B-side "What You Were"
"Liar" Recorded 1992 | Format CD | |
Released 29 September 1992
1 April 1994 (reissue) Genre Alternative rock
shoegaze
dream pop Length 4:32 (album version)
4:15 (UK radio edit)
4:02 (US radio edit) | ||
"Dreams" is a song by Irish rock band the Cranberries. The song was released as the band's debut single in the industry in late-1992 from their debut studio album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993). An early 1990 version was released in Ireland only in the summer of that year.
Contents
- Music video
- Track listings
- Dario G version
- Other covers and media appearances
- In popular culture
- References
The promotional single reached the Top 15 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and the top 30 on the UK charts in early 1994.
The backing vocals on the song are sung by Mike Mahoney, ex-boyfriend of Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan. This hit was also a main feature of the Cranberries in the 1994 Woodstock Revival Festival.
Music video
There are three versions of the video. The first version of the music video features Dolores O'Riordan donning her original hairstyle that is seen on the Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? album cover. The video revolves around O'Riordan with the other band members flashing up throughout the video while she's sitting on in a chair with a cross as a back or a close up of her face and eyes. The video shows a mirrored image of O'Riordan to show she does the background vocals and towards the end the band members fade in and out constantly in front of O'Riordan.
The second version shows the Cranberries performing the song in a dimly lit aquatic-themed room interspersed with shots of geometric flowers hitting water. This video received high rotation on MTV's 120 Minutes in 1993 before the release of the bands next single, Linger, and the re-release of Dreams worldwide.
The third version, which was most commonly shown in America, shows the Cranberries performing the song in a nightclub. After which, Dolores O'Riordan heads out to a house where graverobbers dressed in black have placed in a very large tree pile. Dolores bathes the tree pile in water and a man is buried under the pile. The water frees him and in the final seconds of the video, the man wakes up.
Track listings
- "Dreams" (radio edit) – 4:15
- "What You Were" (previously unreleased) – 3:41
- "Liar" (previously unreleased) – 2:22
- "Dreams" (album version) – 4:32
- "What You Were" (previously unreleased) – 3:41
- "Dreams" (radio edit) – 4:15
- "What You Were" (previously unreleased) – 3:41
- "Liar" (previously unreleased) – 2:22
- "Not Sorry" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 4:37
- "Wanted" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 2:00
- "Dreams" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 4:10
- "Liar" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 3:17
- "Dreams" (album version) – 4:32
- "What You Were" (previously unreleased) – 3:41
- "Waltzing Back" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 4:02
- "Pretty" (Live at The Record Plant, Hollywood) – 2:09
- "Dreams" (album version) – 4:32
- "Linger" (album version) – 4:34
Dario G version
English electronic music trio Dario G, whose lead singer is Ingrid Straumstøyl, covered the song as "Dream to Me". It was released in January 2001 as the lead single from their second album, In Full Colour. The version reached the top 10 in Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and it was a number-one hit in Romania.
Track listings
- "Dream to Me" (Radio Edit) – 3:09
- "Dream to Me" (Airscape Remix) – 8:58
- "Dream to Me" (Warrior Mix) – 7:48
- "Dream to Me" (Ian Wilkie Mix) – 8:05
Other covers and media appearances
A Cantonese cover of the song, "Dream Lover", with backing vocals by herself, was a hit single for Chinese singer Faye Wong, included in her 1994 album Random Thoughts.
Alternative band Passion Pit released a cover of Dreams on the deluxe version of their debut album, "Manners" in 2009.
Bella Ferraro performed the song on X Factor Australia in 2012, that week the song re-entered the ARIA Charts just missing the top 50 at No.51.
American indie pop band Bleachers covered the song at Lollapalooza in 2014.
Emmy award winning composer Michael Whalen released a cover of Dreams featuring vocals by The New Tarot as the lead single to his album, "Dream Impact" in 2017.