"Don't Dream It's Over" is a song by rock band

Crowded House Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn (vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter) and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Late ...

, recorded for their 1986 self-titled debut studio album. The song was composed and written by New Zealand frontman

Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...

, and released in October 1986 as the fourth single from the album. "Don't Dream It's Over" became the band's biggest international hit, reaching 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States in April 1987. "Don't Dream It's Over" was also a great success in Finn's native country of New Zealand, where it reached Number 1. It also topped the charts in Canada, while in Australia it peaked at No. 8. In continental Europe, it reached No. 6 in Norway, No. 7 in the Netherlands, and No. 13 in Germany. At the 1986 Countdown Australian Music Awards the song was nominated for three awards, winning Best Video. "Don't Dream It's Over" is written and composed in the key of

E-flat major E-flat major (or the key of E-flat) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has three flats. Its relative minor is C minor, and its parallel minor is E minor, (or enharmonically ...

and is set in

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note va ...

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 82

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. "Don't Dream It's Over" was prominently featured in the 1994 miniseries adaptation of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's novel '' The Stand''. The song has also been recorded by other artists, including

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

Sixpence None the Richer Sixpence None the Richer (also known as Sixpence) is an American Christian alternative rock band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, and eventually settled in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs " Kiss Me" and "Breathe Yo ...

, and New Zealand artist

Stan Walker Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990) is an Australian-born New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh and last season of ''Australian Idol''. He subsequently signed a recording contract ...

. In May 2001, the

Australasian Performing Right Association APRA AMCOS consists of Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), both copyright management organisations or copyright collectives which jointly represent over 100,000 songwri ...

(APRA) ranked "Don't Dream It's Over" second on its list of the Top 100 New Zealand songs of all time and seventh on its list of the Top 100 Australian songs of all time. In January 2018, as part of

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to ...

's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "Don't Dream Its Over" was ranked number 65.

Music video

The music video for the song was created by Australian film production company Meaningful Eye Contact and was directed by

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films '' The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ...

. It was filmed in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

at an abandoned theatre in Balmain. The video features some surreal special effects such as household objects – including shattering crockery – and film reels that float in the air, with lead singer Finn playing a guitar and walking through the same house during different time periods while his bandmates are either performing household chores or playing various backing instruments. It was nominated for Best Group Video, and Best Direction at the 1987

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

, and earned the group a Best New Artist award.

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

'' described the song as a "majestic ballad". ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said "The easy going and pretty song camouflages a pained longing. Neil Finn's voice, recognizable from his stint with

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...

, is reedy and expressive and full of irony."

Track listings

"Don't Dream It's Over" written by

. "That's What I Call Love" written by Neil Finn and Paul Hester. All tracks on vinyl are from the album ''Crowded House'' except the extended version of "Don't Dream It's Over". All live tracks were recorded on ''Phil Jupitus Show'' at BBC GLR on 21 June 1996. 7-inch vinyl # "Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:03 # "That's What I Call Love" –3:39 12-inch vinyl # "Don't Dream It's Over" (Extended version) – 6:10 (only in 12-inch vinyl single) # "Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:03 # "That's What I Call Love" – 3:39 7-inch US vinyl (American Pie label) # "Don't Dream It's Over" – 4:03 # "Something So Strong" – 2:51 1996 UK CD1 # "Don't Dream It's Over" – 3:53 # " Weather with You" (live) – 4:35 # " Into Temptation" (live) – 4:48 # " Locked Out" (live) – 2:04 1996 UK CD2 # "Don't Dream It's Over" – 3:53 # " Four Seasons in One Day" (live) – 3:08 # "In My Command" (live) – 4:14 # " Pineapple Head" (live) – 3:40

Personnel

: lead vocals, guitars * Nick Seymour: bass guitar * Paul Hester: drums, percussion, backing vocals * Mitchell Froom: keyboards and organs * Tim Pierce: guitar

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Paul Young version

In 1991, English musician

covered "Don't Dream It's Over" on his compilation '' From Time to Time – The Singles Collection''. Young's version featured

Paul Carrack Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

singing the fourth verse and performing the keyboard and synthesizers.

Track listing

UK 7-inch and cassette single # "Don't Dream It's Over" (Neil Finn) – 3:56 # "I Need Somebody" (Paul Young) – 4:00

Charts

Sixpence None the Richer version

"Don't Dream It's Over" was the second

radio single In music, a single is a type of release, typically a song recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most cases, a single is a song that is released separate ...

released in promotion of the album ''

Divine Discontent ''Divine Discontent'' is the fourth studio album by American band Sixpence None the Richer, released on October 29, 2002. Background Lead singer Leigh Nash has described her understanding of the album title as being that "sometimes your pain ...

'' by

. The commercial single release features the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

"Don't Pass Me By," which was recorded during the sessions for ''Divine Discontent''. Their version was also included in the 2003 compilation album ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar/G ...

: The Talon Mix''.

Track listing

US CD single # "Don't Dream It's Over" (radio edit) – 3:39 # "Don't Pass Me By" – 3:26

Charts

Release history

Antonello Venditti version

Italian singer-songwriter Antonello Venditti interpreted an adaptation in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

entitled ''Alta marea'' (''High tide''), inspired by

Monte Argentario Monte Argentario is a '' comune'' (municipality) and a peninsula belonging to the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about south of Grosseto. The peninsula is connected with the mainland by thr ...

and recorded for his 1991 album ''Benvenuti in paradiso'' (''Welcome to Heaven''), which remains one of his most remembered songs to this day. A 16-year-old

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...

appears in the video.Antonello Venditti - Alta Marea (Don't Dream It's Over) (videoclip)
from

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

References

{{Authority control 1980s ballads 1986 singles 1986 songs 1991 singles 2003 singles APRA Award winners ARIA Award winners Capitol Records singles Columbia Records singles Crowded House songs Number-one singles in New Zealand Paul Young songs Reprise Records singles Rock ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles Sixpence None the Richer songs Song recordings produced by Dan Hartman Song recordings produced by Mitchell Froom Songs written by Neil Finn Songs about dreams