Having founded seminal Memphis punk outfit Reatards at the tender age of si… Read Full Bio ↴Having founded seminal Memphis punk outfit Reatards at the tender age of sixteen, Jay Reatard (May 1, 1980 - January 13, 2010) was a seasoned veteran of the garage-punk scene. In the '90s Reatards turned the Memphis underground rock scene upside down with a legendary over-the-top live shows.

Never content to stick to one genre, one project or one band, Jay also co-led the synth-punk Lost Sounds with Alicja Trout, played drums for The Final Solutions, pursued the solo project Terror Visions, co-fronted The Angry Angles and ran his own label, Shattered Records.

In 2006, In The Red announced the release of Blood Visions, Jay's first album as a solo artist, which combined the aggressive approach of Reatards with a melodic pop sensibility, and production recalling classic UK punk records -- The Adverts (who he covered), Siouxsie & the Banshees, ATV, etc.

On January 13, 2010, Jay was found dead at the age of 29 at his home in Memphis. A statement was posted on the website of Goner Records that Reatard had died in his sleep. His autopsy reported he died of cocaine toxicity and alcohol as a contributing factor.

Jay Reatard on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JayReatard
Jay Reatard on My Space http://www.myspace.com/jayreatard

Nightmares
Jay Reatard Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Woke from my sleep last night
All sweating with quiet a fright
Looked to see if your next to me
Somehow I knew you wouldn't be

Seems that my dreams only come true
When my dreams aren't about you
Nightmares are all you bring to me

I'll keep searching for you

Lonely days and sleepless nights
This doesn't seem so right
It leaves me wanting more
More than I did before

Seems that my dreams only come true
When my dreams aren't about you
Nightmares are all you bring to me

I'll keep searching for you

I keep searching for you
I keep searching for you

I keep searching for you
I keep searching for you

Overall Meaning

The song "Nightmares" by Jay Reatard captures the feeling of someone struggling to move on from a past relationship that still haunts them. The opening lines suggest that the singer has just woken up from a nightmare and is searching for comfort from their partner, only to realize that they are alone. This sense of loneliness and fear is reinforced throughout the rest of the song as the singer describes their sleepless nights and the pain of constantly dreaming about their ex.

The chorus of the song is particularly poignant as the singer realizes that their dreams only come true when they are not dreaming about their ex. This suggests that the singer is unable to move past their relationship emotionally and is trapped in a cycle of pain and longing. The repeated line "I'll keep searching for you" further emphasizes this sense of desperation and sadness, as the singer knows that they can't move on but still can't help trying to find their ex.

Overall, "Nightmares" is a haunting and emotional song that captures the pain of a broken relationship and the struggle to move on. It speaks to the universal experience of heartbreak and the difficulty of letting go of someone who meant so much.

Line by Line Meaning

Woke from my sleep last night
I suddenly awoke from my sleep last night

All sweating with quite a fright
I was sweating and scared

Looked to see if your next to me
I looked to check if you were lying next to me

Somehow I knew you wouldn't be
I had a feeling that you wouldn't be there

Seems that my dreams only come true
It appears that only the dreams not about you come true

When my dreams aren't about you
My dreams come true only when they are not about you

Nightmares are all you bring to me
You are the only one associated with my nightmares

I'll keep searching for you
I will continue to look for you

Lonely days and sleepless nights
I spend days alone and unable to sleep at night

This doesn't seem so right
The situation doesn't feel right

It leaves me wanting more
It makes me want more