In 1976 at the age of 17 she became one of the founding members of the legendary teenage all-female hard rock band The Runaways. There she played lead guitar.
After the group folded in 1979, she began a solo career. Her guitar playing was well respected amongst her peers, both when she was a member of The Runaways and as a solo act. When she had the material to back her up, Ford was inarguably capable of rocking out aggressively and assertively, and more times than not, better than the best of her male counterparts. Her first two albums, Out for Blood and Dancin' on the Edge were relatively successful, and in 1985, Ford was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for "Gotta Let Go", along with Wendy O. Williams and Pia Zadora. However the musical genre of "arena metal rock" had already crested and was now beginning its decline in the second half of the 1980s.
Nothing was heard from Ford for the next four years; a follow-up to Dancin' on the Edge, titled The Bride Wore Black, was abandoned and never released, as Ford switched from Mercury Records to RCA Records. By the time Ford returned again, the lighter pop-metal she had long favored had broken through to mainstream audiences, which set the stage for her most commercially successful album, 1988's Lita. With Sharon Osbourne as her manager, and slickly produced by Mike Chapman, the album featured Ford's first commercial hit, the #12 "Kiss Me Deadly". Its follow-up ballad, a duet with Ozzy Osbourne entitled "Close My Eyes Forever", provided both artists with their first Top Ten single.
Lita Ford is back with a vengeance! Her new album Wicked Wonderland is due for release October 6th 2009. More information can be found on her My Space profile: Lita Ford Official My Space Profile
Tambourine Dream
Lita Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cross the diamond sea
Hear the sweet song of a morning star
On a distant tambourine
I could hear a heart of thunder
Callin' me from across the lonely sea tonight
The spell that I'm under
Has brought you to my door, the love I hunger for
Won't you be my tambourine dream
We can last forever in a lover's fantasy
I want you to be my tambourine dream
Wrap your arms around me, baby, come along with me
I'll sing you a sweet melody, yeah
Stranger come, one sleepless night
Built a castle 'round my heart
Music man from another land, far beyond the stars
When the morning came a knockin'
Kissed my lips and slipped away into the mist
Heard a gypsy song callin'
Just close your eyes tonight
I'll be there by your side
Won't you be my tambourine dream
We can last forever in a lover's fantasy
I want you to be my tambourine dream
Wrap your arms around me, baby, come along with me
I'll sing you a sweet melody, yeah
Won't you be my tambourine dream
We can last forever in a lover's fantasy
I want you to be my tambourine dream
Wrap your arms around me, baby, come along with me
Tambourine dream
I want you to be my tambourine dream
We can last forever in a lover's fantasy
I want you to be my tambourine dream
Wrap your arms around me, baby, come along, come along with me
Tambourine dream
Tambourine dream
Tambourine dream
Tambourine dream
Tambourine dream, yeah
And I'm dreamin' tonight
Tambourine dream
Dream tonight, yeah
Tambourine dream
In "Tambourine Dream," Lita Ford tells a story about a mysterious musician who enters her life, captures her heart, and then disappears as quickly as he arrived. The title of the song references the tambourine, an instrument that is often associated with joy and celebration. In this case, the tambourine represents a symbol of the dream that the singer has for a life filled with love and music.
The song begins with the singer imagining sailing away on a "crystal ship" across a "diamond sea." She hears the sound of a tambourine playing in the distance as if calling her to follow the music. The line "I could hear a heart of thunder calling me from across the lonely sea tonight" suggests that the music is both a physical and emotional pull for the singer. She is drawn to the music and the musician who is playing it.
As the song progresses, the story becomes more intricate. The singer tells us about a "stranger" who built a "castle" around her heart, then left just as quickly. The man was a "music man from another land, far beyond the stars," which implies he was someone out of this world. The line "heard a gypsy song calling, just close your eyes tonight, I'll be there by your side" suggests that the singer believes the musician will return to her someday.
In the chorus, the singer asks the musician to be her "tambourine dream." She wants him to wrap his arms around her and sing her a "sweet melody." The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the singer's desire for this dream to become a reality. In the final lines of the song, she repeats the title phrase "tambourine dream," as if willing it to come true.
Overall, "Tambourine Dream" is a song about longing and the power of music to bring people together. It's a poignant and romantic story that leaves listeners dreaming of love and music.
Line by Line Meaning
Sail away, my crystal ship
Let's embark on a journey together towards a perfect destination like a crystal ship sailing across the vast, sparkling oceans.
'Cross the diamond sea
Our journey will take us across a sea so clear and translucent that it seems like diamonds have been laid out in front of us.
Hear the sweet song of a morning star
Amidst this journey, we notice the enchanting and melodious song of a morning star, promising a new day and a new beginning filled with hope and positivity.
On a distant tambourine
This sweet melody is being played on a tambourine, which seems far in the distance, yet close enough to touch our hearts and invoke a feeling of nostalgia and longing.
I could hear a heart of thunder
As a response to this feeling, we can hear a sound like a heart of thunder, calling out to us from far away, making us acutely aware of our loneliness and desire for a deeper connection.
Callin' me from across the lonely sea tonight
This sound is coming from across the lonely sea, which seems to amplify our longing and desperation to find companionship that can provide us solace and hope.
The spell that I'm under
This sound has cast a spell over us, which is making us unable to resist the urge to follow it and explore its origin, and ultimately leading us towards true love and companionship.
Has brought you to my door, the love I hunger for
This spell has guided us towards the love of our life, who has appeared at our doorstep, bringing us the very love that we have been craving for all our lives.
Won't you be my tambourine dream
In an effort to hold onto this love forever, we implore our lover to be our tambourine dream, our everlasting promise of staying together and cherishing each other in a lover's fantasy.
We can last forever in a lover's fantasy
In this tambourine dream, we can last forever, away from reality, and in a world where this love and companionship can reign supreme.
I want you to be my tambourine dream
We express our longing and desire for our lover to be our tambourine dream, where we promise to love and cherish them for eternity.
Wrap your arms around me, baby, come along with me
We call out to our lover to embrace us, to join us in our journey, and make it one that is unforgettable, filled with love, and companionship.
I'll sing you a sweet melody, yeah
In return for our lover's love and companionship, we promise to sing them a sweet melody, expressing all our deepest and most heartfelt emotions in a way that is truly magical and unforgettable.
Built a castle 'round my heart
In a flashback, we describe how a stranger had come and built a castle around our heart, making dents in our armor, and enchanting us in ways that we had never felt before.
Music man from another land, far beyond the stars
This stranger was a music man, who came from a land far beyond the stars, bringing with him a melody that we had never heard before, one that called out to us, melting our hearts.
When the morning came a knockin'
However, when the morning arrived, like all other things, this stranger had to depart, leaving us behind with a feeling of melancholy and emptiness.
Kissed my lips and slipped away into the mist
Before leaving, this stranger had left us with a bittersweet memory, a kiss that would remain etched in our hearts forever, and something to remember them by until we meet again.
Heard a gypsy song callin'
This memory has been resurfacing increasingly, particularly when we hear a gypsy song, which takes us back to that magical time, making our hearts pound with excitement and anticipation.
Just close your eyes tonight
With a plea to our lover, we ask them to close their eyes and imagine the same thing that we are imagining, to transport themselves to a place where our love is the only thing that matters.
I'll be there by your side
In doing so, we promise our lover that we will be there by their side, that we will be their support and companion, no matter what comes our way.
Tambourine dream
As a final plea, we ask our lover to remain our tambourine dream, to hold onto us forever, to make sure that we continue to dream and imagine a life where love is the only thing that matters.
And I'm dreamin' tonight
As a final note, we describe how we are dreaming again tonight, of the same tambourine dream, of the same love, hoping that this time, it will last forever.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL DAN EHMIG, LITA ROSSANA FORD, MYRON GROMBACHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind