Their debut single, I'm an Adult Now, quickly became a hit across Canada in 1986, sparked by a low-budget video which made it onto the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. However, the band did not immediately sign to a record label, and released another independent single, Killed by Love, in 1988. The Amabile twins left the band that year, and were replaced by Kris Abbott and Leslie Stanwyck.
Also in 1988, they signed to Chrysalis Records. Their debut album, Love Junk, was produced by Todd Rundgren and released that year. "I'm an Adult Now" was re-recorded and released as a single again, making it to the charts a second time. The album sold over 100,000 copies in Canada, and was certified platinum, and is considered one of the classics of Canadian rock.
Stanwyck and Sinclair left, going on to form Universal Honey, after completing the band's follow-up with Rundgren, 1990's One-Sided Story.
Starting with the tour for the album, Brad Barker and Susan Murumets joined the lineup. Rachel Oldfield replaced Murumets in 1992. The band then went through difficulties with their record label, but signed to Mercury Records for 1993's The Downward Road.
Label troubles continued, and the band recorded their next two albums for the now-defunct Canadian label Iron Music. Oldfield left the band in 1995, and was replaced by Jennifer Foster, who in turn left the following year and was replaced by Renee Suchy.
Although the group never officially disbanded, after 1996 they did not record as a unit until 2005, when they recorded two new tracks for a greatest hits compilation.
In Her Dreams
The Pursuit Of Happiness Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She does not take
By night she dreams she's taken away
By rough boys who laugh as they prey
She's wild, Satan's beautiful child
And she giggles at the thought of being defiled
In her dreams, her toes spike the air
Boozy kisses and hard scratchy faces
Bruised and red from leather embraces
By day she does not offer
She does not take
There's a secret hiding in her heart
So black, man it tore us apart
It sends hate and passion coursing through her veins
But it only finds release in her dreams
She's running through the woods - she's out of her head
She's naked and laughing and bleeding down her leg
She's happy like she's never been
She's happy like I could never make her
By day she does not offer
She does not take
The lyrics of The Pursuit of Happiness's song In Her Dreams paint a vivid portrait of a woman who lives a life of emptiness during the day but escapes into a dark and dangerous world in her dreams. The lyrics reveal that this woman longs for something she cannot have in her daily life, and that she finds solace in her dreams where she is free to be her true self. She dreams of rough boys who prey on her, of boozy kisses and hard scratchy faces, of being defiled and taken away from her empty existence.
The lyrics also reveal that this woman carries a dark secret within her heart that has torn her apart and that she finds release only in her dreams. This secret sends both hate and passion coursing through her veins, and it is evident that it has harmed her in some way. The lines "she's out of her head, she's naked and laughing and bleeding down her leg" paint a disturbing picture of the woman's state of mind and the physical manifestations of her secret on her.
Overall, the lyrics of In Her Dreams are a haunting portrayal of a woman who has been pushed to the edge of sanity and finds solace only in her dreams. The iconic 90s sound and powerful lyrics have helped make this song a cult hit among The Pursuit of Happiness's fans.
Line by Line Meaning
By day she does not offer
During the day she doesn't show any desire, she doesn't give or take anything
She does not take
She doesn't take anything or anyone during the day.
By night she dreams she's taken away
At night, she dreams of being taken away or kidnapped.
By rough boys who laugh as they prey
In her dreams, she's taken by boys who are rough and find pleasure in preying on girls like her.
She's wild, Satan's beautiful child
She's wild and rebellious, a beautiful child of Satan.
And she giggles at the thought of being defiled
She laughs at the idea of being abused or defiled in her dreams.
In her dreams, her toes spike the air
She's free in her dreams, and her toes curl up in pleasure and excitement.
Her fingers running through long greasy hair
In her dreams, she runs her fingers through the long, greasy hair of her captors or attackers.
Boozy kisses and hard scratchy faces
She imagines receiving boozy kisses from her attackers whose faces are rough and scratchy.
Bruised and red from leather embraces
Her body is left bruised and red from the rough embrace of the boys in her dreams who often use leather as a tool.
There's a secret hiding in her heart
She has a secret that she keeps hidden within her heart.
So black, man it tore us apart
This secret is so dark that it has led to the destruction of relationships in her life.
It sends hate and passion coursing through her veins
This secret evokes both hatred and passion and runs through her veins.
But it only finds release in her dreams
She only finds an outlet to release this secret in her dreams.
She's running through the woods - she's out of her head
She imagines herself running through the woods, and she has lost her mind.
She's naked and laughing and bleeding down her leg
In her dreams, she's naked, laughing, and bleeding from her leg due to her wild nature and freedom.
She's happy like she's never been
In her dreams, she's so happy, unlike any feeling she has ever experienced before in reality.
She's happy like I could never make her
She's happy in her dreams in ways that her real-life partner could never make her content.
By day she does not offer
During the day, she doesn't offer or show any sign of her secret desires or happiness.
She does not take
She also doesn't take or accept anything during the day, unlike in her dreams where she's free to do so.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MOE BERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind