Little Dreamer

I think this is one of Van Halen's best songs. Sometimes I rank it #1, depending on my mood. It has sharp edges, and almost eerie backgrounds.

I have a different opinion on the actual lyrics. I've listened to this song many times with headphones, and this is what I hear every time:

"They may talk about you cold when you were Headed for the skies But you were young and bold, and baby Didn't that change with a wink of your eye Now no one's talkin' 'bout those crazy days gone by No one talks about the times you cried

A little dreamer A little dreamer

And then they went and they voted you Least likely to succeed I had to tell them baby you were armed with All you'd need Seems no one's talking 'bout those crazy days gone past Weren't they amazed when you were feared at last."

The differences are in the first line and the last line, and these are key.

In the first line, I hear "They may talk about you cold", meaning they talk badly about you, put you down.

In the last line, I hear "Weren't they amazed when you were feared at last", posed as a statement, not a question. Meaning, in the end they feared you, they respected you.

This makes more sense to me when put in the context of the rest of the lyrics.

In the beginning, the little dreamer was not respected, was "voted least likely to succeed". They talked about her cold, and those were "the times you cried". But the singer realizes that she was "headed for the skies", i.e. had a lot of potential. She was "young and bold" and "armed with all you'd need".

Eventually, that "changed with a wink of your eye" and "now no one's talkin' 'bout those crazy days gone past" because now she's "feared at last".

It is essentially the story of a young woman who was criticized and put down, and eventually made a success of herself, silencing the critics in the end.