What does Dream On mean?

Aerosmith: Dream On Meaning

Album cover for Dream On album cover

Song Released: 1973


Covered By: Glee Cast


Get "Dream On" on MP3: Get MP3 from iTunes

Dream On Lyrics

Every time that I look in the mirror,
All these lines on my face getting clearer.
The past is gone.
It went by like dusk to dawn.
Isn't that the way?
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay.

Yhea'

I know nobody knows,
Where...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    DarkishFriend
    click a star to vote
    Sep 23rd 2009 !⃝

    This isn't at all about drugs. Steven wrote this when he was in high school, he didn't get introduced to drugs until after the formation of Aerosmith.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 5th 2010 !⃝

    " Every time I look in the mirror, all these lines on my face are getting clearer"

    It means he's getting older and the days are going by. It's obvious when he refers to the lines getting clearer when he looks at his face.

    " The past is gone, it went by like dust to dawn"

    It means that the days are going by just like that and he's missing all of his opportunities in life.

    " isn't that the way? Everybody's got their dues in life to pay"

    I think he's refering to his drug problem in here. Because I've read somewhere that he started doing drugs in his teenage years.

    " I know what nobody knows, where it comes and where it goes"

    He means that he knows more than average people, since he probably wrote this song at a time when he was thinking about life.

    " You gotta lose to know how to win"

    You have to make mistakes in order to learn from them.

    " Half my life's in books, written pages. Live and learned from fools and from sages"

    He's saying that he has talked to many people, from fools and from sages. Again, he's refering to the fact that he knows more stuff than a normal person.

    " You know it's true, everything comes back to you"

    He's talking about life, karma, and how at the end, you will always and only get what you deserve.

    " Sing with me, sing for the years, sing for the laughs and sing for the tears"

    If we presume that by singing, he means 'thinking' or 'remembering'. Then he's talking about remembering all the things that have happened in his life, from the best things that made him smile and laugh, to the worst things that brought tears to his eyes and made him cry.

    " Sing with me, if it's just for today. Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away"

    He's saying that you must think about life and do it everyday. Because you might die tomorrow. And that's what he means by saying " The good lord will take you away".

    "Dream on, dream on, dream until your dream comes true"

    Keep on dreaming until it is realized.

    "Dream on, dream on, dream until your comes true.

    See how much he insists that you must "dream on"?

    "Dream on, dream on, dream on, dream on"

    He keeps on saying it because he knows how important it is to not to give up.

    " DREAM ON, DREAM ON, DREAM ON, DREAM ON ! "

    He really really insists that you must dream on, and keep on thinking and dreaming.

    Conclusions:

    This is a song that makes you think about the past, present, and future. It's a song about hope. It's a song that tells you no matter how good you think the past was, and/or how bad you think the present is, you must never give up and always dream on.

    Tyler truly has written a masterpiece with great lyrics, awesome chords, and a brilliant meaning.

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    abz
    click a star to vote
    Apr 24th 2006 !⃝

    'Everytime that I look in the mirror
    All these lines on my face gettin' clearer
    The past is gone '

    ...I think this means he's looked into the mirror and for the first time, he's seeing himself clearly, his true reflection. Sometimes we all get caught up in our everyday lives and troubles,we don't slow down for a moment and take our time to care about the things that mean the most.

    Before you know it, a years gone by, then another one, and then another one. He's waking up to reality that he is getting older and his life is rushing past him-

    'It went by like dust to dawn '
    'I know nobody knows/Where it comes and where it goes'

    He's thinking back to all that's gone and appreciating all the memories, the good and the bad, they all played a big part in who he is today and even if he dies tomorro, he's gonna appreciate his life but still keep on dreaming.

    'Sing for the laughter 'n sing for the tears
    Sing with me, if it's just for today,
    Dream yourself a dream come true'

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Sep 12th 2023 !⃝

    Cocaine is not officially listed as of the u.s.p, but it is in plastic surgery and dentist's offices.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 21st 2023 !⃝

    Hello,
    this is the greatest and perhaps the meaningful poem of them all, one can understand its meaning with listen to the words.

    cause it comes from a real place,
    when your soul is finally broke to pieces, to realise that all your life you dream a reality that do not exists but only in the minds of Fools and Sages who run this world.

    Intentionally or not the lyrics of the song were a prophecy,
    the writer experienced what we are experiencing today in the world, a world that is managed without thoughts for us,
    a world of lies woven by rulers and leaders who are also corrupt
    and the depth of the lie only increases the deeper we go into it.
    Simply to profit on our broken backs, to preserves their way of life even in religious beliefs, on life or death, everything is engineered from our perspective and from birth.

    And it is a huge pain inside,
    in which everything crumbles and the song will be as a prophecy or as a warning
    to man, for the day will comes.

    thank you.

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 22nd 2018 !⃝

    “Every time that I look in the mirror
    All these lines on my face getting clearer”
    When he has the lines cut on top of a mirror, and he approaches the mirror to snort them, he sees the lines on his face on top of his reflection. Then they clear when he snorts them. The passing of time does not clear your face lines but puts them on. Notice that he makes a noise after that sentence, like he is snorting. Then he says “the past is gone” well he is hi and nothing in his past matters. Passing of time does not make your past gone obviously. But numbing your feelings are what drugs offer to take your pain away from things in your past you wish to be gone.
    Anyone who thinks high school kids don’t do drugs is living a lie. Specially a kid like him who was bullied and most likely needed to feel invincible so he was a sinner as much as the bully.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 21st 2013 !⃝

    whats this song really about i am so confused?

  8. SCARFACE
    click a star to vote
    Mar 22nd 2012 !⃝

    I think dream on is all about achieving your dream and the hunger to be somebody

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 21st 2012 !⃝

    I dont think this song is about drugs at all. Who ever thinks this song is about drugs is stupid

    ~Nick

  10. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jan 23rd 2012 !⃝

    A lot of people keep saying the line is 'I know what nobody knows, where it comes and where it goes.' but that's not it. The line is 'I know nobody knows, where it comes and where it goes. I know it's everybody's sin' he's referring to that even extremely religious people who trust their faith never really know where life comes from, and what happens when we die and as he's getting older he realizes it.
    This song is about him looking at the past and seeing how fast it's really went by.

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 24th 2011 !⃝

    This song basically means if you were to die tommorrow, you should be happy, or at the very least content, with what youve done in life.

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 3rd 2011 !⃝

    This isn't about drugs. He wrote this song long before he started experimenting with cocaine and other hardcore drugs like that.

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 17th 2011 !⃝

    About the drug problems in the band.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 17th 2011 !⃝

    My interpretation probably wrong, but, I'll give it a try..

    'Everytime that i look in the mirror
    All these lines on my face gettin' clearer'
    ^ His face is getting clearer, like acne,or wrinkles..

    'The past is gone
    It went by like dust to dawn
    Isn't that the way
    Everybody's got their dues in life to pay'
    ^ he's growing up and he can't bring it back. and hes paying for the time he wasted earlier in life..

    'I know nobody knows
    Where it comes and where it goes
    I know it's everybody's sin
    You got to lose to know how to win'
    ^ he doesn't know where the time went.

    'Half my life's in books written pages
    Lived and learned from fools and from sages
    You know it's true
    All these things come back to you'
    ^ talks about how his life is written down, but still doesn't know where that time went, and it happens to us too


    'Sing with me, sing for the years
    Sing for the laughter 'n sing for the tears
    Sing with me, if it's just for today
    Maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away'
    ^ be greatful with life, and its memories.
    Sorry its a weird interpretation, but I tried to get something out of it besides drugs :P

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 9th 2011 !⃝

    ... it's abt drug use and abuse ...
    you look into a mirror and see lines in your face when there are lines of drugs on the mirror. as you snort a line it disappears from you reflectection creating the illusion of the 'lines in your face getting clearer', you are pissin me off!!!

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  16. BondServantOfChrist
    click a star to vote
    Oct 23rd 2010 !⃝

    HONEST TO GOD, IT JUST CAME TO ME IN A DREAM.
    This life is a gift; even though there are ups and downs and we don't know where it all goes, it's the Good Lord's incredible plan; so live as big as you can while you are here, and dream until your dreams come true.

    Also know that God is Faithful! I recently asked God to use me again, ... and to give me new ears to hear. Then this morning (Saturday in an empty office building), a 40-year old security guard asked me for help on a legal matter, but I instead spent 45 minutes encouraging him out of his depression. Short version that God supernaturally led me to remind him five different ways how God is faithful and that his "legal" matter is God's way of opening doors for him to show others about God's love.

    Then I got a headache and had to rest ... and dreams from God kept speaking to me in my sleep ... five different messages from God. Then it all closed with the voice from this song singing "everyone wants to know the meaning of the words you hear". That's not even in the song! ..., but I woke up thinking, "Dream On!"

    So I read the lyrics and, man, powerful! It's the book of Ecclesiastes wrapped up in seven stanzas. Whether that's what Aerosmith meant or not, God's song is that this life is a gift; we can't take any of these things with us to eternity, and we all end up "ashes to ashes," but make the best of it while we're here -- singing & dancing; joy & sadness. Even in sadness, there is joy in knowing that it's God's incredible plan. [Check out the book of James, too.] Even though it might take a lifetime to figure it out, God loves us and this is his gift.

    All in all, "Dream On!"

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 9th 2010 !⃝

    i think its plain and simple to understand

    sing with me, sing for the year, sing for the laughter n sing for the tears. sing with me if its just for today, maybe tomorrow the good lord will take you away.

    just that right there explains everything when i hear this song.

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 15th 2010 !⃝

    i think the meaning of this song is about someone who has gotten old and who hasnt had a meaningful life and is telling everyone to not be like him and live life to the fullest and never give up.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
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