Any Dream Will Do

Song Meaning

The lyrics open with a vivid scene of internal vision, a narrator closing eyes and drawing back a curtain to reveal a world of "golden lining" and "bright colours shinning." This initial imagery establishes a tone of hopeful, almost childlike wonder, even as a distant "someone was weeping" suggests an underlying sorrow the world seems to ignore. This bright, personal dream is abruptly shattered. A "crash of drums" and a "flash of light" signal a sudden, violent disruption, causing the cherished "golden coat" to fly "out of sight." The immediate aftermath is stark: "The colours faded into darkness, I was left alone," highlighting a profound sense of isolation and loss after such vibrant hope. The phrase "any dream will do" anchors the piece, shifting its emotional weight across the narrative. Initially, it feels like a simple, almost innocent acceptance of comfort in a sleeping world. However, after the dream's collapse, its repetition in "The world and I, we are still waiting / Still hesitating, any dream will do" carries a different resonance—one of resignation, perhaps, or a desperate clinging to any form of hope when the specific, golden dream has vanished. The lyrics' power lies in this dramatic arc, moving from personal, vibrant hope to sudden, stark loss, then broadening into a collective, almost messianic longing. The spoken section transforms the personal struggle into a universal plea, envisioning a future where a "child" will "turn tears to laughter" and "Hate to love, war to peace," suggesting that even when individual dreams falter, humanity's larger, transformative dream persists, waiting to be realized.