Monkees – Daydream Believer

This is a very good pop song. A folk singer named John Stewart wrote this song. Stewart was a member of The Kingston Trio from 1961 to 1967, and he wrote this shortly after leaving the group and teaming up with John Denver.

It had been turned down by We Five and Spanky and Our Gang, and even Davy Jones was not sure about recording the song. The song peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, #1 in New Zealand, #5 in the UK, and #1 in Canada in 1967. Davy Jones said it was his favorite Monkees song.

It was on the album The Birds, The Bees & The Monkees released in 1968. The album peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100 in 1968.

This was the Monkees’ last #1 single. It was soon knocked out of the #1 spot by The Beatles “Hello Goodbye.”

From Songfacts

In 1968, Stewart became the official musician of the Democratic party, which involved traveling with Senator Robert Kennedy during his Presidential campaign. In 1979 he had a Top 5 US hit with “Gold.”

John Stewart died on January 19, 2008 from a massive stroke. In a letter posted on the Kingston Trio site, Stewart’s close friend Tom Delisle wrote: “John Stewart leaves a compilation of musical excellence unparalleled in his time. He recorded over 45 solo albums following his seven years in the Kingston Trio, 1961-67. He worked all the way up to the time of his death, having recently completed his latest as-yet untitled album. It is estimated that he wrote more than 600 unique and highly personal songs, many of them constituting a modern musical history of his beloved America.” 

The song was covered by Anne Murray in 1979. Her version reached #3 on the US Country chart and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song returned to the Hot 100 for a third time in 1986 when a re-tooled version by the reunited Monkees peaked at #79.

A version by Olivia Newton-John appears in the 2011 movie A Few Best Men, in which she also has a role. 

To appease their record label, the Monkees had to make one small change to Stewart’s lyrics. The group’s drummer Micky Dolenz explained: “As we sing it, there’s a line, ‘Now, you know how happy I can be.’ John wrote, ‘Now, you know how funky I can be.’ But the music department said, ‘The Monkees are not singing the word ‘funky.” [Laughs] Funky meant oily, and greasy, and sexy – and they weren’t going to have us say it.”

Daydream Believer

7-A
What number is this to?
7-A
Okay, don’t get excited man, it’s ’cause I’m short, I know

Oh, I could hide ‘neath the wings
Of the bluebird as she sings
The six-o’clock alarm would never ring
But six rings and I rise
Wipe the sleep out of my eyes
The shaving razor’s cold and it stings

Cheer up sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean to a
Daydream believer and a
Homecoming queen?

You once thought of me
As a white knight on his steed
Now you know how happy I can be
Oh, our good time starts and ends
Without all I want to spend
But how much, baby, do we really need?

Cheer up sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean to a
Daydream believer and a
Homecoming queen?

Cheer up sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean to a
Daydream believer and a
Homecoming queen?

Cheer up sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean to a
Daydream believer and a
Homecoming queen?

Cheer up sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean to a
Daydream believer and a
Homecoming queen?

Cheer up, sleepy Jean

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

21 thoughts on “Monkees – Daydream Believer”

    1. I remember his song “Gold”… I didn’t know he wrote over 600 songs. I first heard it on reruns of the show in the mid seventies. They did produce some good pop songs.

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  2. He gets up and shaves, while Jean is still sleeping in bed. The good times are over and the former homecoming queen is depressed. He still believes that things will turn around for them.

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    1. It really is…they had some great pop songs.

      They influenced a lot of people.. I have to admit…they are the reason I picked up a guitar…not like that matters to the world but I’m sure many more were influenced. After them I “found” the Beatles and have never looked back. I was a second generation fan in the mid 70s raised on reruns.

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      1. The Monkees were supposed to be a kind of American Beatles, which wasn’t quite right. Their singles were mostly great, but on the albums, in contrast to the Beatles albums, not everything was so successful.

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      2. No they weren’t even near the Beatles but they did have some nice songs and had an influence because of their tv show.

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    1. Yes they were…in the mid seventies I was 8 years old watching reruns…I thought they were still together lol…Then an older cousin had to explain they were not still togeher. Then I found the Beatles…and went through the same thing…. sorry for the rambling lol.

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