Day After Day #326: Don't Dream It's Over

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Don't Dream It's Over (1986)

Every once in a while, a song comes along that's so damn catchy, you never get sick of it no matter how many times you hear it. When Crowded House made its debut on the pop scene in 1986 with "Don't Dream It's Over," the song was soon everywhere, eventually reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of '87.

The New Zealand-based group was led by Neil Finn, who rock fans may have been familiar with from his time in Split Enz. After that band split up in 1984, Finn and drummer Paul Hester decided to start a new band; they were joined by bassist Nick Seymour and guitarist Craig Hooper. Originally known as the Mullanes, the band changed its name at Capitol Records' insistence; the name Crowded House came from the small apartment in Los Angeles that the label put them in while they were making the album.

"Don't Dream It's Over" was the fourth single released from the band's self-titled debut, but the first one to make a dent over here. It's a melancholy ballad, but it's wistful and light at same time.

"There is freedom within/There is freedom without/Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup/There's a battle ahead/Many battles are lost/But you'll never see the end of the road/When you're traveling with me/Hey now, hey now/Don't dream it's over/Hey now, hey now/When the world comes in/They come, they come/To build a wall between us/We know they won't win."

Finn said he wrote "Don't Dream It's Over" in a single day, when he was in an antisocial mood and Hester had invited people over. He went to a piano and came up with the line "They come to build a wall between us" and then figured out the rest of the song quickly. 

"I was contemplating the end of things: relationships and the challenges that you face," he said in an interview. "It's an exhortation to myself--and to anyone who's going through that--to not think it's the end, to keep on pushing, keep on believing. It's a song of hope, I think."

The song's success was greatly aided by MTV playing the hell out of its video and it crossed over to Adult Contemporary radio in addition to pop and rock stations.

"Now I'm towing my car/There's a hole in the roof/My possessions are causing me suspicion/But there's no proof/In the paper today/Tales of war and of waste/But you turn right over to the TV page/Hey now, hey now/Don't dream it's over/Hey now, hey now/When the world comes in/They come, they come/To build a wall between us/We know they won't win."

After the success of the "Don't Dream It's Over," Crowded House also had a big hit with "Something So Strong," which went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "World Where You Live" got decent play on rock radio. The Crowded House album went to #12 on the Billboard 200.

It was tougher to follow up such a big hit. The band's next album, 1988's Temple of Low Men, only reached #40 in the U.S., although it did hit #1 in Australia and #2 in New Zealand. The lead single "Better Be Home Soon" cracked the top 50 in the U.S., but that was a far cry from the first album's big hits.

The band took a break after the Temple of Low Men tour and Finn did some recording with his brother (and former Split Enz bandmate) Tim. When Crowded House returned to the studio and submitted some tracks to the label, they were rejected, so Neil Finn asked Tim if the band could some of the songs the two Finns recorded. He agreed, but joked that only if he could join Crowded House; Neil took him seriously and Tim became a member. The group took those songs and some others to make 1991's Woodface. The album only reached #83 in the U.S. but was successful in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Europe. Regardless, Tim left the band in the middle of the Woodface tour; both sides felt it wasn't a good fit. 

Crowded House's fourth album, 1993's Together Alone, was an international success but again didn't do well in the U.S. Hester quit the band in the middle of the album tour in 1994. The band split up in 1996, playing one final show in Sydney as a fundraiser for Sydney Children's Hospital. 

Neil Finn released two solo albums and two albums with brother Tim. Hester appeared as a recurring character on the Australian children's show The Wiggles and later had his own show on Australian TV; Hester, Neil Finn and Seymour performed together on one episode. Crowded House released an album of unreleased songs in 1999.

In March 2005, Hester was found dead in a park near his home in Melbourne. He was 46 and had been battling depression. In 2007, Finn and Seymour reformed Crowded House with Matt Sherrod and Mark Hart and released a new album. They've since released three more albums, including 2024's Gravity Stairs. The band currently consists of Finn, Seymour, producer Mitchell Froom and Finn's sons Liam and Elroy.