Like Dreamers Do

Song facts

From Wikipedia:

“Like Dreamers Do” is a song written by Paul McCartney in [1957] and is one of the earliest written songs credited to Lennon-McCartney. It was most notably performed by the group at their unsuccessful 1 January 1962 audition for Decca Records. This performance, which occurred prior to Ringo Starr joining the band and featured Pete Best on drums, was recorded by Decca and was finally released on the Beatles’ Anthology 1 in 1995.

In 1964, the track was recorded by Decca Records’ band the Applejacks and released as the group’s debut single, reaching No. 20 on the UK Singles Chart. The Applejacks worked with Mike Leander from Decca as the musical director. […]

From Something Else Reviews:

[“Like Dreamers Do” is] one of Paul McCartney’s earliest compositions. Written in 1957, McCartney and Lennon performed the song as far back as their Quarrymen days. As the Beatles grew in confidence, they decided to sneak it into setlists from their early 1960s Cavern Club shows. During this period, most bands never dared to perform original songs, preferring to please the crowd with familiar tunes. As McCartney told biographer Barry Miles, “For you to write it yourself was a bit plonky, and the songs obviously weren’t that great, but I felt we really had to break through that barrier because if we never tried our own songs we’d just never have the confidence to continue writing.” According to Tune In, Harrison believed “Like Dreamers Do” was heavily influenced by McCartney’s father Jim’s interest in George Gershwin tracks, such as “I’ll Build A Stairway to Paradise.”

In the recording studio [during the Decca audtion], the Beatles played their usual positions. Paul McCartney on bass and lead vocal, John Lennon on rhythm guitar, George Harrison on lead guitar and Pete Best on drums. His voice at first noticeably quivering, McCartney sings the straightforward love song: “I saw a girl in my dreams, and so it seems that I will love her.” He appears to gain confidence after delivering the first chorus, playfully stretching out the syllable “I” as well as rhythmically chanting the word “you,” letting his voice gradually modulate downward before crooning the next verse.

McCartney’s Liverpudlian accent charmingly creeps in at various points, such as pronouncing “saw” as “saw-r.” At other times he imitates Elvis Presley’s style, which is particularly noticeable in the lines “You, you came just one dream ago, and now I know that I will love you.” He draws out the second syllable in “ago,” turning the word into “ago-uh.” The word “know” receives the same treatment, this time turning it into a two-syllable term (“know-uh”). McCartney’s stage name early on in his music career was “Paul Ramon,” and he sounds as if he was channeling that persona here.

What “Like Dreamers Do” portrays is a very young band searching for their distinctive sound. Paul McCartney and the others are in the “imitative” stage, emulating their idols and popular songs of the day. Yet unlike their peers, the Beatles began composing their own material, risking the disapproval of audiences craving familiar songs. Lennon and McCartney recognized that a catchy hook would attract listeners, and writing about universally relatable subject would ensure that teenagers would purchase the singles. They would refine the technique in a remarkably short period of time, but “Like Dreamers Do” is an admirable first attempt.

Interestingly, “Like Dreamers Do” would gain new life once Beatlemania took over. As the Beatles rehearsed for a television appearance in 1964, they met then-rising UK beat group the Applejacks. Riding high on their top ten hit “Tell Me When,” the group also became notable for having a female bass guitarist. Impressed, Lennon and McCartney offered an original composition to them: “Like Dreamers Do.” The group’s spirited cover would peak at No. 20 on the UK pop charts.

John and I were a song writing team and what song writing teams did in those days was write for everyone – unless you couldn’t come up with something or wanted to keep a song for yourself and it was a bit too good to give away. John and I would get together, ‘Oh we gotta write one for Billy J, OK’… and we just knocked them out. In our minds there was a very vague formula and we could do it quite easily.

Paul McCartney – From a late eighties interview – From “Northern Songs: The True Story of the Beatles Song Publishing Empire”, by Rupert Perry

Last updated on November 8, 2021

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