In 1984 Hornsby formed Bruce Hornsby & the Range, who were signed to RCA Records in 1985. Besides Hornsby, Range members were David Mansfield (guitar, mandolin, violin), George Marinelli (guitars and backing vocals), Joe Puerta (bass guitar and backing vocals), and John Molo (drums).
During the 1990s he toured with the Grateful Dead, and released four albums, including A Night on the Town (1990) after which he split from The Range. Harbor Lights (1993) was his first solo album and signaled Hornsby was moving in a new jazz-influenced direction, whilst retaining elements of rock and pop. Later releases include Hot House (1995) and Spirit Trail (1998).
His experimental album Big Swing Face (2002) attracted much criticism as it veered away from his piano-based style. Despite these criticisms, he returned with his next studio album, shrugging off RCA and signing to Sony Music Entertainment. Halcyon Days, released in 2004, saw a return to the piano as the key instrument; this album also became the premise for his world tour the same year.
Hornsby continues to tour with his live band "The Noisemakers", in addition to solo shows and his progressive bluegrass performances with Ricky Skaggs.
In 2007 he released Camp Meeting, his first total jazz album as The Bruce Hornsby Trio, which involved jazz giants, Jack DeJohnette and Christian McBride with whom he made live appearances with throughout 2007.
In March 2007 Hornsby teamed with bluegrass player Ricky Skaggs to produce a bluegrass album, Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, and played several tour dates together. The seeds for the album had been sown in 2000 when the pair collaborated on "Darlin' Cory", a track on the Big Mon Bill Monroe bluegrass tribute album and then proposed recording an album together. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby, featuring the duo backed by Skaggs's band Kentucky Thunder, combined bluegrass, traditional country, "a tinge of Hornsby's jazzy piano and a splash of humor" on a spectrum of songs from the traditional to new compositions such as the opening track "The Dreaded Spoon," "a humorous tale of a youthful ice cream heist. The pair also reinvented Hornsby's hit "Mandolin Rain" as a minor key acoustic ballad and "give his cautionary tale of backwoods violence", "A Night On the Town," a treatment highlighting the "Appalachian storytelling tradition that was always at the song's heart. The album ended with a surprise cover of Rick James's funk hit "Super Freak" in a bluegrass arrangement. Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby topped Billboard's bluegrass charts for several weeks. The album showed Hornsby carving out a place for piano within traditional bluegrass, disproving the notion that the piano is not compatible with "string-oriented" bluegrass.
Concurrently with the bluegrass project, Hornsby recorded a jazz album, Camp Meeting. with Christian McBride (bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums). Alongside original compositions by Hornsby, the trio delivered "newly reharmonized versions" of tunes by John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, a previously unrecorded Ornette Coleman work ("Questions and Answers") and an early Keith Jarrett composition ("Death and the Flower.") The trio made a series of appearances in the summer of 2007, including the Playboy Jazz Festival, the Newport Jazz Festival and at the Hollywood Bowl.
On January 4, 2007, former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart reunited along with Hornsby, Mike Gordon (of Phish and the Rhythm Devils) and Warren Haynes to play two sets. including Dead classics, at a post-inauguration fundraising party for Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in the United States Congress.
Hornsby wrote songs for a Broadway Musical, titled "SCKBSTD"; one song from this project, a playful biographical tune about real-estate tycoon Donald Trump titled "The Don of Dons," made several appearances in setlists during his early-2007 solo piano performances. He also composed the score for Spike Lee's ESPN documentary, Kobe Doin' Work, about NBA star Kobe Bryant and his MVP season.
Outside of music composition and performance, Hornsby has taken an ownership interest in Williamsburg area radio station "The Tide," WTYD 92.3 FM, and he has endowed the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music Program at University of Miami's Frost School of Music, encouraging the study of songwriting broadly across traditional genres. Hornsby played himself in a cameo role in the Robin Williams movie World's Greatest Dad, in which Williams' character is a Bruce Hornsby fan.
He has also been honored by piano makers Steinway & Sons with their Limited Edition Signature Piano Series. Hornsby selected ten Model B Steinway Grands to be featured in this collection, each one personalized with his signature. Hornsby owns three 9-foot Model D Steinway Grands himself.
dreamland
Bruce Hornsby Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hope you can feel what I feel tonight
Little boy's not getting it right
Trying so hard with all his might
Clouds in the sky keeping the sun away
Doesn't mean the sun is not shining today
Seems something is always in your way
Hey, slip away, slide away
Into dreamland, dreamland
Slip away, slide away
Into dream, dream, dreamland, dream, dreamland
In your own private place of dreams
I hope you'll find a place where it seems
The road is always straight and true
Wherever you walk is bright for you
I hope you'll remember these times we share
Hope you'll find some comfort there
In the meantime lose your cares
You can go anywhere, close your eyes and it will take you there
Slip away, slide away
Into dreamland, dreamland
Slip away, slide away
Into dream, dream, dreamland, dream, dreamland
Isn't this old night so nice, so nice
Gonna cherish my time with you
Gonna smile, smile the whole day through
Wake up tomorrow maybe you'll find
Darkness gone from your mind
Want you to be what you want to be
Don't want you ever hurt like me
Smiling through the saddest times
Could only happens in dreams, I wonder is it nice as it seems
Slip away, slide away
Into dreamland, dreamland
Slip away, slide away
Into dream, dream, dreamland, dream, dreamland
Dream, dream, dreamland
Dream, dream, dreamland
Dream, dream, dreamland
Maybe you'll get your wishes in dreams this night
Because I can't seem to do it here in real life
Dream, dream, dreamland
Dream, dream, dreamland
Maybe you'll get your wishes in dreams this night
Because I can's seem to help you in real life
Into dream, dream, dreamland, dream, dreamland
In Bruce Hornsby's song Dreamland, he paints a picture of a dreamlike state where everything seems perfect and carefree. The first stanza starts by acknowledging how nice the night is and hoping that the listener can feel the same peacefulness. However, the little boy is struggling to get things right, despite trying his hardest. The clouds in the sky may be keeping the sun away, but that doesn't mean it's not shining somewhere. It's just that there always seems to be an obstacle in the way. The chorus encourages the listener to slip away into dreamland, where everything is perfect and all their problems fade away.
In the second verse, Hornsby hopes that the listener finds their own place of dreams where the road is always straight and true, and everything is bright. He wants them to cherish the time spent together and to remember these moments fondly. Although there may be sadness, they can smile through it and find comfort in their dreams.
The bridge switches from a hopeful tone to a more somber one. Hornsby wishes for the listener to be able to pursue their dreams without experiencing the same pain he has felt. He acknowledges that sometimes, the only time we can smile is in our dreams, and wonders if it's as nice as it seems. The song ends just as it began, with the hope that the listener will find their wishes in dreams since it's difficult to do so in real life.
Line by Line Meaning
Isn't this old night so nice
The current moment feels pleasant and enjoyable
I hope you can feel what I feel tonight
I hope you can share in the happiness of this moment with me
Little boy's not getting it right
The singer or someone they know is struggling to accomplish something
Trying so hard with all his might
Despite the difficulty, the subject is making a sincere effort to succeed
Clouds in the sky keeping the sun away
There are negative circumstances that are obscuring the possibility of positive outcomes
Doesn't mean the sun is not shining today
There is still potential for good things to happen despite the negative circumstances
Seems something is always in your way
It seems like there are always obstacles in the path to success or happiness
You've got a wide, wide array of insurmountable problems every day
The subject is facing a significant number of difficult and seemingly impossible problems
Hey, slip away, slide away
The artist is encouraging someone to escape into their own thoughts and desires
Into dreamland, dreamland
The idealized world of dreams and imagination
In your own private place of dreams
A personal space where one can create and experience their own dreams
I hope you'll find a place where it seems
The artist wants the person to discover a world where things are better than they are in reality
The road is always straight and true
There is a clear and easy path to follow in this dream world
Wherever you walk is bright for you
Everything in the dream world is full of light and positivity
I hope you'll remember these times we share
The singer wants the person to remember the happy moments they've experienced together
Hope you'll find some comfort there
The artist wants the person to find relief from their troubles in the dream world
In the meantime lose your cares
While in the dream world, the person should forget about their problems in reality
You can go anywhere, close your eyes and it will take you there
The dream world offers infinite possibilities to those who can imagine them
Gonna cherish my time with you
The singer values their time with the other speaker or person
Gonna smile, smile the whole day through
The artist wants to enjoy their time together and remain happy throughout the day
Wake up tomorrow maybe you'll find
Upon waking up in reality, there may still be hope for a better future
Darkness gone from your mind
The negative thoughts and feelings that weighed the person down may be lifted
Want you to be what you want to be
The singer wants the person to achieve their dreams and desires
Don't want you ever hurt like me
The artist doesn't want the person to suffer as they have
Smiling through the saddest times
The ability to find joy even in difficult moments
Could only happens in dreams, I wonder is it nice as it seems
It may only be possible to experience this level of happiness in the dream world, and the singer wonders whether reality could ever measure up
Maybe you'll get your wishes in dreams this night
Perhaps the person will be able to fulfill their desires in the dream world
Because I can't seem to do it here in real life
The artist and/or the person they're addressing have been unable to achieve their dreams in reality
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: BRUCE HORNSBY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DNHroth
Not sure how I ended up here watching/listening to BH music. Never been a fan before, but I've gotta say he sounds better live than a lot of other artists sound in a studio. I'm now a fan.
Jeffrey Jensen
Get the Hot House album. An under-appreciated gem. He’s amazing.
Marty Jansing
@Jeffrey Jensen Harbor Lights ain't no slacker either.
Paul Channel
Welcome
Msik85
Such a unique style. It’s like gospel mixed with rock mixed with jazz. Incredible…
Paul Beard
Well said !
Chuck Arthurhultz
Not music sent from heaven, but from a very talented man whom God has blessed with extraordinary talent. I'm thankful Bruce got it, then shared it with us and continues to do so....and once again, a song about one, or both of his twin boys. The first song to and about them was "Fields of Gray", when they were babies. Always brings up a lot of emotion. Beautifully done.
janet Nelson
This man knows how to make such beautiful music... he plays from the heart.. his words touch everyone’s heart. Pure genius !
L D
If I was absolutely forced to list a Bruce Top 10 this would be in there, somewhere. The whole is amazing but so are the lyrics, music & playing. Beautiful.
Melanie 54
His voice is so soothing. Love it 💕🔥