| "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | ||||||||||
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| Single by Eurythmics | ||||||||||
| from the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) | ||||||||||
| Released | January 1983 | |||||||||
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||||||||
| Genre | Synthpop, New Wave | |||||||||
| Length | 3:35 (7" Single) 4:48 (12" Single) |
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| Label | RCA | |||||||||
| Producer | David A. Stewart | |||||||||
| Certification | Silver (BPI)[1] Gold (RIAA)[2] |
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| Eurythmics singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (or simply "Sweet Dreams") is a song by the British pop music duo Eurythmics, written by Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart. It was released as a single in early 1983, and was the title track of their album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). It is notable for being the song which provided the group with their breakthrough into commercial success and one of their biggest hits. Its striking music video helped to propel the song to number two on the UK singles chart, and number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was the fourth single released from the Sweet Dreams album in the UK and the first ever single to be released by Eurythmics in the United States.
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" is arguably Eurythmics' signature song and it is their only chart-topper in the U.S. Following its success, their previous single, "Love Is a Stranger", was re-released and also became a worldwide hit. On Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time issue in 2003, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was ranked number 356 (the group's only song on the list).[3] Eurythmics have regularly performed the song in all their live sets since 1982, and it is often performed by Lennox on her solo tours.
In 1991, the song was remixed and reissued to promote Eurythmics' Greatest Hits album. It re-charted in the UK, reaching number 48, and was also a moderate hit in dance clubs. Another remix by Steve Angello was released in France in 2006, along with the track "I've Got a Life" (peaking at number ten).
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The original recording's main instrumentation featured a sequenced analog synthesizer riff, which Stewart discovered accidentally in the studio when he played a bass track in reverse. Apart from the synthesizer, the arrangement also utilises a Movement Systems Drum Computer, a piano in the middle eight, and Lennox's multitracked harmony vocals.
* This version is different from the one found on the album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).
The music video for "Sweet Dreams" was directed by Chris Ashbrook and filmed in January 1983, shortly before the single and the album were released. The video received heavy airplay on the then-fledgling MTV channel and is widely considered a classic clip from the early-MTV era.
Lennox's striking androgynous visual image, with close-cropped, orange-colored hair, and attired in a man's suit brandishing a cane, immediately made her a household name. Her gender-bending image would be further explored in other Eurythmics videos such as "Love Is a Stranger" and "Who's That Girl?"
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart[4] | 9 |
| Belgian Singles Chart[5] | 2 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[6] | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[7] | 10 |
| French Singles Chart[8] | 1 |
| German Singles Chart[9] | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart[10] | 2 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[11] | 2 |
| Polish Singles Chart[5] | 14 |
| South African Singles Chart[12] | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[13] | 8 |
| UK Singles Chart[14] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[15] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart[16] | 36 |
| U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart[16] | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Maintstream Rock Chart[16] | 16 |
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[17] | 48 |
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[18] | 136 |
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Singles Chart[19] | 27 |
| Chart (2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Singles Chart[20] | 19 |
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[18] | 150 |
| "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" | ||||||||
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| Single by Marilyn Manson | ||||||||
| from the album Smells Like Children | ||||||||
| Released | 1995 | |||||||
| Format | CD-Single | |||||||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||||||
| Genre | Industrial metal, gothic rock, acid rock, noise rock | |||||||
| Length | 4:53 (EP), 4:25 (single) | |||||||
| Label | Interscope | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Eurythmics, Brian Hugh Warner, Jeordie White | |||||||
| Producer | Marilyn Manson & Trent Reznor | |||||||
| Marilyn Manson singles chronology | ||||||||
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Marilyn Manson released a cover version of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" as the first single from the EP, Smells Like Children. This version became an MTV staple and helped to establish the band in the mainstream. It also appears on the band's greatest hits album, Lest We Forget: The Best Of. This version is featured on the soundtracks to the 2005 documentary film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and the 2009 film Gamer. It is also featured in the films Trick 'r Treat the 1999 film House on Haunted Hill, and Wrath of the Titans. In Manson's autobiography, The Long Hard Road out of Hell, he states that Nothing Records did not want to release this as a single. They wanted to release their cover of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You", which, according to Manson, "was far too dark, sprawling and esoteric, even for some of our fans." This song was used in The Machinima Series Film Sony World The Prequel by Connor Kirkbride
Marilyn Manson added some extra lines to the lyrics that are not present in the Eurythmics version: "I wanna use you and abuse you/I wanna know what's inside you," along with "I'm gonna use you and abuse you/I'm gonna know what's inside you."
The video for Manson's cover contains several clips of Manson and bandmates in what appears to be an abandoned building. The overall video was shot with unusual filters: this was one of the first videos shot with a director, not based solely on what the band came up with. In between the clips are a number of surreal shots of Manson wearing a wedding gown, Manson wandering around an abandoned street in a tutu, birds fluttering around him and leaving droppings on his body, and of him riding a pig wearing a cowboy hat and covered with mud.
| Preceded by "Every Breath You Take" by The Police |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Eurythmics version) September 3, 1983 |
Succeeded by "Maniac" by Michael Sembello |
| Preceded by "Our House" by Madness |
Canadian RPM Singles Chart number-one single (Eurythmics version) September 10, 1983 – September 17, 1983 |
Succeeded by "Maniac" by Michael Sembello |
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