For the group's first album, Adam and David added bassist Matt Malley, multi-instrument talent Charlie Gillingham, and drummer Steve Bowman. David Immergluck served as the second guitarist on the first album, but he did not officially join the band until 1999. Guitarist Dan Vickery was added just as the band set out on their first tour. As stated before, 'August and Everything After' provided the band with a surprise yet very welcome success, garnering them critical praise. Released on September 14, 1993 through Geffen Records, the album hit #2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, showing that their tunes had tapped into something.
Counting Crows, with their intimate and confessional yet smooth, often catchy musical approach, achieved a large fan base among melodic rock fans over the years. Their 90s acclaim reflected that a significant music scene looked for something different from the raging guitars of the Seattle-based grunge movement as well as from either boilerplate pop music or the budding electronic music subgenres. The group kept on releasing new songs into the new millennium.
The band's more recent successes include the 2004 hit song "Accidentally In Love", which was featured on the Shrek 2 soundtrack (that has sold over 1,000,000 copies). That song has also garnered nominations for a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. That same year, the band released their first ever best of set, which they titled 'Films about Ghosts'. That album features songs from every phase of the Counting Crows' recording career. To date, the band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide.
The group made the news when 'Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings' was released on March 25th, 2008. In addition, on January 16, 2008, the band released a digital EP as a free download on their official web site, consisting of the songs "1492" and "When I Dream Of Michelangelo". The lead single from the album was "You Can't Count On Me", which was released for radio play on February 4, 2008.
The album itself is thematically and stylistically divided into two parts: the first, more rock-influenced Saturday Nights, and the second, more country-influenced Sunday Mornings. Theme changes along with style; in the Sunday Mornings portion of the album, songs become more reflective. The iTunes release contains several bonus tracks, including a track-by-track interview with Duritz.
Members of the band:
Adam Duritz - lead vocals, piano, wurlitzer, tamborine
David Bryson - guitars, dobro, vocals
Charles Gillingham - piano, organ, accordion, mellotron, vocals
Dan Vickery - guitars, sitar, banjo, vocals
David Immergluck - guitars, bass, electric sitar, mandolin, vocals
Jim Bogios - drums, percussion loops, vocals
Millard Powers - bass guitar, upright bass, piano, vocals
Ex-members of the band:
Matt Malley - guitars, double bass, vocals
Ben Mize - drums, percussion, tambourine, bulbs, vocals
Steve Bowman - drums, vocals
Ben Ulrich - drums
Marty Jones - bass guitar
Lydia Holly - keyboards
Toby Hawkins - drums
Albums
August And Everything After - (September 14, 1993)
Recovering The Satellites - (October 14, 1996)
Across a Wire - Live in New York City - (1998)
This Desert Life - (November 1, 1999)
Hard Candy - (July 8, 2002)
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of - (November 25, 2003)
*New Amsterdam: Live At Heineken Music Hall - (June 19, 2006)
August And Everything After, Deluxe Edition - (Fall 2007)
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings - (March 25, 2008)
Somewhere Under Wonderland - (September 2, 2014)
When I Dream Of Michelangelo
Counting Crows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you want to be my friend
There are bodies on the ceiling
And they are fluttering their wings
It's OK, I'm angry
But you'll never understand
You dream of Michelangelo
They hang above your hands
[Chorus]
And I know, she is not my friend
And I know, cause there she goes
Walking on my skin again
And I can't see why
You want to talk to me
When your vision of America
Is crystal and clean
I wanna white bread life
Just something ignorant in the rain
But from the walls of Michelangelo
I'm dangling again.
[Chorus]
Saturn on a line
The sun afire of strings and wires
Spin above my head and make it right
Anytime you'd like, you can catch a sight
Of angel eyes on emptiness and infinite
And I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed
I see God upon the ceiling
I see angels overhead
And he seems so close
As he reaches out his hand
We are never quite as close
As we are led to understand
And I know, she is not my friend
And I know, cause there she goes walking walking walking
And I know, she is not my friend
And I know, cause there she goes
Walking on my skin again and again
On my mind
Oh Lord no
Yes she's walking on my skin again and again
Counting Crows’ “When I Dream of Michelangelo” is a song about the frustration one experiences when their reality does not match the idealized version of the world they’ve created in their mind. The song begins with the singer expressing disdain for someone who wants to be their friend, but who they don’t actually like. The line “there are bodies on the ceiling and they are fluttering their wings” is a metaphor for the singer feeling suffocated and trapped by their thoughts and expectations.
The next verse discusses the dichotomy between the singer’s desire for a “white bread life” and the beauty and complexity of Michelangelo’s artwork. The chorus reinforces the idea that the singer is not interested in being friends with this person who doesn’t understand them.
The bridge brings in the reference to Saturn and the sun and describes a feeling of being lost and seeking guidance. The second half of the bridge refers back to Michelangelo and the idea of the divine being just out of reach. The final chorus repeats the idea that this person is not the singer's friend and is once again walking over them.
Overall, the song explores themes of disillusionment, frustration, and the search for meaning and guidance in a world that can’t live up to our expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
You know I don't like you
The singer dislikes the person being addressed
But you want to be my friend
The person being addressed wants to be friends with the singer despite the singer's dislike
There are bodies on the ceiling
The singer sees bodies on the ceiling, likely a metaphor for something else
And they are fluttering their wings
The bodies on the ceiling are actively moving and fluttering their wings
It's OK, I'm angry
The artist is angry, but it's okay to feel that way
But you'll never understand
The person being addressed will never truly understand the singer's feelings
You dream of Michelangelo
The person being addressed dreams of the famous Italian artist Michelangelo
They hang above your hands
Michelangelo's works hang above the person being addressed's hands, likely symbolizing a desire to create art
And I know, she is not my friend
The artist knows that someone is not truly their friend
And I know, cause there she goes
The artist sees the person they know is not their friend walking away
Walking on my skin again
The singer expresses discomfort with the presence of the person they know is not their friend, feeling like they are 'walking on their skin'
And I can't see why
The artist doesn't understand why the person being addressed wants to talk to them
You want to talk to me
The person being addressed wants to talk to the singer
When your vision of America
The person being addressed has a certain view of America
Is crystal and clean
Their view of America is pristine and perfect
I wanna white bread life
The artist desires a life that is simple and uncomplicated
Just something ignorant in the rain
The artist wants to experience something simple and unenlightened in the midst of bad weather
But from the walls of Michelangelo
Despite the singer's desire for simplicity, they continue to be drawn to Michelangelo's art and the complexity it represents
I'm dangling again.
The singer is drawn into Michelangelo's art in a way that feels like they are dangling or suspended
Saturn on a line
The artist is referencing the planet Saturn, which is aligned in a particular way
The sun afire of strings and wires
The sun appears to the artist as being made up of strings and/or wires, likely a metaphor
Spin above my head and make it right
The artist wants what is above them to spin and correct whatever is wrong in their life
Anytime you'd like, you can catch a sight
The singer is addressing someone else, telling them that they can catch a glimpse of something anytime they want
Of angel eyes on emptiness and infinite
The artist is describing something they believe can be seen - the eyes of angels on infinite emptiness
And I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed
The singer often dreams of Michelangelo and his works when they are asleep in bed
I see God upon the ceiling
In their dreams, the singer sees God on the ceiling, likely referencing Michelangelo's famous painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
I see angels overhead
The singer also sees angels in their dreams
And he seems so close
God seems very close to the artist in their dream
As he reaches out his hand
God is reaching his hand out to the artist in their dream
We are never quite as close
The singer is reflecting on the fact that, although God seems close in their dreams, we are never quite as close as we think
As we are led to understand
Our perception of closeness to God or other things may be different from reality
On my mind
The thing that the artist has been describing is on their mind
Oh Lord no
The artist expresses displeasure or negative emotion in response to something
Yes she's walking on my skin again and again
The person the artist knows is not their friend is returning to bother them over and over again
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JAMES BOGIOS, DAVID LYNN BRYSON, ADAM FREDRIC DURITZ, CHARLES THOMAS GILLINGHAM, DAVID A IMMERGLUCK, MILLARD POWERS, DANIEL JOHN VICKREY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eric Fluck
Most underrated song ever!
Alyssa Smith
beautiful
Summer Backstrom
Mad love for Adam... Seriously.........
FoundingFathers2012
Well you know I don't like you but you want to be my friend,
Well there are bodies on the ceiling and they're fluttering their wings,
It's okay, I'm angry but you'll never understand,
When you dream of Michelangelo, they hang above your hands.
And I know that she is not my friend,
And I know 'cause there she goes walking on my skin again,
And I can't see why you wanna talk to me,
When your vision of America is crystalline and clean,
I want a white bread life, just something ignorant and plain,
But from the walls of Michelangelo, I'm dangling again,
And I know that she is is not my friend,
And I know 'cause there she goes walking on my skin again and again.
Saturn on a line,
A sun afire on strings and wires,
To spin above my head and make it right,
But any time you like,
You can catch a sight of angel eyes,
All emptiness and infinite.
And I dream of Michelangelo when I'm lying in my bed,
I see god upon the ceiling, I see angels overhead,
And he seems so close as he reaches out his hand,
But we are never quite as close, as we are led to understand.
And I know she is not my friend,
And I know 'cause there she goes walking, walking, walking,
And I know that she is is not my friend,
And I know 'cause there she goes walking on my skin again and again.
Oh my my, oh lord no, yes she's walking on my skin again and again.
Edwidge Whatsosons
Should have went with a mandolin or ukelele instead of a banjo