Electric Light Orchestra

Dreaming of 4000

3 Meanings

Add Yours

Q&A

Dreaming of 4000 Lyrics

Saviour of the night came slowly on the silent river
And the lord of life came following, his sins to be forgiven
While the world sat back and laughed away the hours
Till the dawning of the daybreak

I heard them laugh I heard them cry
I saw them praying to the sky
I heard the wind howl in the trees
Down there on bended knee
And I see the light
But I know I must be dreaming

Feel the soul, quiet emotion
Sail on by, helpless devotion
If that's how it feels, it better be real

Take care of your woman
Or you'll never ever see the light
Take heed of the warnin'
Or you know it's gonna be too late

Here, There, Everywhere
They keep on movin' without fear
They look me up, they look me down
They press my body to the ground
But I see the light, see the light, it's comin' shinin'

And on a Summers day
When thoughts are drifting far away
And life is good and real to see
My world is saved and I am free
But in the night
Still I know I must be dreaming

Submitted by

kenobi65 On Jun 12, 2002

Can't Get It Out Of My Head

Lyrics saved successfully! Thanks!

These lyrics are currently locked and can only be edited by moderators and administrators.

You must be logged in to edit lyrics.

Unable to save lyrics. Please try again.

Lyrics cannot contain links.

Lyric edit submitted successfully and is pending approval. Approvals usually take 24 hours.

Keep it true to the song

Fix what’s wrong, but don’t rewrite what the artist wrote. Stick to the official released version — album booklet, label site, verified lyric video, etc. If you’re guessing, pause and double-check.

Respect the structure

Songs have rhythm. Pages do too. Leave line breaks where they belong. Don’t smash things together or add extra empty space just for looks.

Punctuation counts (but vibe-editing doesn’t)

Correct typos? Yes. Re-punctuating a whole verse because it ‘looks better’? Probably not. Keep capitalization and punctuation close to the official source.

Don’t mix versions

If you’re editing the explicit version, keep it explicit. If it’s the clean version, keep it clean. No mashups.

Let the lyrics be lyrics

This isn’t the place for interpretations, memories, stories, or trivia — that’s what comments are for. Keep metadata, translations, and bracketed stage directions out unless they’re officially part of the song.

Edit lightly

If two lines are wrong… fix the two lines. No need to bulldoze the whole page. Think ‘surgical,’ not ‘remix.’

When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

Kenobi65

Submitter

2002-06-12 15:59:59

3 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Sort by

by boombud

15y ago

This album is where you can clearly see Jeff Lynne idolizing Beatles music. While this song has several tempo changes and is quite theatrical, it now feels like the paintbox from where later works sprang.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by Thanasimos

18y ago

The bit about taking care of women could almost come from another song, methinks.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

by pamva

10y ago

When I listen to this song, I get an image of a ritual at Stonehenge on the summer solstice sunrise. The savior of the night quietly approaches the holy place by the river. The pace of the music picks up and the ecstatic ritual begins. "Take care of your woman." Protect her from the stag king in the fertility ritual. (Yeah I know that's Beltane) "Take heed of the warning" Beware the cautions of pagan religion. The singer becomes the savior of the night as "they look me up, they look me down, they press my body to the ground." His sacrifice is about to become real, but he sees the light, and it turns out to be a dream.

Users:

Reply · 0 Share

Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.