4 Classic Rock Songs From the 1980s Written in Actual Dreams

A songwriter’s mind is a wild place. At any point in time, it can come up with a tune that can bring you to tears or leave you in rapturous laughter. But not only can an artist’s mind do this while awake—it can do it in sleep as well.

And that’s just what we wanted to dive into here below. We wanted to highlight four songs from back in the day that still stand out for several reasons. Indeed, these are four classic rock songs from the 1980s written in actual dreams.

“Little Red Corvette” by Prince from ‘1999’ (1982)

One day, the rocker Prince found himself in the backseat of a pink Mercury Montclair Marauder owned by his keyboard player, Lisa Coleman. It seemed as good as any to take a nap. But that’s when the opening lyrics to his 1982 hit song “Little Red Corvette” came to him. While he was in and out of sleep in the back of the car, most of the song popped into his head. He later recorded the song in his home studio, and the rest is history.

“Every Breath You Take” by The Police from ‘Synchronicity’ (1983)

As if a bolt of lightning had struck him, British-born rocker Sting woke up in the middle of the night with a lyric in his head. It rattled around his brain, and he knew it had potential. The lyric was, “Every breath you take, every move you make.” Well, with the words still fresh in his mind, Sting ran to his piano with the idea and finished this 1983 hit song in about a half-hour. Now, it’s one of his most signature tracks.

“It’s The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” by R.E.M. from ‘Document’ (1987)

R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe is one of the most cerebral figures in rock history. He says he was almost obsessively aware of his surroundings, whether or not he was awake or asleep. Sometimes ideas or lyrics he thought of while in a dream state would end up in his band’s music. Said Stipe in 1992 to Q magazine, “I’m extremely aware of everything around me, whether I am in a sleeping state, awake, dream-state or just in day-to-day life, so [certain lyrics] ended up in [“End Of The World”] along with a lot of stuff I’d seen when I was flipping TV channels. It’s a collection of streams of consciousness.”

“You Win Again” by Bee Gees from ‘E.S.P.’ (1987)

The Bee Gees were one of the most popular bands of the 1970s and 1980s. The brother trio had fans all over the globe. But they also had songs coming to them in dreams. Indeed, both the chorus and the melody for this song came to Barry Gibb in his sleep. Later, when Barry woke up with the material, he wrote the song with his two other brothers, Robin and Maurice. Not a bad way to spend a day (and night).

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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