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ABSTRACT Dream-Inspired Music: Stories of Popular Musicians Writing Songs from Dreams Nancy Grace, M.A. Stockbridge, MA Nancy Grace has been teaching about dreams since 1989, with a focus on the creative and spiritual dimensions of dream experience. She is also a musician and songwriter. She’s been actively involved with ASD since 1993, and is currently on the Board of Directors. ngrace@bcn.net Summary of Presentation Paul McCartney, Shawn Colvin, Sting, Rory Block, Billy Joel, Johnny Cash – these are just a few of the popular musicians who have written songs inspired by their dreams – many of which have become commercial as well as personal successes. Come hear the dreams and the music, as well as reflections on the value of this phenomenon in a dream-deficient society. Learning Objectives: 1: To learn about many contemporary musicians whose dreams have provided inspiration for songwriting, the ways in which this inspiration takes place, and the value of dreams to these musicians. 2: To see the connection between contemporary songwriting inspired by dreams, and the dream-inspired songs of ancient indigenous cultures. 3: To understand the value of dream-inspired songs in a culture which does not generally value dreams.
Evaluation questions: Q1: To what extent do you think that musicians talking publicly about the value of dreams can help to de-marginalize dreams in our society? Q2: Do you think that there is a qualitative difference between
songs inspired by dreams, and songs not inspired by dreams? If yes, describe. Q3: What is the connection between contemporary songwriters who
find inspiration in dreams, and members of indigenous tribal cultures who
have brought forth songs from dreams? Abstract
Given that in modern Western culture, dreams are not regarded as having much value, it is perhaps surprising to learn that such well-known musical superstars as Paul McCartney, Sting, Billy Joel and others credit dreams as an important source of creative inspiration. Joel has said that all his songs come from dreams. Sting claims that any musician who ignores their dreams is ignoring half of their creative potential. And the melody for the Beatles’ song Yesterday – said to be the most frequently played song of all time – came directly from a dream. In
addition to inspiring individual songs, dreams can also give a broader
sense of inspiration and focus to a musician’s work.
For Rory Block, a dream set the tone and musical “feel” of her
1998 album, Confessions of a Blues Singer.
And a dream of blue turtles destroying his garden provided both the title, as
well an ongoing inspiration, for Sting’s first solo album, The
Dream of the Blue Turtles.
In each of these cases the dreams prompted the musicians to do
something different and new, and both albums were quite successful. It is also culturally significant to note that in addition
to dreams providing inspiration for popular music, during many live
concerts, dreams are being told to the audience.
Songwriters are often heard introducing songs with a declaration
that the entire song, or maybe just a verse, came from a dream.
Given that the oral tradition of community dream-sharing, so common
in many traditional cultures, is virtually non-existent in the modern
Western world, the concert hall may be one of the few established social
venues where dreams are still spoken about freely, regularly, and with
enthusiasm. Much has been written about traditions within indigenous cultures of seeking songs in dreams -- for power, for healing, for community guidance, or for confirmation of a person’s calling. Although modern Western social structures bear little resemblance to these older cultures, I suggest that contemporary musicians who find inspiration in their dreams are the modern-day spiritual descendants of these indigenous peoples. Now, as then, making dreams into songs creates meaning on social, psychological and spiritual levels. SOURCES: Barrett,
Deirdre.
The Committee of Sleep: How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use
Their Dreams for Creative Problem Solving--and How You Can Too
(Crown Publishers, 2001). Bulkeley,
Kelly. Spiritual Dreaming (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1995). Grace,
Nancy. “Making Dreams Into
Music: Contemporary Songwriters Carry On an Age-Old Dreaming
Tradition,” in Dreams: A Reader on the Religious, Cultural and
Psychological Dimensions of Dreaming.
Bulkeley, Kelly (Ed), New York: Palgrave, 2001. Miles,
Barry. Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now (New York, NY: Henry Holt and
Company, 1997), p. 202. Tedlock,
Barbara (Ed.). Dreaming: Anthropological and
Psychological Interpretation (Santa
Fe, NM: School of American Research Press, 1992). White,
Timothy. Rock
Lives: Profiles and Interviews (New
York: H. Holt, 1990, p 692-709). Also: Billy McLaughlin, Fingerdance, Proton Discs, 1996. Master
Class with Billy Joel, Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, Fall 1992.
Liner
notes to Nothing Like the Sun, by Sting, A & M Records, 1987. Liner
notes to Ain’t I A Woman by
Rory Block, Rounder Records, 1992. Liner
notes to Confessions of a Blues
Singer by Rory Block, Rounder Records, 1998.
Reprinted at www.roryblock.com. Shawn
Colvin’s WUMB Member Concert, October 2, 1989, Boston, MA. Shawn
Colvin interview in “The
Performing Songwriter,” October 1993, reprinted at www.shawncolvin.com Sting’s
commencement address at Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA, May 15,
1994. www.roryblock.com/reviews.htm www.roryblock.com/interview.htm . |
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