Why Must We Always be Dreaming?

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a grand, idealized vision that quickly crumbles. The narrator recalls a specific day, not long ago yet feeling impossibly far, when they started constructing a "golden palace of dreams." This elaborate structure, described as "gallan[t] and shining and splendid," grew to touch the sky, embodying a perfect, bright future. However, this magnificent creation met an inevitable end, dissolving into smoke, a fate the narrator acknowledges is common for such edifices. The central tension lies in the painful contrast between the ecstatic creation of the dream and its devastating aftermath. The narrator confesses to building this palace from "moonlight and madness," with each "stone" representing a "a true lover's vow." This suggests a deeply personal, perhaps romantic, foundation for the aspiration. Yet, the present reality is starkly different, leaving only "ruin and heartache and sadness." This stark juxtaposition highlights a profound disillusionment with the very nature of hope and love. The most striking aspect is the narrator's questioning of the very impulse to dream and love. The chorus directly confronts this, asking, "Oh why should love set us a-scheming / If love is to melt like the dew?" This rhetorical question underscores the futility felt when aspirations, built on what seems like solid ground, evaporate. The repeated question, "And why must we always be dreaming / If dreaming can never come true?" encapsulates the core heartbreak: the persistent human need to envision a better future, even when past experiences suggest such visions are destined to fail. This lyrical lament is effective because it grounds abstract feelings of loss in concrete, albeit fantastical, imagery. The "golden palace" and its smoky demise serve as powerful metaphors for dashed hopes, particularly those tied to love. The direct, almost childlike questioning in the chorus – "why must we always be dreaming?" – makes the narrator's profound sadness and confusion feel immediate and deeply relatable, even as the specific scenario is fantastical.