Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

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"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
Single by Eurythmics
from the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Released	January 1983
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	1982
Genre	New Wave, Synthpop
Length	3:35 (7" Single) 4:48 (12" Single)
Label	RCA
Producer	David A. Stewart
Certification	Gold (RIAA)[1]
Eurythmics singles chronology
"Love Is a Stranger" (1982) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1983) "Who's That Girl? (1983) "Love Is a Stranger" (1991 reissue) (1991) "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1991 reissue) (1991) "I Saved the World Today" (1999)

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (or simply "Sweet Dreams") is a song by pop music duo Eurythmics (David A. Stewart and Annie Lennox). It was released as a single and was the title track of their album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). It is notable as the song which provided the group with their breakthrough into commercial success. Its striking music video helped to propel the song to number two on the UK singles chart, and number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1983. It was the fourth single released from the Sweet Dreams album in the UK and the first single released by Eurythmics in the United States.

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is arguably Eurythmics' signature song and it is their only chart-topper in the U.S. Following its success, their previous single, "Love Is a Stranger", was re-released and also became a worldwide hit. On Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time issue in 2003, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was ranked number 356: it was the group's only song on the list.^[2] The lyrics of the song allude to a search for fulfillment, and the "Sweet Dreams" are the desires that motivate us.

Eurythmics have regularly performed the song live in all their live sets since 1982. This track is regularly performed on solo Lennox performances also.

In 1991, the song was remixed and reissued to promote Eurythmics' Greatest Hits package. It re-charted in the UK, reaching number 48. It was also a moderate hit in dance clubs. Another remix by Steve Angello was released in France in 2006, along with the track "I've Got a Life" (peaking at number ten).

Background

The original recording's main instrumentation featured a sequenced analog synthesizer riff, which Stewart discovered accidentally in the studio when he played a bass track in reverse. Apart from the synthesizer, the arrangement also uses Movement Systems Drum Computer, piano in the middle eight, and Lennox's multitracked harmony vocals.

Track listings

7"

• A: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
• B: "I could give you a mirror" [alternate version] *

12"

• A: "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" [extended version]
• B1: "I could give you a mirror" [alternate version] *
• B2: "Baby's gone blue"

* This version is different from the one found on the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).

Music video

The music video for "Sweet Dreams" received heavy airplay on the then-young MTV channel and is widely considered a classic clip from the early-MTV era. Lennox's striking androgynous visual image, with close-cropped, orange-colored hair, men's suit and cane and detached yet soulful vocal delivery immediately made her a household name. Her gender-bending image would be further explored in other Eurythmics videos such as "Who's That Girl?" and "Love Is a Stranger".

Chart performance

Marilyn Manson cover

"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
Single by Marilyn Manson
from the album Smells Like Children
Released	1996
Format	CD-Single
Recorded	1994
Genre	Alternative rock, industrial rock
Length	4:53
Label	Interscope Records
Producer	Marilyn Manson & Trent Reznor
Marilyn Manson singles chronology
"Dope Hat" (1995) "Sweet Dreams (are made of these)" (1996) "The Beautiful People" (1996)

Marilyn Manson released a cover version of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" as the first single from their remix album, Smells Like Children. This version became an MTV staple and helped to establish the band in the mainstream. It was also the only track from Smells Like Children appearing on the band's greatest hits album, Lest We Forget: The Best of. This version is featured on the soundtrack to the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill. It is also on the soundtrack to the action movie Gamer. In Manson's autobiography, The Long Hard Road out of Hell, he states that Nothing did not want to release this as a single. They wanted to release their cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You", which, according to Manson, "was far too dark, sprawling and esoteric, even for some of our fans."

Marilyn Manson added some extra lines to the lyrics that are not present in the Eurythmics version: "I wanna use you and abuse you/I wanna know what's inside you." and "I'm gonna use you and abuse you/I'm gonna know what's inside you."

The video for Manson's cover contains several clips of Manson and bandmates in what appears to be an old cathedral. In between the clips are a number are surreal shots of Manson wearing eccentric outfits, Manson wandering around an abandoned street in a tutu, and him riding a pig wearing a cowboy hat and covered with grease.

Formats and track listings

Australian CD single

1. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" - 4:25
2. "Dance of the Dope Hats" (Remix) - 4:46
3. "Down in the Park" - 4:58
4. "Lunchbox (Next Motherfucker)" - 4:47

U.S. promotional CD single

1. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" - 4:25

^[3]

Other cover versions

• US hip-hop producer Swing released a eurodance version in 1995, with vocals by Birgitta Edoff and Dr. Alban.
• Norwegian artists Jørn Hoel & Steinar Albrigtsen covered the song for their 1997 album Get Together
• Polish band Moonlight covered the song for their 1999 EP Flos.
• Actress Maria Bello performed the song in the movie Duets (2000), which is included on the soundtrack.
• The 2000 covers compilation Tokahits contains a cover by No. On.
• Indie artist MarthaV recorded an acoustic rendition of the song for her 2003 album Pop Rock Acústico.^[4]
• "Sweet Dreams" was partially covered by Geri Halliwell as a medley with her song, "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" in late 2004.
• Finnish a capella group Club for Five recorded a cover of the song.^[5]
• Brazilian singer Badi Assad covered the song for her 2006 album Wonderland.
• Brazilian singer Danni Carlos covered the song for her 2006 album Rock ´n´ Road Movies.
• German singer Thomas Anders (formerly of Modern Talking) recorded a jazzy, lounge music cover of the song for his 2006 solo album Songs Forever.
• Another lounge cover version of the song was recorded by Berk and the Virtual Band for the 2007 album Jazz Chill, Vol. 2.
• Tanghetto, the neo-tango band based in Buenos Aires recorded and released the song as part of their El Miedo a la Libertad album in 2008. Their cover is an instrumental version, where the bandoneon takes the "role" of the lead voice.
• Wykked Wytch, a black metal band based in Miami, Florida recorded and released the song as part of their Memories of a Dying Whore album in 2008. Their cover version features guttural vocals from their female vocalist, Ipek. The cover by Wykked Wytch can also be found on Terrorizer Magazine's Fear Candy CD, Volume 43. The song was promoted with a Promo Trailer[1].
• American Christian rock singer Krystal Meyers covered the song on the 2008 Japanese release of her third album Make Some Noise.
• Ukrainian pop/rock band Lama covered the song as Світ мрій ("World of dreams") for their 2008 album Світло і Тінь ("Light and Shadow"), .
• The German Underground rapper Frauenarzt covered the sample of this song as "Feuchte Träume" on "Feuchte Träume (Gastparts 3)" in 2008.
• The melody was featured in the U96 feat. Das Bo single "Mr. DJ, Put On The Red Light" and was singing by Tryna Loules, who was released in 2006^[6].
• Sylvie Vartan covered it in French (1983) under the title "Déprime", famous for its deep rhymes.

Live cover performances

• Polish band Moonlight performed the song live in 1996. Video of that concert is included in band's DVD "Awaken Memories" (2003).
• Tori Amos covered the song live in 2003.
• Ashlee Simpson-Wentz covered the song in her 2006 U.S.A. L.O.V.E. Tour.
• Mika included a live cover performance of the song from a Hong Kong concert as part of the B-side of his single, "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) and is also included in his Live in Cartoon Motion DVD."
• Bat for Lashes recorded a cover for Jo Whiley's Live Lounge in February 2008.
• Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson covered the song as the opening song during the first leg of their 2 Worlds, 2 Voices Tour 2008 tour.
• Sophie Patterson performed it on the sixth season of Australian idol on an '80's songs episode in 2008.
• Delta Goodrem covered the song on her 2009 Australian Believe Again Tour, as a medley with her #1 single, "Predictable".
• Britney Spears sings along to Marilyn Manson's version in a video interlude during The Circus Starring: Britney Spears.
• Beyonce Knowles covered the song to add to her original song "Sweet Dreams" for her "I Am... Tour".
• The German pop-singer Judith Hildebrandt performed the song live on 23 April 2009 in the Ultimative Chart-Show^[7].
• Pink also covers the song during her shows. The song is added to her "Get the Party Started" in a remix.
• Audioslave has covered this song in a concert at the Hultsfeld Festival.

Parodies

• Ska-Core band Choking Victim recorded a version with rewritten politically conscious lyrics.
• Another ska band called Thumper recorded a cover for their 1997 album Hellfire and Damnation. Their version adds the word "fuck" to the chorus of the song.
• On the television show Strangers With Candy, Marilyn Manson's cover is spoofed by a shock rock musician named Buddah Stalin in his song "The United Hates of Escarica".

Remixes and sampling

• Drum and bass group NOISIA recorded a remix of the song.
• Rapper Nas also prominently sampled "Sweet Dreams" in his 1996 hit "Street Dreams".
• Rapper Lil' Kim sampled "Sweet Dreams" in a demo of her 1996 song "Big Momma Thang." She was forced to throw out the idea after Nas used it in his song "Street Dreams." She would eventually sample the song again in another unreleased track recorded in 1999 titled "Nobody Do It Better."
• Pink and Redman used "Sweet Dreams" in a remix of Pink's 2001 hit, "Get the Party Started".
• Tricky used the famous sample in the track "You don't wanna" in the 2001 album Blowback.
• Stefy's song "Chelsea," features a sample of "Sweet Dreams", and was featured in the soundtrack for the 2006 film John Tucker Must Die.
• American pop singer Britney Spears used a sample of the song on the song "Everybody" which appeared as an iTunes and Japan bonus track of her 2007 album Blackout. The song was produced by JR Rotem, and was used later as a B-side of her hit single "Break The Ice".
• Petey Pablo samples "Sweet Dreams" in his song "Get Me Out Of Jail".
• UK artist M.I.A. mashed "Sweet Dreams" with Pretty Tony's "Fix It in the Mix" and her own "10 Dollar" to produce the seventeenth track off Diplo and her Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape.
• Play-N-Skillz sampled and sped up the famous riff in their song Get Freaky, featuring Pitbull.
• The remix of Last Time by Canadian artist George features a riff based on Sweet Dreams, which shares the first few notes. Nozuka's song uses a different riff heavily based on "Sweet Dreams", presumably to avoid licensing costs.
• Rihanna sampled it during her major performances of "Disturbia".
• In 2009, a Malaysian rapper, DJ Altimet sampled this song as "Mimpi" (Malay for "Dream") with songstress Ning Baizura singing the hook.
• Rapper Busta Rhymes sampled the song in his 2009 single "World Go Round" featuring Estelle.
• Freestyle singer Rockell sampled the bassline and intro in her 1997 single "I Fell In Love".

Appearances in other media

• The song was used as the theme for NBC's 1996 made-for-TV thriller, Sweet Dreams, starring Tiffani Thiessen and Amy Yasbeck, using both the original Eurythmics version and the Manson cover.
• The Eurythmics version was used in the film Striptease.
• The Manson cover was featured in the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill.
• It was used as the theme song for the 2005 TV reality series, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart.
• The Manson cover was featured in the 2009 films Gamer and Trick 'r Treat.

References

External links

• YouTube - Eurythmics' music video
• YouTube - Live rehearsal 2007
• YouTube - Marilyn Manson's music video
• YouTube - Nitty Gritty - Sweet Dreams
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0185371/soundtrack