Dream Song

Background

"Dream Song" is an album track on John Fogerty, the first LP he released after signing with Asylum Records. The song was recorded at Wally Heider Recording in San Francisco and engineered by David Coffin. Fogerty plays all the instruments by himself.

In his autobiography (2015), John Fogerty expressed his dissatisfaction towards the quality of the songs on the album, except "Rockin' All Over the World" and "Almost Saturday Night".  He mentioned "Dream Song" as an example of unfinished tracks.  

Collector's notes

The John Fogerty album is only available as an imported item in the USA.

Live versions

John Fogerty has never performed the song live in concert.

Critical reception

"My least favourite song on the album, because it's kind of slow at the start, but the last verse is more upbeat and enjoyable. The horn section in the middle (I think trumpet and trombone, but I'm not an expert on brass) is interesting, but almost out of place. Still, a nice melody and good lyrics." -Matt Loewen

"Here we have the influences of folk, gospel, jazz, and rock all in one song. Coupled with touching lyrics this is the best John Fogerty song of all that I have heard." -Glenn J. Wiener

"A couple more relatively low points include the jazzy 'Lonely Teardrops' and the minimalistic, almost ridiculously simple-structured 'Dream Song' whose verses all end with the line 'well it's your song and it's your dream' or vice versa. Still, don't get me wrong: I do enjoy all of these tunes. God knows how they would have sounded had they been put to the disposition of other performers (Traffic, for instance!!!); John manages to make even the worst material inoffensive and actually attractive. I guess it all has to do with the same minimalistic effort - the songs are so simple that they're catchy, and it's the kind of beautiful simplicity that is not banal but quite captivating. And the voice - well, never forget the voice, because sometimes your vocals are all that matter. I guess that the vocal department is, for instance, the very point that makes me suspicious in regard to some of the Byrds' work (yeah, I know they're famous for their harmonies, but they're all oh so painfully undistinctive and imageless), so this is where Master John takes over completely. It was 1975, mind you, so he was still in full force." -George Starostin.

Fans' views

"I particularly like the lyrics of this song - sort of inviting you to choose what you want to do or be with your life."

"I always liked this song and the New Orleans flavor with the horns."

"If anything, it's Lodi in a different key. You can literally sing the words to Lodi with Dream Song."

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