Songs to Live By: 'Don't Dream It's Over' by Crowded House
Every month, 5AM StoryTalk explores a different song about our struggle to lead good and meaningful lives in a confusing, increasingly grim modern world...
“Don’t Dream It’s Over”
Crowded House
Crowded House
Capitol, 1986
Written by Neil Finn
This is a song that asks a very simple question: What’s the point anymore?
You used to think there was one, but then you turned on the news again, you clicked on that social media post you shouldn’t have again, you wept over another election again. Now, there’s this feeling inside you that never goes away. It lives inside your stomach, but you can feel it in your limbs. Something dark and sad and scared. You try to shake your arms, to get it out, but it’s no use. The more you dwell on it, the angrier you get, too. The things you think now make you feel ashamed; good people don’t wish such awful fates on others, and yet you can’t stop yourself. You spend so much time hating others for how hateful they are, it’s beginning to feel like you’re becoming just as monstrous as them.
There are two of you now, it seems, like something out of a Russian novel or Ingrid Bergman film. There’s the version of you that you present to the world, a person who still thinks there’s a future for yourself, for your children, for the planet. Toothy smile, bright eyes, convinced human beings are inherently good and decent. Then, there’s the real you. The one who can’t even remember what it was like to feel hopeful, and now this real you — the one silently screaming inside all the time — resents how you took all that hope for granted when you were younger. Like it was an inexhaustible resource. The real you is fucking exhausted.
But this is the trick they’ve played on you, you must know that. They’ve been doing it since the beginning — since people starting arguing over who had what — drawing lines between us, digging ditches, building walls. Religion and capitalism are two sides of the same coin, distracting you from what’s really happening with promises of more and more and more. They convince you to settle for how it is, to protect what’s yours and otherwise give up, to keep the real you hidden. But that’s a self-imposed cage, a kind of prison for your mind, your heart, your soul. You crave liberation, don’t you? It’s why you keep shaking, not just your arms. Well, then, take my hand. Don’t buy into their bullshit, don’t run from the fight, don’t dream it’s over. Because that’s how they win.
Maybe this song’s really asking: Are you coming with me?
… There is freedom within
There is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
There's a battle ahead
Many battles are lost
But you'll never see the end of the road
While you're traveling with me
… Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win
… Now I'm towing my car
There's a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion
But there's no proof
In the paper today
Tales of war and of waste
But you turn right over to the TV page
… Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
We know they won't win
… Now I'm walking again
To the beat of a drum
And I'm counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead
Barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and release
… Hey now, hey now
Don't dream it's over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
You know they won't win
… Don't let them win (Hey now, hey now)
Hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now
Don't let them win (They come, they come)
Don't let them win (Hey now, hey now), yeah
Hey now, hey now
You can listen to Crowded House’s '“Don’t Dream It’s Over” at Spotify or watch its official video below. If possible, seek out a physical copy of the album to support the artists rather than streaming services that unfairly compensate them.
Afterward, listen to this episode of the podcast Song Exploder to learn more about how the song came to be.
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It's one of my favourite songs ever, and reminds me of my brother. The lyrics are amazing as they can have so many different meaning depending on how you are feeling. And yes, Cole, like you, I am sickened by so much, and trying to be brave and optimistic, and continue to write my poems, and make little references to the shit among the lightness of my poetry, because if we all go to the dark side we'll be useless. Sending you lots of love and hugs.
Ouf, this hit hard. I feel very seen, and right now, that's quite a rare thing for me. I remember vividly the first time I heard this song: it was played during an episode of the 90s TV adaptation of Stephen King's THE STAND. I must have watched it 100 times as a kid, and every time that scene came on, I remember looking at the destruction on the screen, and hearing those lyrics, and feeling a strange sense of hope. I never understood that feeling until I rewatched it again recently, and realised just how much HOPE this song actually gave me, even when juxtaposed with such devastating scenes. I think the phrase "don't dream it's over" has saved my life on more than a few occasions. Thank you for sharing this.