In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
He is down by the riverside
Late one night
He's tryin' to count the stars
In each of the signs
All alone by the riverside
And time passes by
Gathering thoughts of the past
And maybe he'll cry
So they say he's a madman
And he don't understand
But I know that he's tryin' hard
To act like a man
All those years he has suffered,
My friends
All those years of pain
But I don't think he knows for sure
If those years were in vain
He's a dreamer
And he's fightin' for his life
He's tryin' to understand
He's a dreamer
But he wants to carry on
Yet I know he's a lonely man
Late one night
He's tryin' to count the stars
In each of the signs
All alone by the riverside
And time passes by
Gathering thoughts of the past
And maybe he'll cry
So they say he's a madman
And he don't understand
But I know that he's tryin' hard
To act like a man
All those years he has suffered,
My friends
All those years of pain
But I don't think he knows for sure
If those years were in vain
He's a dreamer
And he's fightin' for his life
He's tryin' to understand
He's a dreamer
But he wants to carry on
Yet I know he's a lonely man
Lyrics submitted by Hardcore_Icon
Dreamer Lyrics as written by Joey Tempest
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I relate to this song so much... always caught up in my own thoughs... my own world... I am a dreamer.... Am i mad? or just a dreamer....... Will I ever understand? I am never alone but I'm always lonely..... always thinking on the past.. trying to make sense of it..... if anyone out there has not heard this song..... i suggest you take a listen... not only are the lyrics though provoking the piano arrangement and vocals on this are top notch! I think they should remaster it and release it again.... closest to a perfect song as I have ever heard
i was so glad i got to hear even just a portion of this song live a couple months ago and it is sooooooo beautiful.. sometimes when i just want to drift away from reality i listen to this song ... it is awesome...
This has always been one of my fave tracks by Europe, such a sadly beautiful and emotional song. I think this is about a man who has lived much of his life in isolation, possibly due to a mental disorder or a severe physical deformity (I imagine him as a burn victim). Although this man is highly intelligent and has a lot of potential, he continues to isolate and has likely suffered a great deal from depression. A tortured soul who has given up on the world.
I remember the first time I listened to this song, I was pumped from listening to In The Future To Come, so when I heard the first ten seconds of it, I skipped it because I wasn't in the mood. Later, I decided to give the song another chance, and when I listened to the lyrics, I was shocked because they reminded me so much of myself: I do think about the past too much I do cry a little more often than most guys People do think I'm crazy, and maybe I sort of am There are tons of things everyone else understands, that I don't I do try to act mature, but I always fail miserably it seems I won't say my life has been filled with suffering though And I do think I've wasted a lot of my life I would love to live in my own perfect world, but a lot of people do I suppose, but I do seem to spend a little too much time in it I have occasionally fought "for my life" against suicide But I'm not ready to die and I "want to carry on" And I feel very lonely A LOT
I guess this is the song that is most accurate to my life that I know of.
But I suppose this song WAS more likely written about someone who lost a lot of friends, suffered from a mental illness, or kept working to fulfill a dream that never came true and people called him crazy for believing in.
Wow. My comment was too long, sorry. I think there are a lot of people out there who often feel like this.