It was interesting to compose a melody in a dream.
Of Two Minds is devoted to exploring socio-economic dynamics, so it leaves out 95% of my life. My daily life is unworthy of comment, but I’m making the rare exception to describe a rare event: composing a new melody in a dream.
I’ve been an amateur musician since my late teens, when I picked up the cheap, narrow-necked, steel-stringed acoustic guitar my older sister had understandably abandoned as unplayable. Over time, better guitars came my way and I bought a Fostex four-track tape deck in 1983 to begin recording my
original songs (2011 to 2023). This history tracks millions of other musicians, both amateurs and those who progressed to professionals.
On occasion, I’ve heard music in my dreams, but none that I recalled with any clarity. I’ve only had one dream in which I remembered the tune upon awakening and immediately recorded the melody on my phone. I had this dream in December, 2022, while vacationing in Thailand with my wife.
Even more unusually, the song was composed in the dream with the help of Paul McCartney. In the dream, Mr. Paul was sitting at a piano, and I asked him to help me with a song I was working on. He noodled around on the keys and a simple melody emerged. The dream ended, I awoke in the middle of the night and recorded it before it slipped from my memory.
I’m guessing that my subconscious drew upon Mr. McCartney for inspiration because he famously dreamed the melody of his song Yesterday and awoke reckoning he’d heard the tune somewhere. After spending a few weeks asking friends if they’d ever heard this melody before, and finding no one had, he concluded it was in fact an original melody that had come to him in a dream.
He has also reported having a peaceful dream of his long-departed mother saying to him, “let it be.” This was the inspiration for the song Let It Be. Clearly, dreams are powerful sources of creative work, and his example likely offered a subconscious inspiration.
My little melody is no masterpiece, but it was interesting to compose a melody in a dream, and so I slowly filled out the tune with lyrics, chords, riff, etc. Thanks to the creative arranging and orchestration of my friend Tommy Tabasco, a finished song eventually emerged. I call it My Mr. McCartney Dream Song, or simply My Dream Song.
My hope is the story and the song bring a smile, and that Mr. McCartney won’t mind being part of my dream.
To illustrate the development of the song, I’m posting three versions:
Acoustic rough draft recorded on my iPhone SE
Here are the lyrics:
We know Mr. McCartney
writes songs in his dreams
so deep in my own dream
I say to Sir Paul
Mister Paul would you help me
write a new song
could you give three minutes
it won’t take too long
Mister Paul’s at his piano
and happy to help
I watch as he improvs
and out comes this tune
This is my Mr. McCartney Dream Song
Paul helped me write it in my own dream
BRIDGE
You and your mates
gave us such joy
Yes all of us
Vera, Chuck, Dave and Zoe
Mr. Paul you’re a very
hardworking guy
You’re co-writing new songs
in other bloke’s dreams
It’s not quite as easy
as it may seem
Mister Paul I must thank you
for this dream song
I’m one lucky bloke that
you helped me along
This is my Mr. McCartney Dream Song
Paul helped me write it in my own dream
Music and lyrics copyright Charles Hugh Smith November 2023, all rights reserved globally.
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