Simple Man, Simple Dream

Album: Black Rose (1976)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In our 2011 interview with J.D. Souther, he told us that this was his most misunderstood song. Said Souther: "It wasn't exactly sarcasm, but it certainly wasn't me. If anything, I would love to be a much simpler man with a much simpler dream. It was more like imagining myself in somebody else's shoes and just writing from there. In the way that [Warren] Zevon would take a character or voice and go with it, or the way Randy Newman would write a song that is certainly convincing as a piece of work, but you know it's not exactly the way he feels about that. Or at least it's not the only way he feels about it."
  • Linda Ronstadt, who dated Souther in the '70s, recorded this song on her 1977 album Simple Dreams. Souther says that Ronstadt was a huge influence on him as a musician: "Linda and I played music for each other constantly. She played me most of the country music that I'd been aware of, because I didn't grow up listening to country music. My parents hated country music, so we never had it in our house. My dad was a big band singer and my parents were swing kids. My dad's mother was an opera singer and I was a jazz kid. So I didn't really get onto country music till I got to California, and I never even held a guitar till I was 23 or something like that."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney Princesses

Part of Their World: The Stories and Songs of 13 Disney PrincessesSong Writing

From "Some Day My Prince Will Come" to "Let It Go" - how Disney princess songs (and the women who sing them) have evolved.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy Talent

Ben Kowalewicz of Billy TalentSongwriter Interviews

The frontman for one of Canada's most well-known punk rock bands talks about his Eddie Vedder encounter, Billy Talent's new album, and the importance of rock and roll.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.