Where Do You Go When You Dream?

Album: It Takes A Spark To Start A Fire (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 2019, Billie Eilish asked the question, When we all fall asleep, where do we go? on her song "Bury A Friend." Here, Chicago Soul Jazz Collective spin that sentiment into a love song, asking the lady where she ends up in her dreams. Is it Paris on a carpet ride? Up over the rainbow?

    The big question, though, is, Do you ever dream of me?
  • This is the only track on the It Takes A Spark To Start A Fire album with vocals, which are sung by a guest artist: Raul Midón, who also adds guitar.
  • The group's tenor sax player, John Fournier, wrote this song. He told Songfacts the story: "I was driving around Chicago and I got lost as I often do in an unfamiliar part of the city. I came upon a huge mural someone had painted on the side of an old building. A beautiful colorful concoction with the words 'Where do you go when you dream?' written underneath it. The title was really good and I carried it around with me for a few months waiting for a song idea that might go well with the title. I came up with this cool shuffle-type melody and groove as I was listening to a lot of old Basie band recordings and some early Ray Charles. I thought the title might be a bit clunky but it worked beautifully with the melody and fit right in rhythmically, which pleasantly surprised me.

    Once I hit on the idea of the singer sweet talking his object of affection the words came to me quickly. I tried to use phrases that Joe Williams or Ray Charles might sing and have lyrical references that people would know now but would have also known in 1965, and I think that helps give the song a classic appeal.

    The last piece of the puzzle was to find a singer who could really deliver the song and I was honored and thrilled when Raul Midón accepted my invitation. We were fortunate to find animator Iz Mozer who delivered a surreal video and the positive response to the song has been a thrill."
  • Chicago Soul Jazz Collective formed in 2017 when Marques Carroll and John Fournier were backing the singer Robbie Fulks on horns at a session. Between takes, they got to talking about the state of the world and how jazz-soul records seemed to ease the pain. Adding Amr Fahmy on Rhodes piano, Andrew Vogt on bass, Larry Brown, Jr. on guitar, and Keith Brooks II on drums, they started performing, and in 2019 released their debut album, Soulophone, which they followed in 2020 with It Takes A Spark To Start A Fire. Both albums were recorded mostly live to capture the feel of their performances.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jimmy Webb

Jimmy WebbSongwriter Interviews

Webb talks about his classic songs "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," "Wichita Lineman" and "MacArthur Park."

Sarah Brightman

Sarah BrightmanSongwriter Interviews

One of the most popular classical vocalists in the land is lining up a trip to space, which is the inspiration for many of her songs.

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.