Big Eyed Fish Lyric Idea

[alec]

I was listening to the Busted Stuff version of Big Eyed Fish the other day, and I had a thought about the "rain in my dreams" lyrics at the end. That part has always bothered me. It seems like pointless filler to me and has nothing to do with the song. The other day I had the thought - maybe he is actually saying "rein in my dreams". That would actually make a lot of sense in the context of the song.

Even if that is not what the lyrics are, I am going to pretend that that is what he is saying because I enjoy the song more that way.

[Isilinde]

Or even "reign in my dreams"



Could go either way. Applicability is a beautiful thing.

"Rain in my dreams" is a very visual phrase... this relates well to me, being quite a visual person. I've always thought it was a beautiful expression and it brought very vivid images to my mind.

[King of Men]

i love that part. it does relate to the song. its amazing

[Jan-Willem]

Originally Posted by King of Men

it makes no sense

....

[Zachman285]

I have to disagree with your premise in the first place. The fish that dreams to be a bird and the monkey who dreams of making it in the city. Both of their dreams fail and are ruined. Rain is often seen as an interference, a dampening thing, a disappointment (Now I know Dave uses rain in a lot of contexts... in this context I think it is the gloomy context). The rain muddies up the dreams and allows them not to be fully realized as with the fish and monkey... I thought this was a pretty logical understanding and am not sure how you could think "rain in my dreams" makes no sense

[Jan-Willem]

fishy lyric fail?

[spoot388]

ya, "rain on my dreams" definitely fits the song. the song itself is about complete hopelessness and that you shouldn't dream because they'll never come true. "rain on my dreams" is another way of saying his dreams were shot down.

[alec]

Originally Posted by spoot388

ya, "rain on my dreams" definitely fits the song. the song itself is about complete hopelessness and that you shouldn't dream because they'll never come true. "rain on my dreams" is another way of saying his dreams were shot down.

Yeah, that does make sense. "Rein in my dreams" makes sense too in that context though...in a get your dreams under control, stop thinking/dreaming that it is brighter on the other side, and face reality sort of way.

[spoot388]

Originally Posted by alec

Yeah, that does make sense. "Rein in my dreams" makes sense too in that context though...in a get your dreams under control, stop thinking/dreaming that it is brighter on the other side, and face reality sort of way.

its actually the other way around. it seems brighter on the other side (death) than it does here (life) because life is hopeless. you'll never see your dreams come true, so don't bother even dreaming them. with life being so dark, how can death possibly be any worse?

this is why i think its the darkest song dave ever wrote. anybody can think drugs have taken them so far down the wrong path that death seems to be the only way out, but this is someone who thinks of something good and happy and then realizes life is hopeless. there is nothing darker or more depressing than hopelessness.

[proppenator]

I always thought it was "reign in my dreams." I think it works either way though, and that's part of the beauty of lyrics: they can have different meanings to different people, without there being a "correct" interpretation.

[spoot388]

how does "reign" make sense?? its saying "control/power/authority in my dreams". that makes no sense. he's saying "rain", which is a word he likes to use a lot.

[phattmatt]

Originally Posted by spoot388

how does "reign" make sense?? its saying "control/power/authority in my dreams". that makes no sense. he's saying "rain", which is a word he likes to use a lot.

You already answered this.

Originally Posted by spoot388

its actually the other way around. it seems brighter on the other side (death) than it does here (life) because life is hopeless. you'll never see your dreams come true, so don't bother even dreaming them. with life being so dark, how can death possibly be any worse?

"Reign in your dreams." Bring them back to reality, "don't even bother dreaming" as you said.

I think it makes sense both ways.

[spoot388]

the way i see having control of your dreams is being able to control what happens, allowing them to be fulfilled. you don't have control of your dreams though. and reeling them in just seems like an awkward thing to say. im sure somewhere, like maybe the BS booklet, it says "rain" as the official lyric. im sure the almanac didn't eff that up.

[cry_minarets458]

Originally Posted by spoot388

how does "reign" make sense?? its saying "control/power/authority in my dreams". that makes no sense. he's saying "rain", which is a word he likes to use a lot.

I actually thought about this idea with reign and rain while reading through this thread, so I thought that I would throw it out there.

The lyrics officially state "rain." The song is about hopelessness. Everything I have said to this point, you've stated before.

Since BEF is about pure hopelessness while living in reality, maybe it can be interpreted to mean "reign in my dreams" as in "to rule IN my dreams" - not to simply control your dreams and shape them to become your reality. The term dreams does not necessarily equate another term I feel that you're interpreting it as - aspirations.

Maybe dreams, in a literal sense (what you do when you sleep), act as escapes from the hopelessness of reality. In this dreams, the person can find his/her dominion.

[fonzz41]

Originally Posted by Zachman285

I have to disagree with your premise in the first place. The fish that dreams to be a bird and the monkey who dreams of making it in the city. Both of their dreams fail and are ruined. Rain is often seen as an interference, a dampening thing, a disappointment (Now I know Dave uses rain in a lot of contexts... in this context I think it is the gloomy context). The rain muddies up the dreams and allows them not to be fully realized as with the fish and monkey... I thought this was a pretty logical understanding and am not sure how you could think "rain in my dreams" makes no sense

I agree with you. Even looking at it another way makes sense: Rain can also be seen as life-giving, or having a renewing effect. If the rain is in his dreams, then it is not a reality. The reality is death, even though he's dreaming of life.