Neko Case (born September 8, 1970, in Alexandria, Virginia) is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Neko Case (born September 8, 1970, in Alexandria, Virginia) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers.

Case moved around often as a child, spending the largest part of her youth in Tacoma, Washington. She left her parents at age 15 and three years later she started playing drums for several bands around the Northwest's punk rock scene. In 1994, she moved to Vancouver, BC to enter art school, and simultaneously joined the punk group Maow, who released a record on the Mint label. She also played with roots rockers the Weasles, and eventually formed her own backing band, the Boyfriends, which initially featured alumni of the Softies, Zumpano, and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.

Case released her solo debut, The Virginian, in 1997, delving wholeheartedly into traditional country via a mix of covers and originals. She went on to perform with Carolyn Mark in the old-timey side project the Corn Sisters, and recorded with the Vancouver indie supergroup the New Pornographers, which she continues to be a member of. In 1998, Case completed her studies and, with her student visa expired, returned to Washington and began work on her second solo album. The lovely, melancholy Furnace Room Lullaby was released on Bloodshot Records in 2000 and won high praise from most critics.

Case subsequently relocated to Chicago, home of a thriving alt-country scene, and released the home-recorded Canadian Amp EP in 2001. Its moody, late-night ambiance carried over to 2002's Blacklisted, a darker yet more eclectic affair; it garnered Case her strongest reviews up to that point, making many year-end critics' polls, and landed her a tour slot opening for Nick Cave. Blacklisted was recorded at Wavelab Studio in Tuscon AZ, where Case had moved to in 2002.

In 2004, Case signed with Anti Records in the United States, and that year she released a live album, The Tigers Have Spoken, recorded during several dates with Canadian surf-country band the Sadies.

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, hailed by critics as an instant classic and Case's most realized work yet, followed in 2006. Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino contributed guitar, cello, bass, and drums to the album.

On March 3, 2009, Case released Middle Cyclone. It was her first album to reach the top ten's on the Billboard charts in the US.

Middle Cyclone was followed by "The worse things get, the harder I fight, the harder I fight, the more I love you" which came out September 4th 2013.

Case now lives on her farm in Vermont.

Dreaming Man
Neko Case Lyrics

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I'm a dreaming man
Yes that's my problem
(Dreaming man)
I can't tell when I'm
Not being real
In the meadow dusk
I park my Aerostar
(Dreaming man)

With a loaded gun
And sweet dreams of you

I'll always be a dreaming man
I don't have to understand
I know it's all right

See your curves and I
Feel your vibrations
(Dreaming man)
You're dressed in black and white
You're lost in the mall
I watch you disappear
Past Club Med vacations
(Dreaming man)
Another sleepless night
A sun that won't fall

I'll always be a dreaming man
I don't have to understand
I know it's all right

Now the night is gone
A new day is dawning
(Dreaming man)
And our homeless dreams

Go back to the street
Another time or place
Another civilization
(Dreaming man)
That really make this life
Feel so complete

I'll always be a dreaming man
I don't have to understand
I know it's all right

Dreaming man
He's got a plan
(Dreaming man)
Dreaming man
He's got a plan
(Dreaming man)
Dreaming man
He's got a plan
Dreaming man

Overall Meaning

The song Dreaming Man by Neko Case is a melancholic reflection on the power of dreams to shape our perception of reality. The lyrics depict the singer as a "dreaming man", implying that he is someone who spends a lot of time lost in thought, fantasizing about the world around him. Throughout the song, the singer fixates on a woman he seems to be obsessed with, describing her in sensual terms and vividly imagining scenarios in which they might be together. He seems to view his dreams as a refuge from the disappointments and anxieties of everyday life, and even goes so far as to park his car in a meadow and load a gun in anticipation of some kind of imaginary showdown.

Despite the dark undertones of the song, however, there is a sense of resignation or acceptance that runs through it. The singer repeatedly insists that he doesn't need to understand his dreams or the woman he is fixated on, and that he can simply accept them for what they are. It is as if he recognizes the futility of trying to make his dreams conform to reality, and instead chooses to find comfort in his own internal world. The overall effect is haunting and introspective, but also strangely beautiful.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm a dreaming man
I have a tendency to daydream and imagine things

Yes that's my problem
It affects my ability to be fully present in reality

In the meadow dusk
During twilight in nature

I park my Aerostar
I leave my vehicle, an Aerostar van, in a specific spot

With a loaded gun
Carrying a weapon for protection

And sweet dreams of you
Thinking about someone close to me while I sleep

See your curves and I
Noticing and admiring your physical features

Feel your vibrations
Sensing your energy or aura

You're dressed in black and white
Wearing monochrome colors

You're lost in the mall
Having difficulty navigating through a shopping center

I watch you disappear
Observing the person vanish from sight