Lyrics:

The Song:

"Dreams" was released as a single in June 2015, and then a new mix of the song was put on Beck's 2017 album Colors, as well. Beck has also released instrumental and acappella versions (of the single mix) as b-sides, and some edits (there's clean ones and dirty ones).

Beck said he wrote "Dreams" a few years before it came out as a single, "with an old friend" (Greg Kurstin). He liked how it was a marriage of garage rock energy/riffs with dance beats. Rolling Stone reported that the song went through "more than a dozen incarnations," which is interesting because it ended on a straightforward, Beck-ish guitar riff and big beat. (It reminds me of "E-Pro" that way.) I cannot imagine what else might have been in this song in its earlier incarnations! Also, Andrew Wyatt of the band Miike Snow co-wrote the song, but it is unknown what he contributed (he's not a credited performer on the song, just a co-writer; it's the only song with Beck with which he's been associated).

Beck also has stated numerous times, he was writing "Dreams" with a mind to the stage, and it does shine there - the full catchy riff, the mindbending heavy drop in the middle, the melody, all expand into something even more exciting. In fact, I believe Beck's slight remixing of the song into the 2017 "Colors mix" was probably influenced by what the song had grown into while they played it live in 2015 and 2016.

That said, the single mix and the Colors mix do have a lot of similarities. As far as I can tell, the song is identical up through the first two choruses. Beck then does a trippy breakdown as a verse replacement. The single mix feels tighter, and uses the phrase "stop fucking with my dreams" here. The Colors mix changes the phrase to "stop dragging down my dreams," and emphasizes the guitar and I think adds some new bass (Beck's touring bassist, Dwayne Moore, is credited on the album version - he wasn't around when "Dreams" came out as a single). After the breakdown, the ending of the song is also tightened up on the Colors mix. The single mix goes into the bridge ("here we are running circles") before the chorus and then repeats the closing lines to end the song. The Colors mix skips the bridge, going straight from the breakdown into the chorus. Instead of repeating the closing lines, the song has a little outro. (Beck also removes one line, near the end of the single mix, Beck sings "all day and all night", but that's not present on the album.) There may also be other smaller details throughout that are different, but these are the main structural ones.

Anyway, the song is a solid one, as I've said it reminds me of some of Beck's older songs, and fits right into his series of rock songs with solid, catchy electric guitar riffs (i.e., "Devils Haircut," "E-Pro," "Go It Alone," "Nausea," whatnot). But it has enough of its own vibe, mainly that heavy breakdown, that it still feels unique. Lyrically, it's probably not Beck's most interesting song, by any means. It does fit, however, with the lyrics of Colors and its numerous mentions about striving to feel free, finding your life, maintaining hope.

Live:

Played live 170 times:
Earliest known live version: August 4, 2015
Latest known live version: May 12, 2024