Barbra Streisand (born Barbara Joan Streisand; April 24, 1942 Brooklyn, Ne… Read Full Bio ↴Barbra Streisand (born Barbara Joan Streisand; April 24, 1942 Brooklyn, New York), is an Academy Award-winning American singer, theater and film actress, composer, film producer, and director. She has won Oscars for Best Actress and Best Original Song as well as multiple Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and an honorary Tony Award. She received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor on December 7, 2008. She is the most successful female recording artist according to the Recording Industry Assoc. of America (RIAA).

Barbra Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums, almost all with Columbia Records. Her early works in the 1960s (her debut The Barbra Streisand Album which won two Grammy Awards in 1963, followed by The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theater and nightclub standards, including her version of Happy Days Are Here Again. Beginning with My Name Is Barbra, her albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials.

Starting in 1969, Streisand tackled contemporary songwriters; like many talented singers of the day, she found herself a fish out of water in attempts to tackle rock, but her vocal talents prevailed and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented Richard Perry-produced album Stoney End in 1971. The title track, written by Laura Nyro, was a big hit for Streisand.

Streisand's 1980 album, Guilty featured the songwriting, production and vocal talents of Barry Gibb and was the best-selling album of her recording career. During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent in the pop charts, with number-one records like The Way We Were, Evergreen, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (her duet with Donna Summer), and Woman In Love; some of these came from soundtracks of her films. She recently took part in supporting Haiti in singing "We are the World 25th anniversary.

When the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S. - only Elvis Presley and The Beatles having sold more albums. [1]

[1] In 1982, New York Times music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand was "the most influential mainstream American pop singer since Frank Sinatra."

Pieces Of Dreams
Barbra Streisand Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Little boy lost in search of little boy found
You go a wondering, wandering
Stumbling, tumbling, round! round!
When will you find
What's on the tip of your mind?
Why are you blind
To all you ever were
Never were, really are, nearly are?

Little boy false in search of little boy true
Will you ever be done traveling
Always unraveling you, you?
Running away could lead you further astray
And as for fishing in streams for pieces of dreams
Those pieces will never fit
What is the sense of it?
Little boy blue, don't let your little sheep roam

It's time ,come blow your horn, meet the morn
Look and see, can you be far from home?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Barbra Streisand's song "Pieces of Dreams" describe a lost and confused young boy who is searching for his identity and purpose in life. He wanders aimlessly, stumbling and tumbling around in a perpetual cycle of searching. He is searching for answers, for truth, for something that's on the tip of his mind but he can't quite see it. The song speaks about how the boy is blinded, unable to see all that he ever was, never was, and nearly is. The lyrics use the metaphor of fishing in streams for pieces of dreams, to suggest that the boy's search for meaning is a futile and empty quest that will never bring him the answers he desires.

The lyrics also caution the boy that running away may lead him further astray from his true self. Finally, the song calls on the boy to stop wandering and start blowing his own horn, to make a sound, to announce his presence and stake his claim on his life. He is encouraged to look around and see if he is far from home, suggesting that home is not a physical place but a state of being, a place of purpose and fulfillment.

Overall, the lyrics are a poignant and powerful reflection on the difficulties of finding meaning and purpose in life, and the importance of staying true to oneself.

Line by Line Meaning

Little boy lost in search of little boy found
A lost child searching for his true self

You go a wondering, wandering
You continue to search aimlessly

Stumbling, tumbling, round! round!
You keep making mistakes and going in circles

When will you find
When will you discover

What's on the tip of your mind?
What is your innermost desire?

Why are you blind
Why can't you see

To all you ever were
To everything you have been in the past

Never were, really are, nearly are?
Your true self, your current self, or the person you aspire to be?

Little boy false in search of little boy true
Someone who is pretending to be someone they are not while searching for their true self

Will you ever be done traveling
Will you ever stop searching

Always unraveling you, you?
Always discovering new things about yourself?