After all the jacks are in their boxes, And the clouds have all gone to bed, You can hear Happiness staggering on down the street, Footprints dressed in red.
And the Wind whispers Mary.
A broom is drearily sweeping
Up the broken pieces of yesterday’s life. Somewhere a Queen is weeping, Somewhere a King has no wife.
And the Wind it cries Mary.
The traffic lights they turn blue tomorrow And shine their emptiness down upon my bed. The tiny island sags downstream ‘Cause the life it lived is… is dead.
And the Wind screams Mary.
Will the Wind ever remember The names it has blown in the past, And with this crutch, its old age and its wisdom It whispers, “No, this will be the last.”
“Dream a Little Dream of Me” is a song with music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt and lyrics by Gus Kahn. “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was recorded by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra with vocal by Nelson on February 16, 1931 for Brunswick Records. That February 18, Wayne King and His Orchestra with vocal by Ernie Birchill recorded the song for Victor Records. “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was also an early signature tune of Kate Smith. In the summer of 1950 seven recordings of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” were in release with the versions by Frankie Laine and Jack Owens reaching the US Top 20 at respectively #18 and #14: the other versions were by Cathy Mastice, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, Vaughn Monroe, Dinah Shore and a duet version by Bing Crosby and Georgia Gibbs. Other traditional pop acts to record “Dream a Little Dream of Me” include Barbara Carroll, Nat King Cole, Doris Day, Joni James, and Dean Martin.
“Dream a Little Dream of Me” was recorded for the Mamas & the Papas April 1968 album release The Papas & The Mamas. The group had often sung the song for fun, having been familiarized with it by member Michelle Phillips, whose father had been friends with the song’s co-writer, Fabian Andre, in Mexico City where Michelle Phillips’ family had resided when she was a young girl. “Mama” Cass Elliot suggested to group leader John Phillips that the group record “Dream a Little Dream of Me”; according to him she was unhappy while recording the song, objecting to its campiness, but Elliot herself would later tell Melody Maker: “I tried to sing it like it was 1943 and somebody had just come in and said, ‘Here’s a new song.’ I tried to sing it as if it were the first time.”
By the time of the album’s release, there were strong indications that the Mamas & the Papas were set to disband, a perception strengthened by the failure of the lead single “Safe in My Garden”. Having an opportunity to promote the group’s best-known member as a soloist, Dunhill Records gave a June 1968 single release to the “Dream a Little Dream of Me” track with the credit reading – to John Phillips’ displeasure – “Mama Cass with the Mamas & the Papas”; in its UK release the artist credit simply read “Mama Cass”. Promoted in the US press and on billboards with a photograph of a discreetly but obviously nude Elliot lying in a bed of daisies, “Dream a Little Dream of Me” peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 that August (its Cash Box peak was #10 and in Record World it reached #8). A slightly different version of “Dream a Little Dream of Me” was included on Elliot’s solo debut album, Dream a Little Dream.
lyrics ~
Stars shining bright above you Night breezes seem to whisper ‘I love you Birds singing in the sycamore tree. Dream a little dream of me.
Say nighty-night and kiss me; Just hold me tight and tell me you’ll miss me. While I’m alone, blue as can be, Dream a little dream of me.
Stars fading but I linger on, dear Still craving your kiss. I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear, Just saying this…
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you. But in your dreams, whatever they be, Dream a little dream of me.
Stars fading but I linger on, dear Still craving your kiss. I’m longing to linger till dawn, dear, Just saying this…
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you Sweet dreams that leave all worries far behind you. But in your dreams, whatever they be, Dream a little dream of me.
