Composed and written by band member Neil Finn, Don’t Dream it’s Over was recorded in 1986 by Crowded House for their first studio album, and was released as a single the same year. I was first attracted to it by the musical effects – the Hammond organ and an almost R&B baseline and I didn’t take much notice the lyrics at all, assuming they were referring to a relationship under stress.
I didn’t see the official music video until several decades later, by which time I had become more familiar with the lyrics and saw them as an expression of hope and unity. I guess, like any great song, it is capable of being interpreted in many different ways depending on the needs of the listener.
Don’t Dream It’s Over topped the charts in Aotearoa and Canada and peaked in the top ten in Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Ireland, Poland, Belgium and the USA, and in the top 20 in Germany. In 2001 it was ranked second on the Top 100 New Zealand songs of all time.
Don’t Dream It’s Over
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 traveling 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 T.V. page 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 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 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 Don't let them win (hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now) Hey now, hey now Don't let them win (they come, they come) Don't let them win (hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now)
Another Spectrum 