Roxanne Tellier: I Like Dreaming …

Those who know me too well say I’m an “insta crash.” I have the ability to fall asleep in the most awkward of places and the strangest of times. It’s a gift.

And I dream. I dream in colour, the dreams have plot lines, no matter how insane, and if I don’t like my dream, I can wake up, figure out how to change the plot, and fall back asleep to finish off the story. In the words of that insipid 1977 Kenny Nolan song, I like dreaming. And I do it very well.

I keep saying I’m going to start writing some of my dreams down, as they might give me some insight into how I really think and feel about things that happen during the day. You know, dream analysis. But a lot of my dreams seem to revolve around a pun or a cheap joke, like the one I had about pursuing a serial killer who only killed people with dumb names. “Sandy Beach?” he said, “what kind of person has a stupid name like that?” I couldn’t argue with the killer’s logic, so I woke up.

As a child, I misheard the words to the song “Galway Bay,” and firmly believed they were saying, “If you ever go across the street to Ireland.” Maybe that was the start of my nightly reveries. In my dreams, it’s as easy to get to Fairy Land as it is to cross the street. Sometimes I dream about delightful, fantastical other realms, made of ice and water, or of lush mown grassy hills that I spend the entire dream frolicking upon. Other times, I’ll be on a mundane quest, and suddenly discover a secret passageway to an entirely different place. Can you blame me for loving this nocturnal escape? (Dream Weaver (I believe you can get me through the night) – 1976 – Gary Wright)

I love my dreams so much that I may stay on the nicotine patch forever, even if I do ever actually quit smoking. The patch kicks the dreams up a notch in weirdness and frequency, and I’ve always loved excess.  I Had Too Much To Dream (last night) – 1967 – The Electric Prunes

Sleeping dreams can be delightful, no question. The other kind of dreams, though, the ones that keep you from actually living your life – those ones are not quite so innocent. Many people daydream of a better life, of how things might have been if they’d only taken another path at some crucial time in their lives. It’s fine to look back and analyze the past if the takeaway is a renewed zest for your current life, and the knowledge of how to avoid making mistakes in the future. It’s not so good if those daydreams keep you from living in the present. The past is gone; the future will come. Today is the present you unwrap every morning.

The Moody Blues “Your Wildest Dreams.”

The dreams you dream can be fluffy and sweet, like the Crew Cuts 1954 hit “Sh Boom Sh Boom (Life Could Be a Dream), plaintive and endearing like Patsy Cline’s “Sweet Dreams (Of You)”or aggressive and macho, like Billy Ocean’s macho “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car.“  

In 1968, Glen Campbell sang about the “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife,” which was a country hit, but didn’t sit all that well with the women flying the feminist flag. The Mamas and the Papas turned their “California Dreaming” into a massive career. That’s the power of dreams with a goal and a timeline. You Make My Dreams (come true) – 1981 – Hall and Oates

We dream about real lovers and some we’ve never even met. When our romance is star-crossed, we may only be able to see that special someone in our sleep.  There’s something about Dan Hartman’s
“I Can Dream About You” that resonates for me. Unrequited love may be a bore, but sometimes it’s very creative.

Some dreams are scary – and some songs about dreams can be frightening as well. There’s an undercurrent I feel in Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams,” that came to fruition in Marilyn Manson’s take on the Eurythmics song “Sweet Dreams.” I just re-listened to Marilyn’s take on the song. I may never sleep again.

The list goes on and on … Supertramp mocked the silly little “Dreamer” in 1975; Heart’s “Dreamboat Annie” teased lovelorn teens in 1976, and again in 1986 with “These Dreams;” while Cheap Trick worked the paranoid angle with “The Dream Police” in 1979.  Crowded House begged us not to dream it was over. Aretha just wanted to mellow out with her day dreams. “hey baby, let’s get away, let’s go someplace, yeah, where … I don’t care ..” Soul Train’s Don Cornelius knew good music when he heard it, and this clip is vintage Aretha. “Daydreaming”

Blondie’s dream lover knew she was no debutante; Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” always sounded like he was trying a little too hard, in a douche-y sort of way. (No offence, Katy. No matter how hard I try I just can’t get into a teenage head space.)

My romantic dreams are pretty spectacular. That’s what you get for living long enough, I guess. I can still get inspired when I hear Van Halen’s 1986 oeuvre, “Dreams (that what dreams are made of)” There’s just something about that key line at the beginning that gets me thinking about that crazy, mad love we all hope to have, and keep.

But I’m also a woman that has lived an amazing life. Dreams are lovely, but my real life could inspire a dozen novels, whether it be drama, romance, mystery, or sci fi. When it’s time to lay me down, before I close my eyes, I’m like any sleepy child, who just wants to relax, rest, and wake up to see another day. Say nighty night and kiss me! Cass Elliott “Dream a Little Dream of Me”

I’m with John Lennon. “You may say I’m a dreamer – but I’m not the only one.”  Sweet dreams!

= RT =

Roxanne’s column appears here every Sunday 

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Roxanne Tellier has been singing since she was 10 months old … no, really. Not like she’s telling anyone else how to live their lives, because she’s not judgmental, and most 10 month olds need a little more time to figure out how to hold a microphone. After years of doing things she didn’t want to do, she’s found herself working with a bunch of crazy people who are as batshit crazy and devoted to music as she is, and so she can be found every Monday at Cherry Cola’s, completely unable to think of anything funny to say, as the co-host of Bob Segarini’s The Bobcast. Come and mock her. She’s good with that. And she laughs. A lot. But not at you.