In The Beautiful South, Heaton shared the lead singer's role with Hemingway and female singer Briana Corrigan to create a trio of lead vocalists. This set-up helped to characterise the bittersweet kitchen sink dramas played out in Heaton's often-barbed songs.
The band's music might sound like bubbly, catchy, lightweight pop but Heaton's sour, savage and amusing worldview on everything and anything (alcoholism, religion, sex, politics and, mostly, the down side of relationships) is always lurking beneath the surface of the quirky melodies. The tastes and smells of the local pub are never far away either, with the band gaining a reputation for boozing. The band's first album was Welcome to the Beautiful South (1989) and spawned the hits Song For Whoever and You Keep It All In. The release of 1990's Choke album saw the band claim its only Number 1 hit to date, A Little Time. 0898 followed in 1992, with hits including Old Red Eyes Is Back.
In 1994, after Corrigan quit the band when she saw Paul's lyrics for the forthcoming album Miaow, St Helens supermarket shelf-stacker, Jacqui Abbott, was brought on board to fill in. Heaton had heard her sing at an after show party in St Helens and remembered her vocal talents.
Jacqui's first album with the band was Miaow in 1994. Hits included Good as Gold (Stupid as Mud) and a cover of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talking, previously popularised by Harry Nilsson. The end of that year saw the release of Carry on up the Charts, a "best of" compilation consisting of the singles to date plus new track One Last Love Song. The album was massively successful and it is said that 1 in 7 homes in the UK owns a copy.
Blue Is the Colour (1996), Quench (1998) and Painting It Red (2000) followed with varying success. Jacqui also quit the band in 2000. After a second Greatest Hits album Solid Bronze in 2001, they recorded Gaze in 2003 with yet another female vocalist, Alison 'Lady' Wheeler. Wheeler was still in place for 2004's Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs, an album of unusually arranged cover versions including Livin' Thing, You're The One That I Want, Don't Fear The Reaper and I'm Stone In Love With You. In 2006 the band released their tenth studio album, Superbi.
The band broke up in January 2007, releasing the statement: "The Beautiful South have split up due to musical similarities. The band would like to thank everyone for their 19 wonderful years in music."
Former members of the group have since played Beautiful South songs together as 'New Beautiful South' and more recently 'The South'.
In 2007, Mercury Records released Soup: The Best of The Housemartins and The Beautiful South, a compilation album containing 7 hit singles by The Housemartins ("The Housemartins Condensed") and 15 tracks The Beautiful South ("Cream of The Beautiful South").
Dream a Little Dream
The Beautiful South Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Say "nighty-night" and kiss me,
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be,
Dream a little dream of me
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger til dawn, dear,
Just saying this
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you,
Sweet dreams that leave our worries behind you
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
Dream a little dream of me
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear,
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger til dawn dear,
Just saying this
Sweet dreams til sun beams find you,
Sweet dreams that leave our worries far behind you
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
Dream a little dream of me.
Sweet dreams til sun beams find you,
Sweet dreams that leave our worries far behind you;
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
Dream a little dream of me.
The song Dream A Little Dream by The Beautiful South is about the yearning for intimacy and connection that a person experiences during a dark night of the soul. The first verse describes the desolation that can be felt when alone, as symbolized by the stars and night breezes. The singer asks their lover to dream of them to ease the loneliness, to think of them, and to whisper sweet nothings.
The second verse admits the depth of the singer's desire for physical closeness, as they long to be kissed, held, and missed by their lover. The yearning is so intense that the singer lingers on, still craving their love despite the fading stars. The refrain offers a message of hope; that the person they love will be comforted by sweet dreams and that they will be together in their thoughts, regardless of distance.
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder of the universal human need for love and connection, particularly during times of isolation and loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
Stars shining bright above you,
The starry sky is shining brightly above you
Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"
The cool night wind is whispering love for you
Birds singing in the sycamore tree
The birds are singing melodiously, perched on the sycamore tree
Dream a little dream of me
Just take a moment to dream of me, even if it's just a little one
Say "nighty-night" and kiss me,
Say goodnight and give me a tender kiss
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
Embrace me tightly and promise me that you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be,
When I'm sad and feeling lonely
Dream a little dream of me
Think of me in your dreams
Stars fading, but I linger on, dear,
The stars are disappearing but I'm still here
Still craving your kiss
I still desire your kiss
I'm longing to linger til dawn, dear,
I want to stay until morning with you, my dear
Just saying this
I'm just expressing my feelings
Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you,
Wish you have sweet dreams until the sun shines on you
Sweet dreams that leave our worries behind you
Sweet dreams that will free you from all worries
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
But in whatever you dream about
Dream a little dream of me
Please think of me in your dreams
Sweet dreams til sun beams find you,
Wish you have sweet dreams until the sun shines on you
Sweet dreams that leave our worries far behind you;
Sweet dreams that will take all our worries away from you
But in your dreams, whatever they be,
But in whatever you dream about
Dream a little dream of me.
Please think of me in your dreams
Lyrics © DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Fabian Andre, Gus Kahn, Wilbur Schwandt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jim Morrison
Jacqui abbott has an amazing voice and vocal range absolutely immense. 👏💖
Лиля Есаян
In 2021 and the voice is still astonishing! The whole thing is touching. Thank you.
DRourk
In the year 7575 the voice will still be astonishing.... same for the year 30768, and even in 773,829,729. It will never not be an astonishing voice....
Nicholas Fuller
A fantastic rendition of this magical song and the video is to die for. Just superb.
Евгений Фадеев
Для меня - лучшее исполнение этой великой песни!
mistral55
What a stunning voice this lady has...
rubsan79
Totally agree
Matt Williams
Here here 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Matt Williams
Loved Beautiful South's music
Greg Stewart
Try this version with Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6TmogXhOZ8