Dream Brother

I assume the title is a reference to his father's song Dream Letter, written about little Jeff.

this is one of my all-time favourite songs. jeff did write this for his best friend, who was going to leave his girlfriend and the child she was carrying. he wrote the lyric "don't be like the one who made me so old" as a plea to his friend as he himself grew up without his father, who left while his mother was pregnant. this making him old beyond his years. and it also has an extra power for me with the final line being so tragically prophetic. the last line on the only album he ever completed, "asleep in the sand with the ocean washing over".

the "brother" in this song was Jeff's friend, Chris Dowd. Dowd had his girlfriend pregnant and attempted to leave her but Jeff tried to stop him because he himself was abandoned by his own father.

"Don't be like the one who made me so old Don't be like the one who left behind his name Cause they're waiting for you like i waited for mine And nobody ever came..."

the line is about the similarities between DOWD and Jeff's dad Tim Buckley.

I read somewhere that he wrote this for his best friend - his "dream brother"...I could be wrong though.

Guys..

This song was written for a friend who wanted to run away from his responsibilties (and pregnant ex-girlfriend) -

''Green eyes bloom goodbyes. With her head in her hands and your kiss (already) on the lips of another.''

He was saying to his fellow performer that he admires him very much and understands how he feels about the situation--- '' I love your voice and you dance insane. I feel your words and I know your pain''

But he knows what it feels to be an abandoned child so he gives his friend the advice to not be like his father (Tim Buckley)who walked away from a child because of a relationship gone bad. In the end, the children are the ones who suffer... --- 'Don't be like the one who made me so old. Dont be like the one who left behind his name'' (Tim Buckley left Jeff only a name for everyone to compare him to, even though he did not know him) . ''Cause they're waiting for you'' (The children you leave behind), ''Like I've waited for mine (his father) ''And nobody ever came''..

''Your eyes to the ground with the world spinning round forever. sleep in the sand with the ocean washing over'' -might describe how confusion and despair a child must feel when abandoned. Maybe that was directly from his experience.

It must also express the battle and eternal guilt one faces in himself when he feels compelled (or has) to walk away from a child.

i love the whole tone of this song...it's just perfect

"Don't be like the one who made me so old Don't belie the one who left behind his name 'Cause they're waiting for you like i waited for mine And nobody ever came "

As hang_on_to_a_dream suggests, these lines are clearly about Jeff's own father, Tim, who died before Jeff knew him. He's imploring his friend not to leave his own son the same way Jeff's father left him.

This song has a remarkable shape to it - highly asymmetrical, extremely textured with variations in tempo and tone. Just another bit of evidence that JB was unique.

Jeff wrote this song for a screenplay he read that turned into an Australian film called "sleepover". I ordered it recently, and I can't wait to see it to see what inspired this song. He also wrote two acoustic instrumental songs for this film. It's supposed to be a coming-of-age film about some young boys growing up.

I'm sure he drew upon the memory of his friend for the song, but he wrote the song for that movie. He also wrote "Tongue" for that movie. That's one of the instrumental tracks I was talking about.

love this song! love the dark vibe.