There are songs you hear with your ears — and then there are the ones you feel in your bones.
For me, “Yesterday’s Dreams” by Smokie & Chris Norman falls squarely into the second category. Every note, every word, is a gentle hand on the shoulder, turning you around to face the past you sometimes pretend you’ve forgotten.
It was 1979, and the world was changing, faster than we were ready for. But that fall, in a town that barely shows up on a map, nothing mattered more than Saturday nights, slow dances, and the ache of almost-love.
That’s when I met her — or maybe I should say, we met in a song.
She was wearing a denim jacket two sizes too big, her hair tied back with a ribbon that had seen better days. We were at the VFW hall — the kind of place where the floors creaked like they had stories of their own.
The DJ played all the usual tunes, but when “Yesterday’s Dreams” came on, something shifted. We weren’t just dancing. We were remembering — even as it was happening.
“Yesterday’s dreams, today’s broken heart…”
I didn’t understand it then, not fully. But that line… it clung to me. It still does.
We never made big promises. Life had other plans, and like so many of us, we drifted — carried off by careers, marriages, kids, and the quiet ticking of clocks.
But every once in a while, when I hear that song again — in the car, on a dusty old playlist, maybe in the back room of a diner that still plays real music — I feel seventeen. I feel seen. I remember what it meant to believe in something as fragile and beautiful as a dream.
Chris Norman’s voice wasn’t just singing — he was telling our story. And if you were there, if you ever slow-danced in the dark with a heart wide open, you know what I mean.
Nowadays, people talk about playlists and algorithms. But we had memories. We had mixtapes and late-night radio. We had songs that meant something.
And “Yesterday’s Dreams”? That was a song for the ones who almost made it… and never quite let go.
So here’s to you, if you’ve got a drawer full of old photographs, or a heart that skips a beat when a certain melody plays.
Let the young folks chase tomorrow.
We’ll keep living in yesterday’s dreams.
And honestly? That’s just fine by me.
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