England during the late '50s had its equivalents to Frankie Avalon and Fabi… Read Full Bio ↴England during the late '50s had its equivalents to Frankie Avalon and Fabian, teenage boy singers whose sounds were specifically tailored to appeal to the most romantic sides of the young female psyche and not offend their parents. Craig Douglas was one of the better of these and has proved one of the most enduring, still performing more than 40 years after cutting his first record. Born Terry Perkins on the Isle of Wight, he was one of a pair of twins (and those twins were one of three sets among nine children). His mother sang well, one of Douglas' sisters performed on the Isle of Wight, and he'd reportedly begun trying to sing while still in the crib. An indifferent student, he preferred athletics and being outdoors, which led to his volunteering during a school holiday to help the milkman make his deliveries.

It was the latter brief diversion that got the boy labeled the Singing Milkman at the outset of his career. At 16, his mother entered him in a local talent contest and he won by singing "Love Letters in the Sand." He got to a final round, where he specifically avoided doing the standard Elvis Presley imitations that his competitors presented. This led to an appearance at a variety show on the island, where he was seen by London agent Bunny Lewis, whose wife was performing on the same bill. She, in turn, was impressed with the boy's poise and professionalism. Lewis arranged for singing lessons for the 16-year-old and began grooming him for a career on the stage in London. Lewis gave him the name Craig Douglas after seeing it outside a house in Scotland.

His breakthrough came on The Six-Five Special, then the only real showcase for rock & roll on British television. Douglas was booked on the show the same week that Cliff Richard and Joe Brown appeared, but he made an impression even in their company: A few days later, he was presented with two huge sacks of fan mail from the performance. The Six-Five Special led Douglas to a recording contract and a string of successes. Much of Douglas' career was spent at EMI, for which he had a number one hit with his version of "Only Sixteen," but also charted very high with "A Teenager in Love," "The Heart of a Teenage Girl," "Pretty Blue Eyes," and "When My Little Girl Is Smiling." Douglas wasn't really a rock & roll singer, his diction being too good and his delivery too straight-ahead for that designation.

His early records call up images of Ricky Nelson but, like a lot of young British singers of his era, he quickly aimed for a more mature audience. His singing was very emotive but also very clean. He was obviously more comfortable with dignified pop music, such as "Time," than with the more rocking numbers like "Ring-A-Ding" that he was occasionally called upon to record, with its slurred lyrics, honking saxes, and loud electric guitars (although Douglas acquitted himself well in that setting). He made the usual moves, appearing on film soundtracks (Two and Two Make Six) and in movies (It's Trad, Dad; A Painted Smile), as well as numerous television shows. Douglas' appearance alongside his EMI stablemate Helen Shapiro in It's Trad, Dad (which was Richard Lester's first feature and a dry run for A Hard Day's Night) showed off his strengths and weaknesses. He was charismatic simply based on his good looks, but was rather a stiff on camera as an actor, especially next to the vivacious Shapiro (who was also about five years younger than the then 21-year-old Douglas).

Rock & roll was just another musical genre to Douglas, which is not to say he was wrong, it's just that antique numbers like "It All Depends on You" or "Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue" done straight will never resonate the same way "Dream Lover" or "Rainbows" will to listeners born after 1945. Douglas' time on the English charts ended in 1962 and his major recording career came to a halt a year later with the advent of the Liverpool sound, but he continues to perform regularly in clubs, on cruises, and in cabarets, as well as international tours. Indeed, well into the 1990s, he had an annual month-long booking in Hong Kong. He's a fondly remembered and talented exponent of England's early flirtation with rock & roll. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

Dream Lover
Craig Douglas Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Every night I hope and pray
A dream lover will come my way
A girl to hold in my arms
And know the magic of her charms
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah)

I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Dream lover, where are you
With a love, oh, so true
And the hand that I can hold
To feel you near as I grow old
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah, yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Someday, I don't know how
I hope she'll hear my plea
Some way, I don't know how
She'll bring her love to me

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
Till all my lover's dreams come true
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah, yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Dream lover, until then
I'll go to sleep and dream again
That's the only thing to do
Till all my lover's dreams come true
'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
My own (yeah-yeah)
I want a dream lover
So I don't have to dream alone

Please don't make me dream alone

I beg you don't make me dream alone
No, I don't wanna dream alone

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Craig Douglas's song Dream Lover express the desire for the perfect romantic partner, someone who will come in one's dreams and be eventually found in reality. The singer hopes for a dream lover to come his way, a girl whom he can hold in his arms and be captivated by the magic of her charms. He wants to call her his own and dream with her, not alone. The song is imbued with hope and optimism that the desired partner would soon manifest, and the singer vows to keep dreaming of her until all his wishes come true.

The lyrics of this song carry an underlying message of loneliness and yearning, echoing the intense emotions that often accompany the quest for true love. The singer's dream of finding a perfect partner is a universal desire shared by many. The song has a plaintive tone that captures the sense of longing and unfulfilled desires.

Line by Line Meaning

Every night I hope and pray
Every night, I am filled with hope and I pray

A dream lover will come my way
That a dream lover will come to me and be mine

A girl to hold in my arms
A girl that I can hold in my arms tightly

And know the magic of her charms
And feel the magical charm she has

'Cause I want (yeah-yeah, yeah)
The reason being that I want

A girl (yeah-yeah, yeah)
A girl that I can call my own

To call (yeah-yeah, yeah)
To have her call me her own

My own (yeah-yeah)
To be with her and have each other as belonging to one another

I want a dream lover
I want someone to love that fulfills all my dreams

So I don't have to dream alone
So that I don't have to feel lonely in my dreams anymore

Dream lover, where are you
Someone that I dream of having where are you now

With a love, oh, so true
To love me truly and sincerely

And the hand that I can hold
I want to hold her hand

To feel you near as I grow old
To feel her close to me as we both grow old

Someday, I don't know how
I don't know how someday it will happen

I hope she'll hear my plea
I hope she hears me asking for her

Some way, I don't know how
I don't know how it will happen, but I pray for it to happen in some way

She'll bring her love to me
She will come to me and bring love to my life

Dream lover, until then
Until she comes to me, dream lover

I'll go to sleep and dream again
I will go to sleep and dream of her again

That's the only thing to do
That's the only hope I have in my life

Till all my lover's dreams come true
Until all of my dream in love become reality

Please don't make me dream alone
Please don't let me feel alone anymore in my dream

I beg you don't make me dream alone
I plead with you to not make me feel lonely in my dream anymore

No, I don't wanna dream alone
I don't want to dream alone anymore

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: Bobby Darin

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS