned above, as I have never read that. Can anyone tell me a short horror story in which this song was referenced?
  • Barnsey from Nottingham Listened to this again recently , and now I can’t stop playing it...Superb
  • Brian 79 from PooleDreams of children was meant to be the A side, but it was pressed in France and the French did not know which was the A and which was the B side, so they listened to it,and assumed underground was the A side, weller apparently did his nut and finally agreed to a double A side.
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