Having dreams about you
I want to scream about you
I'm having dreams about you
I want to scream about you
Everything you've done
You were the girl who seemed to own the world
Everything was about you
I took a chance to call you my own
I didn't know a thing about you
I thought you could love what a fool I was

It was going on i was just singing my song
There was something mad about you
I took it wrong you liked my song
Why couldn't I have you?

A crazy dream you done me wrong
You left me long
I couldn't stand a chance without you
You said that love was dead and in my head
I just couldn't believe it
And on the phone, you said
You never knew me at all
I thought there was love what a fool I was

And everything was in hyper-jinx
Just like an old-time movie
You don't understand can't comprehend
I guess it doesn't really matter
And every dream a nightmare
Nothing really matters i thought I was loved
What a fool I was

Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you
Having dreams about you


Lyrics submitted by Coney Island

Dream Scream Lyrics as written by Daniel Dale Johnston

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Dream Scream (Daniel Johnston cover) song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

7 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    My Opinion

    I just discovered this gem - both the original by Daniel Johnston and Death Cab for Cutie's version are heart wrenching.

    They're about still being utterly in love with the person who blindsided you all along.

    Wanting to scream from the depths of your soul that you love them.

    Having dreams that become nightmares after they leave.

    Who hasn't been there? :(

    indstrlgalon August 24, 2014   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    How can nobody post about this song? Death Cab is one of my favorite bands. They did this song for a Daniel Johnston cover on the album unkown rejects.

    This song by them is probably one of the best covers I've ever heard. I didn't even know they did covers until I saw it on mtv.com

    This song is pure ecstasy for me. My eyes are sleepy, and wide open. I feel out of the world, and into my own. It feels like this whole song could play for the rest of my life, and I coudl just walk around lonely, and miserable for the rest of my life. I love this song...

    CaptainOats4442on August 28, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Oh, it is so wonderful to read this comment, because I have right now exactly the same thing having listened to this song for 4 times and deciding that I should read the lyrics. It is just amazing... I can also listen to it for a long time. It makes me thrilled and so close to love...

    olllenon October 07, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    just read the lyrics for this and the song sound fkn awesome. im a big death cab fan and i want to know where its from because its not on any of the albums or eps (i dont think)

    bridieon October 13, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    There is a great singer Daniel Johnston, it is his song originally. And there is a compilation of his songs covered by many great bands, it's called "The Late Great Daniel Johnston", it's on the 1st CD of two.

    olllenon October 20, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    this is such a beautifully polished adaptation of the daniel johnston song... i mean, part of what makes the original endearing IS its awkwardness, but on the other hand, death cab is just sooo good.

    if you really think about the kind of person saying what this song is saying... i bet you'd be a jerk to him too. i bet he's that pathetic guy that no one really likes. and that kind of pain is so much more real... you know what i mean?

    "i took it wrong, you liked my song...why couldn't i have you?" god... it just breaks your heart. he thought he could win this girl using his music, but just because she likes his music doesn't change the fact that he is unattractive and alone... it's so poignant. poor guy.

    enameledcherubson April 02, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    wow i can't believe no one really commented on this song. its a great cover, probably my favorite cover death cab does. oh wait...yeah it is my favorite.

    skijornon December 11, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
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.
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.