Dream in Colour
 (Music & Lyrics by Rick Springfield and Jeff Silverman)

You wake up
To tell me that you're numb inside
That the feelings all have died
You're praying and you're saying
That you do believe
But I don't believe that's true
Everything has always been there
Nothing goes away that won't come back
You're living in a house of cards
And you're blowing down the stack

 She sleeps under a rainbow
She won't dream in colour 
She thinks that her soul is painted
Grey or black or white
Sleeping under a rainbow
She could dream in colour
Dream in colour  tonight

Glass mirror, look in
I know it's hard to see
When the one you free is you
Sleep walking, high talking
But the colours aren't real
And the things you feel don't last
You sit there looking at the sunrise
Not knowing if the day has come or gone
Wondering why it turns you off
When it never turned you on

She sleeps under a rainbow
She won't dream in colour
She thinks that her soul is painted
Grey or black or white
Sleeping under a rainbow
She could dream in colour
Dream in colour  tonight

Picking at the lock on the front door
Pulling at the shutters on the windows
But you're living in a house of shadows

Even though you're lonely you think it's you
Sitting at that table set for one
You're waiting for the guest that never comes

She sleeps under a rainbow
She won't dream in colour 
She thinks that her soul is painted
Grey or black or white
Sleeping under a rainbow
She could dream in colour 
Dream in colour  tonight

She could dream in colour
She could
She could dream in colour
She could
She could dream in colour
She could
She could dream in colour
She could
She could dream in colour
She could


(total playing time 4:32)

This song can be found on Rock of Life and Legendary.

According to US

We've now reached the point in this album where I usually stop play and go on to another Rick album. I hate to say it, but I've realized it's true! I'm so ashamed.
Here's another shallow statement, I've never really cared about what this song was about. Trying to dissect it line by line was becoming a chore to me, so I gave up going that route and figured I'd just do a quick summation of this song.

I don't know what it is about this song, but I don't like it. I'd tried listening to it several times with the thought that I'd just use a "new ear" so to speak, as if I'd never heard it before. Didn't work. It's still a fast-forward-- or for everyone else not stuck in the 80's-- skip the track song for me. Since I can't quite pin down what it is that I don't like, "Wondering why it turns you off when it never turned you on" and I don't want to dwell on that fact that it's not at the top of my list of favorites, I thought I'd jot down something resembling a review and be done with it. In the interest of trying to sound somewhat like I'm not whining, and to not bore you all in the process I decided that spelling out what I didn't like in this song would not be prudent here.

I've never seen this as a song about drug use although that is an EXCELLENT theory, and probably the closest to the truth if it is not about depression. Depression we know by now, going through as many songs of Rick's that we have, is most definitely a hot topic weaving in and out of Rick's music. Once again this master of lyric prose does his best to hide the true meaning of his words behind a mask of a relationship tune. I really thought that this was about a girl who just couldn't see the world for all the beauty it holds and Rick was trying to convince her that things are almost always more than black or white. I discovered then, that the one thing I do like about this song is the lyrics, no matter what the subject. Rick just has a way with words like no other songwriter in my opinion.  -  Michelle P.

Until recently I had never paid attention to the lyrics in the song. I only knew about the "dream in color, dream in color" part and the grey or black and white part. So when I was reading the words without the music it came as quite a surprise there was so much I had been missing. My initial impression after the first read through was it was about someone suffering from depression. I guess the "numb inside" takes me there immediately. "The things you feel don't last" - momentary feelings of happiness that are replaced for no reason with the return of the depression. "Not knowing if the day has come or gone" - sleeping a lot, staying in the house with the curtains drawn - aka "house of shadows".

You're living in a house of cards
And you're blowing down the stack

This seems to be a favorite reference for Rick - getting rid of the whole thing when one thing is wrong that can be fixed.

She sleeps under a rainbow
She won't dream in colour 

I take this to mean that her life is great, she has plenty of reason to be happy, but won't let herself, she just can't see the possibilities. I also think it's possible the she could be a he. He could be writing this about himself. I also wonder if this isn't somehow connected the "The White Room". - rlh