Music in dreams.

[DreamInsights]

In order to best understand this dream, listening to the 1972 Harry Nilsson song, 'Without You' would be helpful. The dream took place with the first 1 minute, 30 seconds of the song - almost half of the song.

I was coming-out of an all night movie show at the crack of dawn (no, I've never, nor do I plan to attend an all-night movie show - yet viewing the movie 'Grease' on a red-eye flight from the East Coast to Los Angeles may (or may not) come close to an all-night movie show).

As I was looking for where I parked my car, the first one-minue plus of Harry Nilsson's song 'Without You' had played.

As I approached my car, the one minute and thrity seconds point of the song was playing, the lyrics, 'I can't live if living is without you I can't live, I can't give any more, Can't live if living is without you I can't give, I can't give any more' - the 'you' part of the lyrics in my mind referred to 'my car.' The 'Can't Give' part of the lyrics was simply that I was too tired.....to give.

As I stand there, mostly awake, my car quickly morphs from an ordinary reliable vehicle with four wheels, to a vehicle that resembeled what may best be described as an "Abstract Rolls Royce" sculpture with no wheels, and a rendering (pardon the pun) of a vehicle obviously useless for transportation - say, driving to get breakfast (with a strong coffee as a top priority) after an all night movie.

The takeaway here is that value is literally in the eye of the beholder - especially, if the beholder is tired, and the value is that reliable, familliar mode of mundane transportation, instead of some interpretation of an expensieve car useless for transportation.

In the dream, if my car morphed into a usable bicycle, even a bicycle would have the greatest value for this tired beholder of....value.

 

[Lyn Holley]

An obvious question is: Did you break up with someone, or did someone die?
Is there an identification with your image?

 

[DreamInsights]

An obvious question is: Did you break up with someone, or did someone die?
Is there an identification with your image?

This dream took place several years ago....no breakups, or passing of somebody close. The image in my profile (a sunrise more likely than a sunset) is one of many images I periodically experience in dreams just before I wake-up.

Dream experts have compared dreams to motion pictures / movies. I've had many such dreams over the years. This dream is an example of situations taking place after a movie show.

Similar dream experiences take place involving long movies (movies made back in the 1950s to early 1970s years sometimes exceeded two hours in length). These dreams resembled seemingly endless movie-shows - where the movie themes would restart after the end of movies.... to extend to the movie patrons going-out to (and locating) their cars. WHOA! I've also had many dreams where it has taken awhile to locate my parked vehicle.

Why I've experienced these dreams? As a kid, I was occasionally exposed to some of these classic mid-century movies that ran for up to three-hours. Other than that, I"m not sure why I've had many movie (and parked-car) related dreams.

 

[DreamInsights]

Just getting over a cold with coughing.

While my sleep was interrupted off and on with coughing, I dreamed of the 1970 Dereck and the Domino's song, 'Layla' - a seven plus minute song.

Off "the top of my head" (just a guess), I sensed the dynamics of the song 'Layla' shared similaries to just how sleep is disrupted by coughing.

 

[Lyn Holley]

Interesting. I believe these songs are not random, but chosen just for you.

 

[DreamInsights]

I experienced what I felt was a notable example of a sleep-dream with music - notable becuase the dream illustrated a common sentiment that music too often has lost it's important qualities over the past fifty years.

I was riding on a tour bus with outdoor seating on the roof of the bus traveling on an ordinary city street - no tour sights of interest. The 1976 'Fleetwood Mac' song 'You Make Loving Fun' was playing. All the while, I was strongly feeling that music has lost it's important qualities over the past fifty years.

The song is still played on radio to this day - hence, again, reminders as to how music qualities have changed over the past fifty years.

 

[PaulKH]

This is an appropriate impression to get (and truth from a dream always feels more synergistic than otherwise, doesn't it, which is so awesome!), but remember this should be less of a blanket statement for all music and more nuanced. Music initially (and like many dreams, I will point out) grew our intellect in potent ways that normal waking activities cannot, and without the powerfully varied stimulus of music, you get less "learning" of that type--this is true for much of the "dumbed down" music but not for classes/composers of music that have always understood the power of frequency combinations/stimulation on our learning centers. In music we have a phrase for the best kind of efforts: stretching tonality. Especially among composers, this admits and even celebrates the ability of music to "push" our minds to grasp more complex concepts and to *feel* how it impacts us.

I really dig your dream analog of bus (group) travel (progress) while Fleetwood is playing; thanks for sharing. Note that even within music genres that are mostly fluff and vapid repetition, you will find shining (resonating) examples of goodness that ring through you and stimulate you in that learning-expanding way. This is especially true of classical music, where highly complex music is *designed* to expand your "ear", what your mind can consider, learn, and then enjoy (good examples of innovators-of-their-time are Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Debussy). Heh, even some of the bands coming out of the druggie era of the 60s/70s have experimented successfully with some amazing stuff, like the group Yes. While having a catatonic and then pop phase in their career, they have studied and blended musical styles in powerfully effective ways, even collaborating with orchestral music composers along their musical journey; in doing so, they search for and aid the goal of expanding/stretching tonality.

 

[DreamInsights]

Personally, I've dreamed of many different songs more than once. One example stands-out, the English jazz-funk band 'Level 42' awesome 1985 song, 'Something About You' was dreamed two nights in a row...WHOA!

Why I had this dream with this song? I sense a part of the reason - this was one of many terrific songs from the 'British Invasion' (beyond 'The Beatles') I've enjoyed over the decades.

- An example of a song I dreamt six times: 'Maybe I'm Amazed' (1970) Paul McCartney.

- Two examples of songs dreamt five times 'Gimme Shelter' (1967) 'The Rolling Stones' and the British Band 'The Hollies' awesome song, (1974) 'The Air that I Breathe.'

- One terrific American song dreamt four times, 'Fly Away' (1974) 'John Denver' and Olivia Newton John.'

Several songs were dreamt three times, and numerous songs were dreamt twice.


Specific songs dreamt more than two, or three times may be "indicators of sorts" offering further details of the music we value.

Any similar experiences?

 

[PaulKH]

Mine aren't similar simply because my brain isn't nearly as good as yours at cataloging them (wow, your recall is exceptional--would love to hear if that extends to your non-musical dreams; you should detail out your next whopper for us!). However, with 12 years of formal training including studying under a composer-conductor and playing in several types of bands, I've had more dreams about music, musical dreams, and music-supported dreams than I can possibly count--to the point where I just assume my sensitivity and training make them common. I've also talked with other musicians where this is fairly common if they can be bothered to think-talk about it (including choir members who have recurring dreams that they are in various choir-related stories, from the common to the ethereal).

 

[DreamInsights]

Mine aren't similar simply because my brain isn't nearly as good as yours at cataloging them (wow, your recall is exceptional--would love to hear if that extends to your non-musical dreams; you should detail out your next whopper for us!). However, with 12 years of formal training including studying under a composer-conductor and playing in several types of bands, I've had more dreams about music, musical dreams, and music-supported dreams than I can possibly count--to the point where I just assume my sensitivity and training make them common. I've also talked with other musicians where this is fairly common if they can be bothered to think-talk about it (including choir members who have recurring dreams that they are in various choir-related stories, from the common to the ethereal).

Actually, I've maintained a list of songs I've had in dreams over the past several-years.

I've written about specific dreams, and posted these dreams to 'DreamForum' both dreams with, and without songs.

I periodically reread these dreams, and responses.

 

[DreamInsights]

Personally, I may have experienced music from a dream long ago - a possible dream expreinced within the one to two decades after the 1982 'Joe Jackson' song, 'Steppin' Out' was released - a song still enjoyed to this day.

The first several seconds of the dream 'Steppin' Out' had featured an instrumental introduction, with of an entrance to an 'Old West' style saloon with swinging doors. This saloon was a modern-day West U.S. town's 'Old Towne' themed eatery - as 'Steppin Out' conveyed a welcoming 'Mild West' feel.