Dream On - Greg Brown

Gonna meet some sweet lover

She’ll be so wise and so kind

Love her 'til we’re a hundred 'n' seven

Body 'n' the soul an' the mind.

That’s right, dream on,

Little dreamers

Dream on

This world ain’t what you think it is

It’s just what it is!

OK, I will meet some nice person

In a quiet little cafe

We’ll make such sweet love that the birds will applaud

And then we’ll go on our understanding ways.

Good luck, dream on,

Little dreamer

Dream on.

The world ain’t what you think it is

It’s just what it is!

The president he gonna start laughin'

Pass to the general a toke.

All the world bigshots gonna lay down their guns

And say «hey folks, it was all just a joke!»

Bombs & stuff?

Droppin' on you?

You know we would’n' do that to you.

We’re the leaders-of-the-world

We’re the real cool guys

We’re elected, respected, we try to be wise

We’re not gonna drop a bunch a' bombs on everybody, blow up the whole world

Over some little political difficulty or border dispute or somethin'

Us leaders-of-the-world we’r' like all you people,

Jus' to sit back, relax, take it easy…

Dream on, little dreamers

Dream on.

The world ain’t what you think it is

It’s just what it is.

I 'as feeling kinda troubled 'n' upset 'n' confused 'n' out of it.

You know how that goes?

Time goes along… things change, you wake

Up some mornin’g 'n' you realize that you’re jus' out of it,

I find mysel' at some friend’s apartment on a nice spring day, little birds

Be singin' in the trees… All my friends, they be sittin' aroun'

Inside… They was gittin' kinda out of it too, I guess, but, seemed

To be workin' out awright for 'em… They be sittin' aroun' in a

Little apartment watchin' TV, you know, on a nice spring day…

They’d be watchin' like reruns of «Three's Company», stuff like

That… They be laughin', you know, jus' havin' a great time.

I

Didn' get it… So I knew I must be kinda outta sync, 'n' outta

Swing… I need a little bit a' help.

Well, jus' luckily for me, the great Swami, Prisnidadirapi was comin'

Through town… (I think he was on his way up to Boulder, Colorado, or

Somewhere.) He was givin' a li’l advice as he went by 'n' I went to see

The guy… 'n' in so many words I said to him: «I'm in bad shape

Here… An' I heard you got the true knowledge, which you c’ld give

To me, which w’ld clear up all my doubts and difficulties, 'n' git me back

On the track, back in the swing, fully adjusted to life in the 20th

Century… An' the only trouble I heard about, Swami, is you charge

About eight hundred dollars fer the true knowledge… That’s all

Right, I mean… I never expected there to be a blue light special on

Enlightenment or anythin' like that, but I… I’m just a guitar player,

Your holy Swaminess, an' I was hopin' we could make a deal where… I

Would give you, like, maybe, four hundred dollars… an' I was hopin'

Maybe you would give me, like, jus' maybe half of the true

Knowledge… Jus' enough to git me by for a month or six weeks at the

Most, 'n' I’ll give you the rest of the cash… you give me the rest

Of the knowledge, I’ll be enlightened, your pockets’ll be a little heavy,

We both be doing awright, whaddaya say?»

Well, the Swami, he looked at me from under his heavy-lidded eyes,…his

Mysterious eyes… He smiled at me… That was nuthin' new, you

Know, the Swami was always kinda smiling… Like he knew sumpin'

That you didn’t know… Like those people that… they jus'

Levitate jus' a lit’l bit, you know, 'n' they git a little smile on their

Face…

He smiled… He looked at me 'n' he said:

«Dream on, little dreamer

Dream on.

This world ain’t what you think it is

It’s jus' what it is.»

This quiet rain will always continue

Our kids will always think we’re great

The world won’t keep reeling like a poor drunken fool

Who’s lost an' upset an' too late

Dream on, little dreamers,

Dream on.

This world ain’t what you think it is,

This world ain’t what you wish it was,

Uh, the world

Ain’t what you think it is

It’s just

What it is