"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" Song Analysis
This is not really considered a ROCK song by any means, but it is still, at least in my opinion, a very important song from the 1964-1990 era of music.
This synthesizer-heavy song was originally performed by the Eurythmics - a British band formed in 1980. Their 1981 debut In The Garden was not very successful, but their next record, 1983's Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) really laid the foundation for them. The album's title track, the second side opener, is often considered by fans and critics alike to be their "signature song."
Complete with lyrics for your entertainment...
According to Anniel Lennox, David Stewart discovered that da-da-da-da-ta-ta-da-ta-ta-da-ta-ta riff when he backmasked another riff. It was a purely accidental discovery, but it's no surprise that out of that accident, that a hit was born.
Lyric-wise the song does not have much to it. However, even in the short-lived lyrics, there is a message. The song does not even follow a verse-chorus hierarchy like most songs do. Let's take a look at the first part of the lyrics shall we?
Sweet dreams are made of this/Who am I to disagree?/I"ve travelled the world and the seven seas/Everybody's looking for something
This first part clearly suggests that the song may be about finding the meaning of life, or that somebody is always trying to find something new. Maybe even new technological discovery - the 80s were a decade of technological boom after all from the computer, to the compact disc, to even Nintendo and Super Mario :)
Now let's look at the second part:
Some of them want to use you/Some of them want to get used by you/Some of them want to abuse you/Some of them want to be abused
This part suggests that there are many different kinds of people in this world. SOme of them use, some abuse, and some...well help (or hinder for that matter).
Hold your head up (movin' on)/Keep your head up (movin' on)
That 8-bar hook may be something of a "chorus" to this song even though, recall that it does not follow the verse-chorus form of most songs. The message, hidden or otherwise, is simply "Keep your head up and you will get there..."
On a more "rock-related" term, the band Marilyn Manson did a cover of the track on their 1995 EP Smells Like Children. That version has some powerful guitars, but M.M's voca;s? Ugh!
But now that I told you, here is their version for the record.
Overall, it is easy to see that Sweet Dreams is about finding the meaning of one's life, or in some cases, even about trying to revolutionize. While the Marilyn Manson version was rather successful, and gets modest rotation on active rock radio, I think it's safe to say that most of us prefer the Eurythmics (original) version. After all, as I said in the beginning of the posting, this is their "signature song."
This synthesizer-heavy song was originally performed by the Eurythmics - a British band formed in 1980. Their 1981 debut In The Garden was not very successful, but their next record, 1983's Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) really laid the foundation for them. The album's title track, the second side opener, is often considered by fans and critics alike to be their "signature song."
Complete with lyrics for your entertainment...
According to Anniel Lennox, David Stewart discovered that da-da-da-da-ta-ta-da-ta-ta-da-ta-ta riff when he backmasked another riff. It was a purely accidental discovery, but it's no surprise that out of that accident, that a hit was born.
Lyric-wise the song does not have much to it. However, even in the short-lived lyrics, there is a message. The song does not even follow a verse-chorus hierarchy like most songs do. Let's take a look at the first part of the lyrics shall we?
Sweet dreams are made of this/Who am I to disagree?/I"ve travelled the world and the seven seas/Everybody's looking for something
This first part clearly suggests that the song may be about finding the meaning of life, or that somebody is always trying to find something new. Maybe even new technological discovery - the 80s were a decade of technological boom after all from the computer, to the compact disc, to even Nintendo and Super Mario :)
Now let's look at the second part:
Some of them want to use you/Some of them want to get used by you/Some of them want to abuse you/Some of them want to be abused
This part suggests that there are many different kinds of people in this world. SOme of them use, some abuse, and some...well help (or hinder for that matter).
Hold your head up (movin' on)/Keep your head up (movin' on)
That 8-bar hook may be something of a "chorus" to this song even though, recall that it does not follow the verse-chorus form of most songs. The message, hidden or otherwise, is simply "Keep your head up and you will get there..."
On a more "rock-related" term, the band Marilyn Manson did a cover of the track on their 1995 EP Smells Like Children. That version has some powerful guitars, but M.M's voca;s? Ugh!
But now that I told you, here is their version for the record.
Overall, it is easy to see that Sweet Dreams is about finding the meaning of one's life, or in some cases, even about trying to revolutionize. While the Marilyn Manson version was rather successful, and gets modest rotation on active rock radio, I think it's safe to say that most of us prefer the Eurythmics (original) version. After all, as I said in the beginning of the posting, this is their "signature song."
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