Beautiful Dreamer
Ken Dodd Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,
Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;
Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,
Lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away!
Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,
List while I woo thee with soft melody;
Gone are the cares of life's busy throng,
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,
Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelei;
Over the streamlet vapors are borne,
Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.
Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
Even as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,




Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ken Dodd's song "Beautiful Dreamer" seem to convey the desire to escape from the harshness and cares of the real world and retreat into the comforting embrace of dreams and imagination. The singer addresses a beautiful woman, referring to her as the queen of his song, and invites her to wake up and join him in this dreamlike world. He paints an idyllic picture of starlight and dewdrops waiting for her, and assures her that the world's troubles, which are heard during the day, have all passed away in the moonlit night.


The second stanza continues this theme of a dream world, with the singer describing mermaids singing and vapors rising over a streamlet, all waiting to fade away with the coming of morning light. The world of the song is not just a place of escapism, however, but also carries the hope that it can bring about the dispelling of clouds of sorrow for the dreamer. The repetition of the final line "Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!" emphasizes the singer's desire for the dreamer to join him in this imaginary world.


Line by Line Meaning

Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,
Oh, wondrous, lovely dreamer, please wake up to me and my voice.


Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee;
The stars and tiny droplets of water eagerly await your presence, my dreamer.


Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,
The harsh, unpleasant sounds of the world that you hear during the day have now vanished.


Lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away!
The calming light of the moon has chased away your troubles, leaving you in peaceful slumber.


Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,
To me, you are the majestic ruler of my musical tribute.


List while I woo thee with soft melody;
Please listen as I serenade you with gentle, tender melodies.


Gone are the cares of life's busy throng,
All the stresses and worries of daily life have vanished, as if they never existed.


Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
My lovely dreamer, please wake up and return to the world of the living with me!


Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Once again, I implore you to awaken and rejoin me in the reality of our waking world.


Beautiful dreamer, out on the sea,
My beautiful dreamer, lost out at sea.


Mermaids are chanting the wild lorelei;
Mermaids sing enchanting and mysterious songs of the wild Lorelei to you.


Over the streamlet vapors are borne,
As the mist rises above the stream, so too do your dreams lift you off to faraway lands.


Waiting to fade at the bright coming morn.
Your dreams will eventually fade away as the bright light of morning approaches.


Beautiful dreamer, beam on my heart,
Your beauty touches my heart so deeply, my dreamer.


Even as the morn on the streamlet and sea;
Just as the morning light shines over the sea and stream, your radiance shines within my heart.


Then will all clouds of sorrow depart,
Your presence dispels all grief and sadness that may weigh down one's heart.


Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!
Once again, I beg you to return from your slumber and awaken into the real world with me.




Writer(s): Chris Barber, Stephen Foster

Contributed by Josiah Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

@nintendy

Many people don’t realise what a great singer Ken Dodd was – I think of him as a singer first before a comic!  I’m not ashamed to say that I own all his LPs,  and he’s one of my favourite singers – and I like styles right across the board, from groups like ABBA – to acts like Yoko Ono and X-Ray Spex!  I have EVERY LP record Ken ever released! (do wish they would do them all on CD – after just a couple of releases for some reason they stopped...) ‘Beautiful Dreamer’ is one, if not my favourite song by Ken – he sings it far better than anyone else I can think of – and I wrote and told him so years ago. The original vinyl LP which I still have still sounds amazing! (quality vinyl from the 60s!) Thanks for Posting!

@leeloo2ify

I never knew he was such a good singer!

@nomie55

Thank you for your comment. It is always good to know that others also enjoy this music. Best wishes from Scotland.

@lesliegarbe8407

what talent Ken had.

@JamesBrown-ro1qj

Beautiful
God rest your gentle soul Sir Ken

@briannolan8061

Beautiful voice, it takes a clever man to act the fool.

@mrtlbrnft64

Very good,never heard before! :-) Best regards from Austria.:-)

@personalbjw

fantastic a great man made millions happy god bless him

@sonnygaule9279

1:41 ❤

@paulconnor3170

good rest ken you were one in a million

More Comments

More Versions