Category : Articles

Sub Category : Miscellaneous

Today's song of the day is Dream on by Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler in 1972 and released in 1973, it became Aerosmith's first hit single and helped propel the band to superstardom. It is the only Aerosmith song to feature the piano as the lead instrument as the band moved into a more hard rock style. Let me know what you think.

Dream On

Every time I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn

Isn't that the way?
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay

Yeah, I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know
How to win

Half my life's in books' written pages
Live and learn from fools and from sages
You know it's true
All the things come back to you

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Yeah, sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow the good Lord will take you away

Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream comes true
Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream comes through

Dream on, dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on
Dream on, dream on, ah

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

Sing with me, sing for the year
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear
Sing with me if it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away

This song was the first Aerosmith's single. Until this single was released Columbia Records wanted to drop the band because their first album had sold very badly. The band's management contributed to the release of "Dream On" as a single with slight changes to make it more radio-friendly, and it reached number 59 in the USA helping the band save their deal. And Columbia obtained one of their most successful acts.

Steven Tyler explained in his book "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?", that as a child he used to lie under his father's piano and listen to him play. So Tyler, "That's where I got that 'Dream On' chordage." The writing process of this song took about six years for Steven Tyler, and he finally could finish it with the help of other band mates.

Joe Perry didn't like this song because, as he said to Classic Rock magazine in 2002, "...to me rock 'n' roll's all about energy and putting on a show. Those were the things that attracted me to rock 'n' roll, but 'Dream On' was a ballad."

The live performance of this song with an orchestra for MTV's 10th Anniversary in 1991 included on the soundtrack for the film "Last Action Hero" (1993).

"Dream On" is a title of the book by Steven Tyler's ex-wife Cyrinda Foxe written in 1996. She died of brain cancer in 2002, and Tyler paid her medical bills until her death.

The song's main riff and chorus were sampled in the song "Sing for the Moment" by Eminem on his album "The Eminem Show" (2002). Joe Perry played a guitar solo on that song.