A Top Ten hit for Roy Orbison in 1962, "In Dreams" was simultaneously one of his saddest and most enchanting classics. There were not many odder images in early-'60s pop/rock than the one of the opening section, in which Orbison, accompanied only by a folky guitar, sang of a candy-colored sandman who put him to sleep. Then Orbison closes his eyes and drifts away, and the song sweeps into a faster, more expansive orchestral mode, with a melody that matches the images of falling into dreamland. Like many of Orbison's songs, the arrangement adds layers as it progresses, the rattling drums getting complemented by soaring strings and then choir backup vocals. And like many of Orbison's songs, it has an unusual (for the time, certainly) structure in that it avoids the usual verse-chorus-bridge scheme, instead traveling through several different sections. After the initial verse, it goes into a somewhat more upbeat part in which Orbison relates how the girl he admires is his in dreams. But then, there's a somewhat more troubled part in which he wakens to reality, punctuated by several pauses after emphatic rapid-fire beats. That leads the way to a suitably grand finale in which the backup vocals, strings, and Orbison's high moans come together for a dramatic climax. Again like many of Orbison's songs, it appeals to fantasies of the downtrodden: the reality is that he doesn't have the girl he loves, but in dreams, he can hold her tight. The reality-fantasy dichotomies and undercurrents of sexual frustration were likely not issues that Orbison consciously dwelt upon when composing the song, but they made it a natural selection for the soundtrack to a key scene of David Lynch's Blue Velvet, making the tune popular among a whole new generation of listeners.

In Dreams

Artist: Roy Orbison (peak Billboard position # 7 in 1963)
Words and Music by Roy Orbison

A candy-colored clown they call the sandman
Tiptoes to my room every night
Just to sprinkle star dust and to whisper
Go to sleep, everything is all right?
I close my eyes then I drift away
Into the magic night, I softly say
A silent prayer like dreamers do
Then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you

In dreams I walk with you
In dreams I talk to you
In dreams you're mine all the time
We're together in dreams, in dreams

But just before the dawn
I awake and find you gone
I can't help it, I can't help it if I cry
I remember that you said goodbye

Too bad it only seems
It only happens in my dreams
Only in dreams
In beautiful dreams.