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If I Can Dream |
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Written by: Walter Earl Brown Recorded: June 23, 1968, Western Recorders, Burbank CA Released master is take 5. Single:w/ "Edge Of Reality", 47-9670, November 5, 1968 Also re-released as Gold Standard Series, 447-0668, December 1970 RIAA Certified: Gold (as of 03/27/1992) Highest U.S. Charts Positions: #12 on Billboard Hot 100 #9 on Cash Box Top 100 1st LP release: Elvis (NBC TV Special Soundtrack) - November 25, 1968 |
Click to download or buy "If I Can Dream" now from Amazon!  or download from iTunes: For other versions, see Lyrics and Downloads section below. |
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Colonel Tom Parker wanted Elvis' 1968 TV special to end with a Christmas song, but producer Steve Binder and Elvis had other ideas! Steve commissioned W. Earl Brown to write a song that was "a kind of summing up...a declaration of shared idealism" that expressed what the whole special was about. When Earl played the song for Elvis and Steve, they knew it was the right one! Today, it's impossible to envision Elvis ending the special with anything else. More to come later, meanwhile, check out the music and links! |
Other Spins(What did the critics and fans say?)This slow beefy ballad...is well recorded, with Presley's voice full of power and gravel. It is extraordinary that he used this style of singing, for his voice is almost unlike anything in the earlier part of his career. The song moves to a powerful climax, with a slow brass build up which makes a fine ending to [the] record. Robert Matthew-Walker, Elvis Presley: A Study in Music, 1979 Topical and current...the song is a dramatic pleas for harmony in a time of strife. Trumpets, organ, drums, double bass, and vocals by the Blossoms cannot subdue the raw emotion in Elvis' voice. The Complete Elvis, edited by Martin Torgoff, 1982 Check out other Elvis fans' opinions on the Elvis News page for If I Can Dream Check out other opinions at Rate Your Music "If I Can Dream" Links
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There must be lights burning brighter somewhere Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue If I can dream of a better land Where all my brothers walk hand in hand Tell me why, oh why, oh why can't my dream come true There must be peace and understanding sometime Strong winds of promise that will blow away All the doubt and fear If I can dream of a warmer sun Where hope keeps shining on everyone Tell me why, oh why, oh why won't that sun appear We're lost in a cloud With too much rain We're trapped in a world That's troubled with pain But as long as a man Has the strength to dream He can redeem his soul and fly Deep in my heart there's a trembling question Still I am sure that the answer gonna come somehow Out there in the dark, there's a beckoning candle And while I can think, while I can talk While I can stand, while I can walk While I can dream, please let my dream Come true, right now Let it come true right now Oh yeah |
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