It’s a Dream (2005) – Neil Young

It’s a Dream is the second song to appear here from Neil Young’s 2005 Prairie Wind album.  It features in the Heart of Gold documentary directed by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) about Neil Young’s Prairie Wind concert at the famous Ryman Auditorium also known as Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. This song is simply beautiful, almost transcendental. The lyrics mesh perfectly with Neil’s yearning tone. I couldn’t stop listening to it when it first came out.
‘Bobdylaniscool‘ wrote at Songmeanings: ‘The verses are just snapshots in time, which to the speaker are like dreams… Just as dreams escape us when we awake, so do our memories as we age. And when we die, they no longer have anywhere to stay.‘

In the morning when I wake up and listen to the sound
Of the birds outside on the roof
I try to ignore what the paper says
And I try not to read all the news
And I’ll hold you if you had a bad dream
And I hope it never comes true
‘Cause you and I been through so many things together
And the sun starts climbing the roof…

It’s a dream
Only a dream
And it’s fading now
Fading away
It’s only a dream
Just a memory
Without anywhere to stay

For anyone interested in Country / Americana music I couldn’t recommend Demme’s documentary Heart of Gold more highly. The Prairie Wind concert in the documentary is a great introduction to Neil Young’s music although it’s more a sombre, melancholic and retrospective repertoire of what he does. It is a reflection of Neil’s childhood and his dedication to family. Prairie Wind is the 26th studio album by Young. Young recorded the album in Nashville before undergoing minimally invasive surgery for an aneurysm in the spring of 2005, and some of the songs on the album appear to be informed by Young confronting his own mortality.

The video presented below is from the Prairie Wind concert in Jonathan Demme’s documentary.

Reference:
1. Prairie Wind – Wikipedia

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand