Dreams

There are many "dreams can come true" songs, but few as literal as this one, which is filled with affirmations as Gabrielle sings about finding the man of her dreams.

"Dreams" started as a poem about how every time Gabrielle took a step closer to her dreams of singing and writing songs, they seemed to move further out of her grasp. "There were various incidents," she told The Guardian. "When I was singing covers in a club someone told me I'd never amount to anything more. When I was unemployed a guy saw that my middle name was Gabrielle and said: 'I can't imagine that name in lights, can you?' People said I couldn't be a star with a lazy eyelid. So it was about being down to me whether I was going to sink or swim. Did I believe their negativity or did I believe in myself?"

This was originally recorded in 1991 by Gabrielle as a demo with a sample of the guitar of Tracy Chapman's recording of "Fast Car." Produced by Victor Trim, it was initially a limited release on the Victim label before being picked up by Jetstar. Trim and Gabrielle subsequently fell out over business matters but the track began to receive some airplay. However it was deleted after objections by Tracy Chapman to the sample of "Fast Car." The song subsequently was picked up by an A&R man at London's Go! Beat records and they contacted Gabrielle. After signing her, the track was re-recorded without the Chapman sample and it became an international hit.