If you’ve ever woken up from a strange dream and thought, “What was that all about?” well, there’s good news: that odd, half-forgotten tangle might hold your next songwriting idea.
Dreams can be a goldmine for songwriters. They slip past your rational mind and your inner critic.
They throw together memories, fears, desires, symbols, and half-baked thoughts in ways your waking brain would never dare. And when you’re a songwriter, that’s exactly the kind of raw, unpredictable fuel you need.
So, how do you actually use your dreams in your writing? Let’s break it down.
Why Use Dreams in Songwriting?
Dreams are weird. That’s their power. They hand you:
- Vivid, unusual images
- Strange word pairings
- Surreal scenes and stories
- Raw emotions that cut past overthinking
When you tap into this, you can write songs that feel fresh, honest, and sometimes beautifully unsettling. Many artists, from Paul McCartney (Yesterday) to Billy Joel (The River of Dreams), have turned dream fragments into unforgettable songs.
1. Set the Intention Before Sleep
Before you go to bed, give your mind a gentle prompt. Something like: “Tonight I want to remember my dreams and find something for my songwriting.”
No pressure. Just plant the seed.
2. Keep a Dream Journal
Keep a notebook or your phone by the bed. As soon as you wake up, whether it’s in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning, scribble down anything you remember.
It might be a line of dialogue, a strange setting, an emotion, or just a single word. Don’t worry if it makes no sense. Your job is to capture it before it fades.
3. Hunt for Hooks, Phrases, or Images
When you read back over your dream notes, don’t overthink it. Just scan for anything that makes you pause:
- A weird phrase (“A door made of smoke”)
- A striking image (a staircase to nowhere)
- A vivid feeling (panic, joy, longing)
- A twist that flips reality
These can become titles, hooks, metaphors, or whole story ideas.
4. Use Dream Logic to Break Creative Ruts
If you’re stuck, try borrowing your dream’s logic:
- Twist normal lines until they feel surreal.
- Blend unrelated images the way dreams do.
- Let sudden shifts inspire new song sections.
Dreams don’t care about structure, they jump around. Let that loosen up your writing too.
5. Don’t Waste a Nightmare
Bad dreams are powerful. Some of the greatest songs come from nightmares or unsettling visions. If you wake up shaken or sad, write it down.
Turning it into a song can be cathartic and it might connect with someone who feels the same.
6. Free-Write Around One Element
Take one image or phrase from your dream and free-write for five or ten minutes. Don’t edit or plan. Just see what shows up. You might find a line or verse waiting in that mess.
7. Ground the Weirdness
Dreams are fascinating, but too much surrealism can lose people. So once you find a dreamy idea, blend it with something real: a memory, a clear feeling, a relatable situation.
That mix of the strange and the familiar is what makes dream-inspired songs so haunting and true.
Example: Dream to Song
- Dream line: “I kept knocking but the door was made of smoke.”
→ Hook idea: “Knocking on a door made of smoke…”
→ Possible theme: wanting answers you can’t find. - Recurring dream: falling.
→ Could turn into a chorus about losing control in love or life. - Dream figure: a stranger you’ve never met.
→ Might inspire a whole story song about an imaginary connection.
Tips to Make It Stick
- Write it down immediately because dreams fade fast.
- If you wake at 3am, scribble anyway. Your half-asleep handwriting is good enough.
- Voice notes work too if writing feels like too much.
- Look back through your notes every week to spot repeated themes or images.
Mining dreams isn’t about decoding them perfectly. It’s about borrowing their strangeness and emotion, then shaping that raw material into something people can feel and remember.
Next time you wake up with a head full of what seems to be half-baked rubbish, don’t roll over and forget it. Write it down, you might find the seed of your next great song.
If you try this, let me know what you discover. Better yet, share a line or two with me, I’d love to hear how your dreams sound in song.
In the meantime… Happy writing, and sweet dreams.
