Dolores O'Riordan

THE CRANBERRIES

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DREAMS

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The Cranberries Dreams

The Cranberries Dreams | A story of first times

the cranberries dreams
‘All my life is changing everyday in every possible way’. Have you ever felt like that? I’m sure you have, it’s the feeling The Cranberries express in Dreams, a song that tells the story of that first time you…
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Reading Time | 4 min

Listening Time | 4 min

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Video | The Cranberries Dreams
  2. Trembol | Story behind the song
  3. You can’t miss | Best parts of Dreams
  4. This is what it says | The Cranberries Dreams Lyrics
  5. Did you know? | Fun facts about Dreams by The Cranberries
  6. Much more | Covers, films, Woodstock…
  7. Technical Note about The Cranberries Dreams

The Cranberries Dreams

Trembol | Story behind Dreams by The Cranberries

Without a doubt, Dreams is one of the greatest songs of all time. It has a lot of merit because it was written by the singer of The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan, when she was only 20 years old. In fact, it was the first song that the band released, back in 1992. It didn’t get much traction, until the band’s first album ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We‘, went out with another beautiful song called Linger. Thanks to its popularity, radio stations gave more airplay to ‘Dreams‘, becaming a hit. What makes Dreams so special? 
  1. The meaning 🤔: Dolores was a young, innocent girl, in love for the first time, who decided to write about that feeling. The lyrics are as simple as they are beautiful, because they express that feeling we have all had, how love transforms us and turns everything into a dream.
  2. The voice 👩‍🎤: If there was one thing that stood out in The Cranberries, it was O’Riordan’s impressive voice, based on yodeling (more on that in the technical note). On the chorus of ‘Dreams‘ she doubled herself. The first voice sings in her normal tone and the second, which is in perfect harmony, sings in falsetto.
  3. The music 🎼: It’s not a very melodic song, but they make superb use of the synthesizers, along with the perfect drum and bass rhythm.
  4. The boyfriend 🤵: I know, you’re probably wondering what this is all about. It turns out that Dolores’ first love, called Mike Mahoney, also participates in the song, right at the end, doing backing vocals:

The Cranberries - Dreams

Dolores O’Riordan explains the meaning of Dreams

dreams the cranberries story behind

The Cranberries Facebook Images

dreams cranberries meaning
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“Dreams” fue escrita para un primer amor.

La escribí sobre mi primer amor cuando vivía en Irlanda…Trata de sentirse realmente enamorado por primera vez.

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“Dreams” was written for an early love.

I wrote that about my first love when I was living in Ireland … It’s about feeling really in love for the first time.

🎵 Discover the story behind other great songs of all times.

You can’t miss ⭐️ The best parts of Dreams

1. The first minute of the song is a highlight. Strength and subtlety.
2. “You have my heart so don’t hurt me“. How beautifully she sings!
3. The final song, which is more of a scream. O’Riordan in pure essence.

This is what it says | The Cranberries Dreams Lyrics

Englihs lyrics

LYRICS THE CRANBERRIES | DREAMS | ENGLISH

Oh, my life is changing everyday
In every possible way
And oh, my dreams
It’s never quite as it seems
Never quite as it seems

I know I felt like this before
But now I’m feeling it even more
Because it came from you
Then I open up and see
The person falling here is me
A different way to be

Aah, la-ah-la-ah
La-la-la
La-ah-la-ah

I want more, impossible to ignore
Impossible to ignore
And they’ll come true
Impossible not to do
Possible not to do

And now I tell you openly
You have my heart so don’t hurt me
You’re what I couldn’t find
A totally amazing mind
So understanding and so kind
You’re everything to me

Oh, my life is changing everyday
In every possible way
And oh, my dreams
It’s never quite as it seems
‘Cause you’re a dream to me
Dream to me

Laaa-daaaa laaa-daaaa
Laaa-daaaa laaa-daaaa

LYRICS IN SPANISH

LYRICS THE CRANBERRIES | DREAMS | SPANISH

Oh, mi vida está cambiando cada día
En todas las formas posibles
Y oh, mis sueños
Nunca es lo que parece
Nunca es lo que parece

Sé que me sentí así antes
Pero ahora lo siento aún más
Porque vino de ti
Entonces me abro y veo
La persona enamorándose soy yo
Una forma diferente de ser

Aah, la-ah-la-ah
La-la-la
La-ah-la-ah

Quiero más, imposible de ignorar
Imposible de ignorar
Y se harán realidad
Imposible que no suceda
Posible que no suceda

Y ahora te lo digo abiertamente
Tienes mi corazón así que no me hagas daño
Eres lo que no pude encontrar
Una mente totalmente increíble
Tan comprensivo y tan amable
Eres todo para mí

Oh, mi vida está cambiando cada día
En todas las formas posibles
Y oh, mis sueños
Nunca es lo que parece
Porque tú eres un sueño para mí
Un sueño para mí

Laaa-daaaa laaa-daaaa
Laaa-daaaa laaa-daaaa

Songwriters: Dolores Mary O’riordan / Noel Hogan | Background Image: The Cranberries Facebook Image

Did you know...?

In 2016 ‘Dreams’ received a BMI (Broadcast Music Industry) award for having been played more than 3 million times on US radio 📻
There are 3 versions of the Dreams video:
  1. The first they recorded when they were uknown.
  2. The best known, with more than 200M views.
  3. A rarity few know about.
In 2017, a year before Dolores O’Riordan’s tragic death, the band recorded an acoustic version of Dreams, which was included on their album Something Else.

Much more | Covers, films, Woodstock…

The Cranberries at Woodstock ’94

Along with “Linger” and “Zombie“, The Cranberries performed “Dreams” at Woodstock 1994. A legendary performance.

Dreams in films

Dreams has been used countless times in TV series and films 🎬 Some of the most notable ones are:
  • Mission: Impossible
  • Boys On The Side
  • The Next Karate Kid
  • The Baby-Sitters Club
  • JAG
  • My So-Called Life.

Dreams Covers

Like all great songs, ‘Dreams‘ has been covered by a wide variety of groups:
  • Chinese singer Faye Wong adapted it into Cantonese, with Dolores O’Riordan on backing vocals, under the name Dream Lover.
  • The trio Dario G made an unforgettable dance version entitled Dream to Me.
  • In 2020, a collective of Irish singers under the name Irish Women in Harmony, recorded a version against domestic abuse.
  • In 2022, the group MisterWives did another magnificent version.

Technical Note | The Cranberries Dreams

Some technical facts you might not have noticed about ‘Dreams’:
  • 🤷 The song has no chorus. Some verses can be interpreted as such, but it doesn’t have a chorus as such.
  • 🤷‍♂️ The song starts very strongly. The drums and bass set the rhythm and the guitar plays the melody, but this disappears after 30 seconds, when Dolores’ voice enters, to highlight her.
  • 🤷 Synthesizers are used, something not very fashionable in the 90s, playing arpeggios constantly. This conveys a lot of emotion to the song.
  • 🤷‍♂️ Dolores O’Riordan sings yodeling: In a nutshell, yodeling is jumping sharply from low to high tones. What best characterises Dolores and the music of The Cranberries.
🎼 The Cranberries Dreams Chords:
  • The song is played in E major, being the main chords: E – A – B. They are repeated throughout the song.
cranberries dreams chords

The Cranberries Facebook Image

the cranberries dreams
the cranberries dreams

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