Dreams
by Fleetwood Mac
What it means
The song "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, penned by Stevie Nicks, encapsulates themes of love, loss, and emotional clarity that often accompany experiences in relationships. The reflective verse suggests how the singer guards personal visions and dreams, perhaps indicating introspection and a desire for privacy in emotional matters. When Stevie Nicks speaks of wrapping around someone else's dreams and asks if they have any dreams to sell, it evokes a sense of intimacy, sharing, but also the vulnerability and transactional nature in relationships, where dreams and aspirations can be shared or even traded off.
The chorus brings out a metaphorical sense of change and realization – thunder only occurring with rain symbolizes that loud, disruptive events (like arguments or problems in a relationship) come with an outpouring of emotions or challenges (the rain). The repeated lines about players loving you only when they're playing and the transient nature of women coming and going reflect on how affection and people may not be reliable or constant. Yet, it ends with a hopeful note that the rain or challenges cleanse one’s understanding eventually. Through this, Nicks might be suggesting that through the trials and ephemeral relationships, one gains clarity and true understanding of their own needs and desires.
Overall, these lyrics resonate with emotional depth, exploring how personal growth and understanding can emerge from the complexities and disappointments of relationships. Through figurative language, the song communicates a melancholic but ultimately hopeful message about navigating the torrential downpours of human connections and recognizing one’s true self in the aftermath.
Lyrics
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[Verse 2: Stevie Nicks]
Now, here I go again
I see the crystal visions
I keep my visions to myself
It's only me who wants to
Wrap around your dreams
And have you any dreams you'd like to sell?
Dreams of loneliness
[Pre-Chorus: Stevie Nicks]
Like a heartbeat drives you mad (Heartbeat)
In the stillness of rememberin' (Stillness)
What you had and what you lost (Lonely, ooh)
Oh, what you had, oh, what you lost (Ooh, ah)
[Chorus: Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie]
Thunder only happens when it's rainin'
Players only love you when they're playing
Women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
Oh, thunder only happens when it's rainin'
Players only love you when they're playing
Say, "Women, they will come and they will go"
When the rain washes you clean, you'll know
[Outro: Stevie Nicks & Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie]
You'll know
You will know
Oh, you'll know