Imagine Dragons are a pop band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. … Read Full Bio ↴Imagine Dragons are a pop band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band currently consists of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, and bassist Ben McKee. They first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their debut album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which held the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band", and Billboard named them their "Breakthrough Band of 2013" and "Biggest Band of 2017", and placed them at the top of their "Year in Rock" rankings for 2013, 2017, and 2018. Imagine Dragons topped the Billboard Year-End "Top Artists – Duo/Group" category in 2018.

The band's second studio album Smoke + Mirrors (2015) reached number one in the US, Canada, and the UK. This was followed by their third studio album Evolve (2017), which resulted in three chart-topping singles, "Believer", "Thunder", and "Whatever It Takes", also making them the artist with the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. The album reached the top five in many countries. The band's fourth studio album Origins (2018) featured the single "Natural", which became their fifth song to top the Hot Rock Songs chart. The band has since released Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 (2022), a double album featuring the US top 5 hit "Enemy", and Loom (2024), their first album without longtime drummer Daniel Platzman. Despite their popularity and commercial success, the band's music has been consistently met with mixed critical reception.

Imagine Dragons won three American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, one Grammy Award, one MTV Video Music Award, and one World Music Award. In May 2014, the band was nominated for 14 Billboard Music Awards, including Top Artist of the Year and a Milestone Award, which recognizes innovation and creativity of artists across different genres. In April 2018, the band was nominated 11 more times for Billboard Music Awards.

Imagine Dragons have sold more than 74 million albums and 65 million digital songs worldwide, making them one of the world's best-selling music artists. They have also earned 160 billion streams across music platforms. They were the most streamed group of 2018 on Spotify, the first rock act to have four songs, "Radioactive", "Demons", "Believer", and "Thunder", to surpass one billion streams each, and the only group in RIAA history to have four songs certified higher than Diamond. According to Billboard, "Believer", "Thunder", and "Radioactive" were the three best performing rock songs of the 2010s.

Dream
Imagine Dragons Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

In the dark, and I'm right on the middle mark
I'm just in the tier of everything that rides below the surface
And I watch from a distance seventeen
And I'm short of the others dreams of being golden and on top
It's not what you painted in my head
There's so much there instead of all the colors that I saw

We all are living in a dream

But life ain't what it seems
Oh everything's a mess
And all these sorrows I have seen
They lead me to believe
That everything's a mess

But I wanna dream
I wanna dream
Leave me to dream

In the eyes of a teenage crystallized
Oh, the prettiest of lights that hang the hallways of the home
And the cries from the strangers out at night
They don't keep us up at night
We have the curtains drawn and closed

We all are living in a dream
But life ain't what it seems
Oh everything's a mess
And all these sorrows I have seen
They lead me to believe
That everything's a mess

But I wanna dream
I wanna dream
Leave me to dream

I know all your reasons
To keep me from seeing
Everything is actually a mess
But now I am leaving
All of us were only dreaming
Everything is actually a mess

We all are living in a dream
But life ain't what it seems
Oh everything's a mess
And all these sorrows I have seen
They lead me to believe
That everything's a mess

But I wanna dream
I wanna dream
Leave me to dream
But I wanna dream
I wanna dream
Leave me to dream

Overall Meaning

The verses of "Dream" by Imagine Dragons paint a picture of someone who feels stuck in the middle, not quite achieving what everyone else seems to be reaching for. The singer is watching from a distance and is surrounded by a darkness that is not what was imagined or expected. They are constantly reminded of their shortcomings and the successes of others, but they want to escape and dream. The chorus takes on a more universal tone, saying that we all are living in a dream and that life is not what it seems. The singer believes that everything is a mess and that the sorrows seen make him feel like he is not living up to expectations. The ending of the song takes a turn towards hope as the singer insists that he wants to dream and wishes to be allowed to do so.

The lyrics of the song seem to address the difficulty of achieving what is expected and the hopelessness that comes with that. The song talks about the darkness of failure and the pain of being left behind. The message in the chorus is ultimately one of hope though, as the ability to dream and hope for something better is just as important as achieving those dreams. It is essential to believe that everything is not a mess and one day the sorrows will disappear, but for now, the only thing to hold on to is the dream.

Line by Line Meaning

In the dark
Feeling lost and uncertain

And I'm right on the middle mark
Stuck in the middle of something without control

I'm just in the tier of everything that rides below the surface
Invisible among others despite being present

And I watch from a distance seventeen
Observing life without participation, feeling detached and isolated

And I'm short of the others dreams of being golden and on top
Feeling inadequate and not measuring up to society's expectations

It's not what you painted in my head
Realizing that reality is different from the idealized version

There's so much there instead of all the colors that I saw
Reality is complex and not black and white

We all are living in a dream,
Life is a subjective experience

But life ain't what it seems
Reality is not ideal or perfect

Oh everything's a mess
Feeling overwhelmed and confused by life

And all these sorrows I have seen
Personal experiences of pain and sadness

They lead me to believe
Emotions shape our perspective of reality

That everything's a mess
Reiterating the feeling that life is chaotic

But I wanna dream
Hope for a better reality

Leave me to dream
A desire for escape from the chaos

In the eyes
Observing

Of a teenage crystallized
Beauty and purity of youth

Oh the prettiest of lights that hang the hallways of the home
Decorative lights symbolizing warmth and comfort

And the cries from the strangers out at night
Hearing the suffering of others

They don't keep us up at night
Inability to stop the suffering around us

We have the curtains drawn and closed
Shutting out the outside world to avoid facing reality

Oh, I know all your reasons
Awareness of outside influence

To keep me from seeing
Obstacles to gaining clarity

Everything is actually a mess
Acknowledging the chaos of life

But now I am leaving
Taking control of one's life

All of us were only dreaming
Humanity is lost and not fully living

I wanna dream
Hope for change

Leave me to dream
Desire for escape from reality and its chaos

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alexander Junior Grant, Daniel Coulter Reynolds, Daniel Wayne Sermon, Benjamin Arthur Mckee, Daniel James Platzman

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS