Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream


"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" is a song written by American folk singer-songwriter Ed McCurdy in 1950. Due to McCurdy's connection with fellow musicians, it was common in repertoires within the folk music community. The song had its first album release when Pete Seeger recorded it as "Strangest Dream" for his 1956 album Love Songs For Friends & Foes. Seeger would later re-visit the song for his 1967 album Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and other Love Songs. The strong anti-war theme of the song led it to be recorded by multiple other artists, including The Weavers, Joan Baez, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, and Johnny Cash who released two versions of the song during the 2000s.
The song has been recorded by over 50 acts in English, and has also been adapted into several different languages, the most successful of these translations being a Swedish version by Cornelis Vreeswijk, a song that he recorded live in late 1964 along with Fred Åkerström and Ann-Louise Hanson, and released in 1965 on their album Visor och oförskämdheter. In mid-1966, Swedish rock group the Hep Stars released a version of it as a single; it became their first Swedish-language song and peaked at number 2 on Kvällstoppen and number 1 on Svensktoppen. Danish songwriter Thøger Olesen translated it into Danish in 1965, and German singer-songwriter Hannes Wader translated it to German in 1979 for his own studio album Wieder Unterwegs.
Written during the prelude of the Korean War, "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" remains one of the most influential anti-war songs written, as such it is considered McCurdy's signature song and is still referenced in popular culture to this day. Although only successful in a few languages, it was translated into close to 80 languages. It acts as the theme song for the Peace Corps.

Synopsis

"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" tells the tale of a narrator, who during one night slept and had a dream. In the dream, he encountered a room filled with men signing papers that stated "They'd never fight again". Following the ratifying and widespread publication of it, the men put aside their differences, joining hand-in-hand, bowing their heads, and praying. The lyrics then go on to describe the reaction of the public, which is joyfulness, with citizens dancing on the street while weapons and army equipment could be spotted on the ground. The song ends with the opening verse, which is "Last night I had the strangest dream, I'd never dreamed before. I dreamed the world had all agreed, to put an end to war."

Background

"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" was initially composed by McCurdy during the spring of 1950, during a period in time in which there was an ever-looming threat of war, with a big Red Scare being spread by politicians such as Joseph McCarthy. The song was one of McCurdy's first original compositions. It was written in a period of McCurdy's life in which he resided in Canada, where he moved in 1948. It was here that McCurdy was introduced to folk music by artists such as Oscar Brand, Josh White, and Pete Seeger, a genre he would embrace on his first album by the name of Sings Canadian Folksongs in 1949. Following the release of this album, McCurdy migrated back to the United States, settling in New York City's Greenwich Village. He had a residency at a local club, where he often played together with Seeger. There he met another folk act, the Weavers, and introduced them to the song at a hotel.
The Weavers quickly incorporated "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" into their live repertoire, with a live version being recorded on April 1, 1960, for their live album The Weavers at Carnegie Hall Vol. 2, released in 1963. Seeger himself also featured the song on his live repertoire. McCurdy, the Weavers, and Seeger were the first three to perform the song as the lyrics were not published for another year; McCurdy first released them in a July 1951 copy of the folk publication Sing Out! One of the earliest recordings of the track was a live recording captured at one of Seeger's Reed College performances in 1950. While not officially issued, it was widely circulated as a Bootleg recording. McCurdy would also feature the song as a staple of his live performances, having it on his setlist for a long period of time.
Pete Seeger had been introduced to McCurdy in 1949, and "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" in 1950. As a result of this, the song stayed in Seeger's live repertoire. Seeger would play the song, but besides a live bootleg, it was never released on a studio album for six years until it was recorded on March 8, 1956, and subsequently issued on Love Songs For Friends & Foes, which was released that same year. The album was a minor hit and together with the Weavers, Seeger helped popularizing "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" to become one of the most well-known recordings. The arrangement of the song features Seeger unaccompanied, singing and playing banjo on the recording, which clocks in at approximately two minutes and thirty seconds. In his review for the album, AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann states that the album "was the most political album Seeger assembled", noting the song's inclusion on the record. Seeger would later re-record "Last Night I Had the Strangest" dream for his 1967 studio album Waist Deep in the Big Muddy and Other Love Songs, 11 years after it was first officially released on record.

The Kingston Trio version

Background

By mid-1963, American folk trio the Kingston Trio had started recording their fourteenth studio album, Time to Think, which was finished by December of that year. "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" was an emotional song for John Stewart and Nick Reynolds; they could barely sing it without crying. The album was released that same month by Capitol Records, reaching number 18 on the Billboard 200. Despite reaching the top-20, Time to Think became their lowest charting album since 1962's New Frontier, which had reached number 16 the previous year. This prompted Captiol records to release singles from the album, starting with 1963's "Ally Ally Oxen Free", which was written by Rod McKuen and Jacques Brel. This single became a failure, reaching only number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 60 on Cashbox 100.

Release

In an attempt to once again reach the top-10, Capitol issued "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" as the second single from Time to Think, released on February 17, 1964, with the folk ballad "The Patriot Game" on its B-side. It had the catalogue number of CL 15341. Although heavily promoted, including occupying an ad occupying an entire page of the February 29, 1964, issue of Billboard magazine, it failed to chart on either the Hot 100 or the Cashbox 100. Most of their earlier recordings had reached both charts, but "Strangest Dream" and Time to Think marked their declining popularity. The follow-up "Seasons in the Sun" was also a chart failure.

Personnel

The Kingston Trio

  • Bob Shane – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Nick Reynolds – harmony vocals, tenor guitar
  • John Stewart – harmony vocals, banjo

    Additional personnel

  • Dean Reilly – bass
  • John Staubard – guitar

    Simon and Garfunkel version

Background

American folk duo Simon & Garfunkel knew McCurdy, as he had been a host at The Bitter End, and had therefore heard him play the song. As a result, it was later decided that "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" would be recorded by the duo for their first album. Upon conceiving Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. record producer Tom Wilson requested that the album would be composed of six covers and six original songs. The song, along with "He Was My Brother", "The Sun Is Burning", and the title track "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." were all recorded on March 17, 1964, at Columbia Studios in New York City.

Release

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was released on October 19, 1964, by Columbia Records to critical and commercial indifference, selling only 3000 copies upon release. This led Simon & Garfunkel to temporarily break up until "The Sound of Silence" began rising the charts in late 1965. "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" received mixed reviews. In their review of the album, Entertainment Focus writes that "it ties it to another American musical tradition, but there’s no obvious disconnect – already it’s clearly the vocals of the two that go together perfectly, that define their overarching sound." In his book Paul Simon: An American Tune, Cornel Bonca writes that the song along with "The Sun Is Burning" are bad examples of political folk-songs due to being shallow requests for peace. In a review for AllMusic, Matthew Greenwald wrote that while they weren't as good as they later would be, their rendition of the song emphasizes on the duo's "unique and tight harmony vocals.
For unknown reasons, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was released as Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream in Japan in 1966. This album was released by CBS Records and had the catalogue number of YS-711-C. For this album, CBS reshuffled the track listing, featuring "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" as the opening song, as opposed to "You Can Tell The World" which opens Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.. The original album was first issued in Japan in 1969, almost five years after it was first issued.

Personnel

Simon & Garfunkel

had incorporated "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" into his live repertoire during the late 1960s, occasionally performing it. In 2003, Cash recorded it as part of his American series in 2003, during the sessions for American V: A Hundred Highways. Although Cash died on September 12, 2003, at the age of 71, the recording was not released for another six years, until it was finally issued on American VI: Ain't No Grave on February 23, 2010, his final in the American series. Cash's rendition of the song heavily features string arrangements, but is otherwise completely acoustic, with Cash and a couple of other guitarists performing it on acoustic guitar.
"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" received positive feedback from critics. Thom Jurek wrote in his AllMusic review of the album that the song "is a true anti-war song that serves as a testimonial." However, Stephen M. Deusner writes in his review that not even Cash could record the track without sounding slightly preposterous. In his book Johnny Cash International: How and Why Fans Love the Man in Black, Michael Hinds writes that the song only adds confusion to Cash's uncertain stance on the Vietnam War. Tony Tost writes that Cash had a contradictory position on war overall with the song. Cash had previously recorded the song live on December 5, 1969, for his 2002 live album Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden. Richie Unterberger calls the performance spiritual in his review for the album.