Lonesome Dreams (song)

## "Lonesome Dreams"

**"Lonesome Dreams"** is the title track on the album *Lonesome Dreams* and the third book in the timeline of George Ranger Johnson's adventure novel series.

In "Lonesome Dreams," Huron describes haunting and lonesome dreamscapes, where he lands on an island coast where the only souls he sees are ghosts. The landscape initially feels familiar to him, and though he searches all day, he never finds anyone. As the song goes on, the place feels less and less familiar to Huron and he feels exceedingly lost and lonely.

## Background and influences

   Postcard X shows a figure running down a road and is captioned with "Just the rocks and the trees in my lonesome dreams, and a road that don't ever end" which are lyrics in "Lonesome Dreams" though the postcard music is an early version of "The Yawning Grave."

   The song and video are based on George Ranger Johnson's adventure novel of the same name. Page 7 of the book is available, which gives some impression of Johnson's writing style:

> “Lonesome Dreams:
>
>
> The moments amidst the light of dying embers what pulse as a heart may upon the low corners of the prairie; the moments when you put your legs right inter the middle a the pit without catchin’ aflame; when you could howl like to a lone wolf lost out of the mountains or shoot yerself in the foot just ter see a spit of fire and blood glitter yer life into the approaching night; when you know the warmth in your legs hain’t spreadin’ no higher; when you fall into sleep halfway to incineration, pistol upon yer chest, eavesdroppin’ on the old wind and yer horse’s shuffling as he communes with the effortless dark.
>
>
>
> And whence you awake on a grassy shoreline, sher isn’t much to reach out and rest a hand upon the shoulders of the dead. They don’t notice much, just the grit of the desert where yer both headin’. Smoke arises from yer boots enough to blend in, but there ain’t no poet ready fer ta lead you out from the shades. Ponder the cloud come up out ‘cher own two feet. Everyone has a face they see in it, and sher as the celestials, it’ll be hers. And you’ll need to stride right through it ‘afore daybreak can” [sic]
>
>

Ben Schneider explained that the song "chronicles Huron's first encounter with Admiral Blaquefut."

## Music video

In the music video, Huron washes up on a sandy shoreline. He has a photograph of an admiral and a map with him. He searches the island and encounters Blaquefut, the man in the portrait, speaking to three ghosts. Blaquefut initially tries to attack Huron, but he shows him the photograph, which stops the assault. Huron and Blaquefut then spend time together, looking at the map and the stars for navigational purposes, and building a raft, which they use to leave the island. The song marks the "beginning of their epic journey and friendship."

## Annotated lyrics

I land on an island coast

Where the only souls I see are ghosts

I run through a wooded isle

And I chase the sunlight mile after mile

And I feel like I know this place

As the tree line breaks into wide-open space

I stare at a bright red sun

Though I search all day, I never find anyone

I walk on a winding road

In the deep of the night, near the edge of the known

I pass by a moonlit lake

And a cold wind blows and my bones start to shake

And I feel I should know this place

As the road winds on into wide-open space

The wind plays a haunting tone

As I make my way through the night all alone

I been dreaming again of a lonesome world

Where I'm lost and I've got no friends

Just the rocks and the trees in my lonesome dreams

And a road that don't never end

I been dreaming again of a lonesome world

Where I'm lost and I'm on my own

What am I destined to be? It's a mystery baby

Just please don't leave me alone

I lie under starlit sky

And the seasons change in the blink of an eye

I watch as the planets turn

And the old stars die and the young stars burn

But I don't really know this place,

And it's lonesome here in the wide-open space

Can it be as real as it seems?

Maybe this time I won't wake from the dream

I been dreaming again of a lonesome world

Where I'm lost and I've got no friends

Just the rocks and the trees in my lonesome dreams

And a road that don't never end

I been dreaming again of a lonesome world

Where I'm lost and I'm on my own

What am I destined to be? It's a mystery baby

Just please don't leave me alone

## Potential lyrical references

1. ↑ "Ends of the Earth" - "Oh, there's an island where all things are silent"

## Sources

1. ↑ A 2013 version of Johnson's website indicates the track order of the album *Lonesome Dreams* is the story chronology.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 NPR interview on "Lonesome Dreams"

"Ends of the Earth"
"**Time To Run**"
"****Lonesome Dreams****"
"The Ghost on the Shore"

"**She Lit a Fire**"
"I Will Be Back One Day"
"The Man Who Lives Forever"
"Lullaby"

"Brother (Last Ride)"
"In the Wind"
**Bonus track:**
"Setting Sun"