Dreams (The Cranberries song)


"Dreams" is the debut single by Irish rock band the Cranberries. It was released in 1992 and later appeared on the debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?. It reached the top 40 on the US Hot 100 Airplay and the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart in early 1994. A 1990 demo version was released in Ireland only in the summer of that year under their initial band name, the Cranberry Saw Us.
The backing vocals on the song are sung by Mike Mahoney, ex-boyfriend of Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan.
In 2017, the song was released as an acoustic, stripped down version on the band's Something Else album.

Background

According to lead singer Dolores O'Riordan, "Dreams" was written for an early love; she explained, "I wrote that about my first love when I was living in Ireland... It's about feeling really in love for the first time". The song was later released on a demo tape with "Linger" that helped generate excitement for the band.
In an interview for New Musical Express, guitarist Noel Hogan said of the song:

Music videos

There are three versions of the video. The first version of the music video features Dolores O'Riordan donning her original hairstyle that is seen on the Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? album cover. The video revolves around O'Riordan with the other band members flashing up throughout the video while she's sitting on in a chair with a cross as a back or a close up of her face and eyes. The video shows a mirrored image of O'Riordan to show she does the background vocals and towards the end the band members fade in and out constantly in front of O'Riordan.
The second version shows the Cranberries performing the song in a dimly lit aquatic-themed room interspersed with shots of geometric flowers hitting water. This video received high rotation on MTV's 120 Minutes in 1993 before the release of the band's next single, "Linger", and the re-release of "Dreams" worldwide.
The third version, directed by Nico Soultanakis which was most commonly shown in America, shows the Cranberries performing the song in a nightclub. Afterward, Dolores O'Riordan heads out to a house where grave robbers dressed in black have placed a very large tree pile inside. Dolores bathes the tree pile in water and a man is revealed to be buried in the pile. The water frees him and in the final seconds of the video, the man awakens.

Track listings

UK and European 12" single/CD single
  1. "Dreams" – 4:15
  2. "What You Were" – 3:41
  3. "Liar" – 2:22
UK and European 7" single
  1. "Dreams" – 4:32
  2. "What You Were" – 3:41
UK and European special edition 2-disc CD single
  1. "Dreams" – 4:15
  2. "What You Were" – 3:41
  3. "Liar" – 2:22
  4. "Not Sorry" – 4:37
  5. "Wanted" – 2:00
  6. "Dreams" – 4:10
  7. "Liar" – 3:17
US CD single
  1. "Dreams" – 4:32
  2. "What You Were" – 3:41
  3. "Waltzing Back" – 4:02
  4. "Pretty" – 2:09
2-track CD single
  1. "Dreams" – 4:32
  2. "Linger" – 4:34

    Charts

Chart Peak
position

Dario G version

English electronic music trio Dario G, whose lead singer is Ingrid Straumstøyl, covered the song as "Dream to Me". It was released in January 2001 as the lead single from their second album, In Full Colour. This version reached number one in Romania and the top 10 in Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Track listings

CD maxi-single
  1. "Dream to Me" – 3:09
  2. "Dream to Me" – 8:58
  3. "Dream to Me" – 7:48
  4. "Dream to Me" – 8:05

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Other covers

;Movies
;Television series