Saturday Classics – 25032023 – Ritva Sillanmäki Photography

Don’t Dream It’s Overby Crowded House

Crowded House lead singer Neil Finn wrote this song. He explained in an interview with Goldmine: “I wrote that on my brother’s piano. I’m not sure if I remember what the context was, exactly, but it was just about on the one hand feeling kind of lost, and on the other hand sort of urging myself on: Don’t dream it’s over. That one actually fell out literally, without me thinking about it too much.”

Finn considers this a song of unity. When he performed it in Hartford, Connecticut with Fleetwood Mac on March 15, 2019, he dedicated the song to the victims of the shootings in Christchurch, where earlier in the day a gunman opened fire on two mosques.

It is such a beautiful song that has been an anthem of hope and unity during various global events.

There is freedom within
There is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There’s a battle ahead
Many battles are lost
But you’ll never see the end of the road
While you’re travelling with me

Hey now, hey now
Don’t dream it’s over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won’t win

Now I’m towing my car
There’s a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion
But there’s no proof
In the paper today
Tales of war and of waste
But you turn right over to the TV page

Chorus

Now I’m walking again
To the beat of a drum
And I’m counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead
Barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and release

One of the most important things that set Cray apart from his peers on the blues scene in the ’80s and ’90s was his focus on songwriting rather than guitar heroics. While he was an impressively strong player, his soloing was clean and concise for the most part, without excessive showboating, and his songs were more closely related to vintage Southern soul in their storytelling and sense of character than in the typical 12-bar paeans to whiskey and women favored by most blues acts of the era. 1983’s Bad Influence was the album that first earned Cray a major buzz among blues enthusiasts, while 1986’s Strong Persuader was a near flawless set of songs that made him a star and allowed him to cross over to the mainstream on his own terms. ( All Music)

Lepis is hosting Saturday Classics, you can add your own link here Saturday Classics

On Her page she writes: This blog is back with hosting the Classics after few years break. This time we’ll be playing on Saturdays and you can link straight here on this own page. Rules: There are no rules, as long as the song you play is a classic in your mind. Linking open 8 am and closes 12 pm.