The group was founded in 1979 by Bernardo Bonezzi (Madrid, 1964-2012 ), who even before the age of fourteen had led a band called Morbus Acre and formed part of the seminal group of the Madrid scene Kaka de Luxe. The Zombies pooled influences of glam rock (Lou Reed, David Bowie, Brian Eno ) and new wave (Talking Heads, B- 52's ). They signed to RCA , who released the group's first single, the catchy "Groenland", a song that still remains among the best-known Spanish pop songs of the 80, and is present in numerous compilations of music from the decade.
Encouraged by the success of the single, they recorded their first album, 'Extraños juegos', one of the most successful pop albums of the 80s. However, following the release of the second LP, 'La muralla china', Bonezzi decided to leave the group in 1982 to pursue other projects.
Hung Up On A Dream
Zombies Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just drifting slowly through a crowded street
With neon darkness shimmering through the haze
A sea of faces rippling in the heat
And from that nameless changing crowd
A sweet vibration seemed to fill the air
I stood astounded staring hard
A sweet confusion filled my mind
Until I woke up only finding everything was just a dream
A dream unusual of its kind
That gave me peace and blew my mind
And now I'm hung up on a dream
They spoke with soft persuading words
About a living creed of gentle love
And turned the arm to sounds unheard
And showed me strangest clouded sights above
Which gentle touched my aching mind
And soothed the wanderings of my troubled brain
Sometimes I think I'll never find
Such purity and peace of mind again
The Zombies' "Hung Up On A Dream" is a song about a dream that transports the singer to a utopian world, giving him a moment of peace and clarity. The song opens by describing the dream as a sweet vibration that fills the air, in contrast to the "neon darkness" and "sea of faces" that characterize his waking life. He sees men with flowers in their hair and is struck by their peaceful appearance. The dream seems to offer a "living creed of gentle love" that is absent from reality. The dream soothes the singer's troubled mind, and he finds himself longing to return to its utopian world, saying that he is now "hung up on a dream."
The song captures the sense of disillusionment that many people experienced in the 1960s as they struggled to reconcile the idealism of the countercultural movement with the realities of a world still beset by war, poverty, and inequality. The dream represents a vision of a better world that, while out of reach, offers a glimpse of what could be possible. In this sense, the song echoes the themes of other countercultural anthems of the era, such as The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" and Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock."
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I remember yesterday
The singer begins by reminiscing about a day before today.
Just drifting slowly through a crowded street
The singer recalls a memory of themselves slowly walking through a busy street without any particular direction.
With neon darkness shimmering through the haze
The scene that is being described is not very clear or visible, but the neon lights provide a hazy effect.
A sea of faces rippling in the heat
The crowdedness of the street is emphasized by the faces of the people on it.
And from that nameless changing crowd
The crowd was full of strangers and constantly changing as the singer moved through it.
A sweet vibration seemed to fill the air
The singer sensed a good feeling emanating from the crowd.
I stood astounded staring hard
The singer was surprised and fixed their gaze on something that caught their attention.
At men with flowers resting in their hair
The singer saw men wearing flowers in their hair, which was an unusual sight for them.
A sweet confusion filled my mind
The singer was confused by the experience they had just gone through, as it was unexpected.
Until I woke up only finding everything was just a dream
The experience turned out to be a dream that the singer had
A dream unusual of its kind
The dream the singer had was one that they had never experienced before.
That gave me peace and blew my mind
The dream was significant for the singer and left them feeling content and amazed.
And now I'm hung up on a dream
The singer is now fixated on the dream they had and can't stop thinking about it.
They spoke with soft persuading words
The men the singer saw in their dream spoke in a soft, convincing manner.
About a living creed of gentle love
The message the men in the dream were conveying was about a way of life based on compassionate love.
And turned the arm to sounds unheard
The men presented something that was beyond what could be heard, such as an idea or a perspective.
And showed me strangest clouded sights above
The men revealed images or visions that were unclear or mysterious in nature.
Which gentle touched my aching mind
The message from the dream had a soothing effect on the singer's troubled mind.
And soothed the wanderings of my troubled brain
The dream had a calming effect that helped the singer clear their mind of worries.
Sometimes I think I'll never find
The singer acknowledges that this dream was unique and may never find a similar experience.
Such purity and peace of mind again
The dream brought a sense of clarity and calmness that the singer may never experience again.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eleazar Beltran
I honestly think this is the greatest song of all time
NessjustNess
Me too
NessjustNess
Any time my anxiety spikes anytime something bad happens I listen to this and it pulls me straight out of whatever funk I'm in
Dominic Tosh
One of my favourite songs of that era and it is massively underrated. Shame they have dropped it from recent setlists.
memento mori
Odessey and Oracles is my 1# favourite album of all time
J F
It is an incredible song. Indeed.
Haley Watterson
My favourite Zombies song. This is one of the most beautiful songs in the psychedelic genre.
miraculeine
in my opinion this is the best Zombies song and deserves to be more recognized
BilisNegra
The whole Odessey and Oracle holds true recognition among music lovers.
Preston Coleman
That passage at 1:45 is sublime. The Zombies have a knack for finding those perfect chords and harmonies.