Moody Blues – Your Wildest Dreams

It’s easy to relate to this song… most have someone who they felt got away and you still think about them and wonder if they think about you.

It has a great hook and it gets you right away. The Moody Blues have been described as a progressive rock band but I have never thought of them that way. Maybe because I don’t particularly like progressive rock bands. I’ve always thought the Moodies were a great pop/rock band who plays for the song like Story In Your Eyes, Question, and others. This song is more of a pop song than some of their early ones but a catchy one.

It was written by Justin Hayward and peaked at #9 in the Billboard 100, #1 in the Adult Contemporary Charts, and #2 in the Mainstream Rock Charts in1986.

Justin Hayward: “I found with ‘Wildest Dreams’ that it was a common experience for a lot of people,” he said. “I thought I was writing a frivolous sort of song. I thought ‘Wildest Dreams’ would be a throwaway thing that people wouldn’t really take much notice of lyrically. But I found out that it was a common experience and desire by a lot of people. So that was very revealing.”

From Songfacts

The Moody Blues were one of the first bands to use a Mellotron, which was a keyboard instrument that played sounds by triggering tape loops. Mike Pinder, a founding member of the band, was their Mellotron virtuoso. After Pinder’s departure in 1979, Justin Hayward began experimenting with synthesizers and became particularly fond of the Yamaha DX7, which is apparent on this track.

Tony Visconti, famous for his work with David Bowie, produced The Other Side Of Life album and encouraged the band to use some unusual instruments. “Most of ‘Wildest Dreams’ – 90% of it – is Tony Visconti, my DX7, and a guitar synth,” Justin Hayward tells us. “The piece at the beginning that sounds like a sort of Theremin, a (humming) ‘oooo ooo,’ that’s a guitar synth. All of that is. So it was just another way of exploring musical avenues. Tony Visconti was very much into that and the first person who really turned the band on to programming in a serious way. And he was very, very good at it, so I enjoyed every moment of that.”

Justin Hayward wrote the song “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere,” which appeared on the next Moody Blues album, Sur la Mer, as a sequel to this song, with the singer longing to find the girl.

For “Somewhere,” he went back to his Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and used the same keyboard and bass sounds, keeping the same tempo. This gave the songs a similar musical feel to connect them musically, and then he wrote the lyrics to continue the story.

Your Wildest Dreams

Once upon a time
Once when you were mine
I remember skies
Reflected in your eyes
I wonder where you are
I wonder if you think about me
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

Once the world was new
Our bodies felt the morning dew
That greets the brand new day
We couldn’t tear ourselves away
I wonder if you care
I wonder if you still remember
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

And when the music plays
And when the words are touched with sorrow
When the music plays
I hear the sound I had to follow
Once upon a time

Once beneath the stars
The universe was ours
Love was all we knew
And all I knew was you
I wonder if you know
I wonder if you think about it
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah

And when the music plays
And when the words are touched with sorrow
When the music plays
And when the music plays
I hear the sound I had to follow
Once upon a time

Once upon a time
Once when you were mine
I remember skies
Mirrored in your eyes
I wonder where you are
I wonder if you think about me
Once upon a time
In your wildest dreams (ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)
In your wildest dreams (ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)
In your wildest dreams (ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)
In your wildest dreams (ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah)

Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah