Working on a Dream is the sixteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released on January 27, 2009 through Columbia Records. It has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, with over 585,000 in the United States as of September 2010.
The album was officially announced, along with a track listing, on November 17, 2008. The album first began selling in Germany and Ireland, on January 23.
The album came out of songwriting and recording that Springsteen continued with towards the close of his previous work, 2007's Magic, as the band worked on a video for one of that album's songs. "What Love Can Do" was written, in Springsteen's words, as a "love in the time of Bush" meditation, but felt like the start of something new rather than a candidate for Magic. Encouraged by his 2000s producer Brendan O'Brien, Springsteen decided to start work on a new album and wrote "This Life," "My Lucky Day," "Life Itself," "Good Eye," and "Tomorrow Never Knows" during the next week. They were then recorded with the E Street Band members during breaks on their 2007–2008 Magic Tour, with most being finished in just a few takes. This all reflected a faster pace of producing new music than Springsteen had been known for in the past; Springsteen said, "I hope Working on a Dream has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done." As with Magic, most of the tracks were first recorded with a core rhythm section band comprising Springsteen, drummer Max Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent, and pianist Roy Bittan; other members' contributions were then added subsequently.
"Working on a Dream" is the title song to, and first single from, Bruce Springsteen's 2009 album Working on a Dream. At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards it won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo.
The song's sunny lyric develops what Rolling Stone called "a rare and timely moment of unabashed optimism" for Springsteen, possibly connected to the impending arrival of the Barack Obama administration:
The title phrase is present in both the verses and chorus, and occurs some twenty times altogether in the song. The arrangement is mid-tempo, propelled by an acoustic guitar with organ and electric guitar washes throughout; the glossy Brendan O'Brien production also features partly submerged "la-la" backing vocals. The instrumental break features Springsteen whistling against a bari sax line.
"Working on a Dream" was first performed during Springsteen's November 2, 2008 appearance in Cleveland for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, in an acoustic performance accompanied by Patti Scialfa. A chopped-up airing of the recorded version first appeared during the November 16 NBC Sunday Night Football broadcast at halftime.
A Dream may refer to:
The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse is the seventh studio album by American rapper Jay-Z, released on November 12, 2002. The album serves as the sequel to his sixth album The Blueprint. Parts of the album were later reissued as The Blueprint 2.1 in 2003.
This album, like Jay-Z's previous four, debuted at #1 with over 545,000 units shipped in its first week of sales, and has sold 2,117,000 units as of February 2012 in the U.S.
"A Dream" is a single by rapper Common from the soundtrack to Freedom Writers. It is produced by will.i.am, who also sings the song's chorus. The song heavily samples Martin Luther King Jr.'s historical "I Have a Dream" speech, which relates to the song's lyrics about racism. The single release of "A Dream" includes two will.i.am tracks, "Colors" and "Bus Ride."
The video for the single contains scenes from the Freedom Writers movie (many of which feature Hilary Swank, its lead actress), mixed with partially animated sequences featuring will.i.am singing on a podium and Common rapping in hallways and rooms in front of stylized images of both the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement. Television footage of the "I Have a Dream" speech is displayed on monitors throughout the video. The imagery is intended to reinforce the song's messages of perseverance in the face of discrimination, and hopes for a more racially tolerant world.
Out here the nights are long, the days are lonely
I think of you and I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Now the cards I've drawn's a rough hand, darling
I straighten the back and I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Come on!
I'm working on a dream
Though sometimes it feels so far away
I'm working on a dream
And I know it will be mine someday
Rain pourin' down, I swing my hammer
My hands are rough from working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Let's go!
I'm working on a dream
Though trouble can feel like it's here to stay
I'm working on a dream
Well our love will chase trouble away
Alright!
[whistling interlude]
That's professional whistling right there!
I'm working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm working on a dream
Our love will make it real someday
The sun rise up, I climb the ladder
The new day breaks and I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
I'm working on a dream
Hey!
I'm working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm working on a dream
Our love will make it real someday
I'm working on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm working on a dream