Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda… Read Full Bio ↴Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee is an American country-pop singer who was popular during the 1950s and 1960s. She was given the nickname Little Miss Dynamite after recording Dynamite in 1957, and in the 1960s she had more charted hits than any other woman. Her father was an excellent left-handed pitcher in the Army, and her mother had a Cherokee great-grandparent. She first attracted attention performing in country music venues and her first single, 1957’s “One Step at a Time,” was a country hit.

Lee was a musical prodigy and by the time she was two she would hear songs on the radio once and be able to whistle the complete tune. She was five years old when she started to gain wider attention when she won a local singing contest sponsored by the elementary schools. At age 11, she was offered a recording contract with Decca Records and released the song “Dynamite,” leading to her lifelong nickname, “Little Miss Dynamite.”

Lee was popular in the UK very early in her career, and her 1961 rockabilly release “Let’s Jump the Broomstick” did not chart in the US, but went to #12 in the UK. Her biggest hits during this time include a rockabilly version of the country classic “Jambalaya (On the Bayou),” “Sweet Nothin’s,” “I Want to Be Wanted,” “All Alone Am I,” and “Fool #1.”

In 1960, she recorded her signature song, “I’m Sorry,” which hit number one on the Billboard pop chart and was her first gold single. Her last top-10 single on the pop charts was 1963’s “Losing You,” while she continued to have other chart songs such as her 1966 song “Coming On Strong” and “Is It True?” in 1964.

During the early 1970s, Lee re-established herself as a country music artist, and earned a string of Top 10 hits on the country charts. Her biggest selling track of her career is, oddly enough, a Christmas song: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” It was released in 1958, but it sold only 5,000 copies. However, it eventually sold over five million copies and remains a perennial radio favorite each December. In December 2023, Lee became the oldest artist to ever top the Hot 100, when "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" topped the chart 65 years after its release.

Over the ensuing years, Lee has continued to record and perform all around the world, previously cutting records in four different languages. She is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. In 1992, she recorded a duet with Willy DeVille; Chuck Berry also wrote a song about her. Lee has been married to Ronnie Shacklett since 1963, and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. She is the second recipient of the Jo Meador-Walker Lifetime Achievement award.

Throughout her career, Brenda Lee has released 41 studio albums, 12 compilation albums, and over 100 singles. She has had numerous top twenty hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Country, and AC charts in the US, UK, and Canada.

Sweet Dreams
Brenda Lee Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sweet, Sweet dreams of you
Every night I go through
Why can't, why can't I forget you and start my life a new
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Oh You, You don't love me, it's plain
I should have known I'll never share your name
Yes I, I should hate you the whole night through

But I keep having sweet dreams about you

Oh I know, I know I should hate you,
I should hate you the whole night through

Instead of having sweet dreams about you
Instead of having sweet dreams about you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song Sweet Dreams by Brenda Lee express the pain and frustration of a person who cannot seem to let go of someone they love, even though they know that person does not feel the same way about them. The song is a melancholy reflection on the power of love and how hard it is to move on when someone you care about has left you behind.

The first verse of the song sets the tone for the rest of the piece. The singer explains that every night, they have sweet dreams of the person they love, and they cannot seem to let go or start their life anew. The second verse delves deeper into the pain of unrequited love. The singer acknowledges that the person they love does not feel the same way, and they should have known all along that they could never share a future together. Despite this knowledge, the singer cannot help but continue to dream about the object of their affection.

The final verse is a plea for release from the hold that this person has over them. The singer knows that they should hate this person and move on, but they cannot seem to do so. They are trapped in their own mind, tormented by the sweet dreams that will not let them go. The song is a powerful depiction of the pain of love and how it can be both beautiful and destructive.

Line by Line Meaning

Sweet, Sweet dreams of you
I keep having wonderful dreams about you every night.

Every night I go through
Every night, I experience these dreams.

Why can't, why can't I forget you and start my life a new
I wish I could forget about you and move on with my life.

Instead of having sweet dreams about you
Rather than thinking about you in my dreams, I want to forget you.

Oh You, You don't love me, it's plain
It's obvious that you don't love me.

I should have known I'll never share your name
I should have realized that we would never be together.

Yes I, I should hate you the whole night through
I should dislike you every moment of the night.

But I keep having sweet dreams about you
Despite my efforts not to, I still dream about you.

Oh I know, I know I should hate you,
I'm aware that I should feel resentment towards you.

Instead of having sweet dreams about you
I wish I didn't have these dreams about you.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Don Gibson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind