Aerosmith - Dream On ( 1973 )

“Dream On“ is the first single and ballad by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, by lead singer Steven Tyler, this blues-influenced power ballad became their first major hit and classic rock radio ’s father was a classically-trained musician, and when Steven was 3 years old, he would lie underneath the piano and listen to his dad play. In his book, Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?, Tyler writes, “That’s where I got that ’Dream On’ chordage.“ Regarding the meaning of this song, Tyler explained: “It’s about the hunger to be somebody: Dream until your dreams come true.“ He added, “This song sums up the s--t you put up with when you’re in a new band. Most of the critics panned our first album, and said we were ripping off the Stones. That’s a good barometer of my anger at the press, which I still have. ’Dream On’ came of me playing the piano when I was about 17 or 18, and I didn’t know anything about writing a song. It was just this little sonnet that I started playing one day. I never thought that it would end up being a real song.“ This went to #6 when it was re-released in 1976, after the band had a larger audience. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry didn’t like this song. He explained to Classic Rock magazine in 2002: “Back in those days you made your mark playing live. And 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. I didn’t really appreciate the musicality of it until later, but I did know it was a great song, so we put it in our set. We also knew that if you played straight rock ’n’ roll you didn’t get played on the radio and, if you wanted a top forty hit, the ballad was the way to go. I don’t know if we really played it much live, in those days if you only had half an hour to make your mark, you didn’t play slow songs. So it wasn’t until after it became a single that we really started playing it.“ (This interview is available at Rock’s Backpages.) Ronnie James Dio sang this on the album Aerosmith Tribute: Not The Same Old Song & Dance (released September 7, 1999). Yngwie Johann Malmsteen played the guitar part - It’s what you’d expect, a million notes per minute. Michael Angelo Batio did an instrumental cover version of this song on his 2005 solo album, Hands Without Shadows. Lyrics : Every time when 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 the dues in life to pay I know nobody knows Where it comes and where it goes I know it’s everybody sin You got to lose to know how to win Half my life Is books written pages Live and learn from fools and From sages You know it’s true, oh All these things you do come back to you Sing with me, sing for the years Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears Sing with me, 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, just for today Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream until your dreams come true Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream until your dreams come true Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream on Dream on Sing with me, sing for the year Sing for the laughter, sing for the tear Sing with me, 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, just for today Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away. “Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use“ for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.“