Dream On

About this song

Steven Tyler started writing the song as a teenager on his father's Estey upright organ and finished it on a piano in the basement where the band lived in the early 1970s. He has said the song's chord patterns came from lying under his father's piano as a child and listening to him play. The song first charted at #59 on its 1973 release, with more success regionally in New England, and after the top 40 success of "Sweet Emotion" its re-release reached #6 in 1976. It stayed the band's biggest hit until "Angel" reached #3 twelve years later. In 2003, Eminem interpolated "Dream On" into "Sing For The Moment," with Joe Perry playing the guitar solo near the end of that song.

What it's about

The song is a bittersweet reflection on aging. It encourages living life to the fullest, since time is out of our control and we can be taken at any moment.

Summary written with AI, based on the song's page on Genius.

Fun facts

• Sampled in 24 other songs, like “Look in the mirror by Money Boy”.
• Covered 30 times, including “Dream On by Autumn Kings”.
• Written by Steven Tyler.
• Produced by Adrian Barber.
• Recorded at Intermedia Studios.