“Music is like a dream. One that I cannot hear.”
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770–1827) German Romantic composer
Conversations (January 1804)
Quotes about dreams
A collection of quotes on the topic of wise, motivational, future, hope.
Best quotes about dreams
“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are”
Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist
Variant: Wanting to be someone else is the waste of who you are
“We had a beautiful dream and that was all.”
Marie Antoinette (1755–1793) last Queen of France prior to the French Revolution
The interest of my son is the only guide I have, and whatever happiness I could achieve by being free of this place I cannot consent to separate my self from him. I could not have any pleasure in the world if I abandoned my children.I do not even have any regrets.
Marie Antoinette to the Chevalier Jarjayes on his persuading her to escape alone from the Tower; Lettres, II. p. 433; also quoted in Marie Antoinette: The Journey (2001) by Antonia Fraser, ISBN 0307277747.
“I dream my painting, and then I paint my dream.”
Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)
As quoted in Marry Your Muse: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity (1997) by Jan Phillips, p. 176
Undated
“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
Paul Valéry (1871–1945) French poet, essayist, and philosopher
“A thousand Dreams within me softly burn”
Arthur Rimbaud (1854–1891) French Decadent and Symbolist poet
“All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.”
Edgar Allan Poe book A Dream Within a Dream
"A Dream Within a Dream" (1849).
Context: You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
“Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
C.G. Jung (1875–1961) Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist who founded analytical psychology
“You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.”
Billy Wilder (1906–2002) American filmmaker
“Nights through dreams tell the myths forgotten by the day.”
C.G. Jung book Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Source: Memories, Dreams, Reflections
Quotes about dreams
Andrzej Majewski (1966) Polish writer and photographer
Niewolnik marzy o wolności, człowiek wolny o bogactwie, bogacz o władzy, a władca o wolności.
Aphorisms. Magnum in Parvo (2000)
Michael Jackson (1958–2009) American singer, songwriter and dancer
HIStory: Past, Present & Future, Book I (1995)
“Dreaming of the person you want to be is wasting the person you already are.”
Kurt Cobain (1967–1994) American musician and artist
Liam Payne (1993) English singer and songwriter
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6422617.Liam_Payne
“I dream big because I believe I am what I think I am”
Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
Yoko Ono (1933) Japanese artist, author, and peace activist
A line written by Ono many years before, and quoted by Lennon in December 1980, as quoted in All We Are Saying : The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono (2000) by John Lennon, Yōko Ono, David Sheff, p. 16.
Source: Grapefruit: A Book of Instructions and Drawings
“During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away your dreams”
Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
Variant: I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
Dr. Seuss (1904–1991) American children's writer and illustrator, co-founder of Beginner Books
Variant: You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
“Tell the your emperor; Where my power has reached, Emperor's dreams can not reach!”
Mehmed II (1432–1481) Ottoman sultan
While Constantinople was besieged, Mehmed's response to the Byzantine ambassador
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German writer, artist, and politician
Attributed to Goethe by popular British novelist Marie Corelli in her essay "The Spirit of Work" as published in The Queen's Christmas carol : an anthology of poems, stories, essays, drawings and music / by British authors, artists and composers in 1905 by The Daily Mail of London. <br class="br">Attributed to Goethe by William Hutchinson Murray, in his book The Scottish Himalayan Expedition (1951), this has been shown to be a misattribution at "German Myth 12: The Famous 'Goethe' Quotation", Answer.com http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth12.htm and "Popular Quotes: Commitment", Goethe Society of North America http://www.goethesociety.org/pages/quotescom.html <br class="br">Misattributed <br class="br">Variant: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.
Patañjali (-200–-150 BC) ancient Indian scholar(s) of grammar and linguistics, of yoga, of medical treatises
As quoted by Wayne Dyer http://n-spire.com/archives/011802.html <br class="br">The Mahābhāṣya
Dolly Parton (1946) American singer-songwriter and actress
Variant: If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.
“Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine”
Elvis Presley (1935–1977) American singer and actor
Variant: Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.
John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) American politician, 6th president of the United States (in office from 1825 to 1829)
“Dead my old fine hopes
And dry my dreaming but still…
Iris, blue each spring”
Ome Shushiki (1669–1725) Japanese waka poet in the middle of the Edo period
Source: Japanese Haiku
Katie McGrath (1983) Irish actress
She's magic https://web.archive.org/web/20090408064322/http://sundayheraldsalon.com/salon/2008/10/shes_magic.html (April 8, 2009)
Dwayne Johnson (1972) American actor and professional wrestler
The Rock's return to WWE Raw as host of WrestleMania XXVII (14 February, 2011) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8ejiG5-BtA&feature=related.
“Never dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself, and let think.”
John Wesley (1703–1791) Christian theologian
Sermon 37 "The Nature of Enthusiasm"
Sermons on Several Occasions (1771)
Context: Beware you are not a fiery, persecuting enthusiast. Do not imagine that God has called you (just contrary to the spirit of Him you style your Master) to destroy men’s lives, and not to save them. Never dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself, and let think. Use no constraint in matters of religion. Even those who are farthest out of the way never compel to come in by any other means than reason, truth, and love.
“You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it.”
Lionel Messi (1987) Argentine association football player
Billie Eilish (2001) American singer-songwriter
"everything i wanted" · First live performance, Mexico City (12 December 2019) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgdG91aCsPU <br class="br">Singles (2017 - )
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
“If you're happy in a dream, does that count?”
Arundhati Roy book The God of Small Things
Source: The God of Small Things
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English poet, literary critic and philosopher
Source: The Complete Poems
“I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream!”
Tove Jansson (1914–2001) Finnish children's writer and illustrator
Source: Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip, Vol. 1
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
As quoted in Stories in His Own Hand: The Everyday Wisdom of Ronald Reagan (2001) https://books.google.com/books?id=9ut8fnmwVkwC&pg=PA91 edited by Kiron K. Skinner, Annelise Graebner Anderson, and Martin Anderson. p. 91 <br class="br">Post-presidency (1989&ndash;2004)
Ram Dass (1931–2019) American contemporary spiritual teacher and the author of the 1971 book Be Here Now
“Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams.”
Murasaki Shikibu book The Tale of Genji
Source: Tale of Genji, The Tale of Genji, trans. Arthur Waley, Ch. 1: Kiritsubo
“Visions are worth fighting for. Why spend your life making someone else's dreams?”
Tim Burton (1958) American filmmaker
“For I have always been a seeker, a dreamer, and a ponderer on seeking and dreaming…”
H.P. Lovecraft (1890–1937) American author
Source: Night Ocean et autres nouvelles
“Tonight, may I get so drunk in love that
I do not see any dreams!”
Suman Pokhrel (1967) Nepali poet, lyricist, playwright, translator and artist
<span class="plainlinks"> May I Not See Dreams http://learningandcreativity.com/may-i-not-see-dreams-poetry-month-special/</span> <br class="br">From Poetry
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and the first President of Turkey
İki Mustafa Kemal vardır: Biri ben, et ve kemik, geçici Mustafa Kemal... İkinci Mustafa Kemal, onu "ben" kelimesiyle ifade edemem; o, ben değil, bizdir! O, memleketin her köşesinde yeni fikir, yeni hayat ve büyük ülkü için uğraşan aydın ve savaşçı bir topluluktur. Ben, onların rüyasını temsil ediyorum. Benim teşebbüslerim, onların özlemini çektikleri şeyleri tatmin içindir. O Mustafa Kemal sizsiniz, hepinizsiniz. Geçici olmayan, yaşaması ve başarılı olması gereken Mustafa Kemal odur.
As quoted in Ataturk: First President and Founder of the Turkish Republic (2002) by Yüksel Atillasoy, p. 19
Michael Jackson (1958–2009) American singer, songwriter and dancer
Also used at his funeral (3 Sep. 2009) invitation. Quoted in "Dead stars and classic art will surround Michael Jackson " in CNN.com/entertainment (03 July 2009) http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/03/michael.jackson.funeral/index.html#cnnSTCOther1
Alexander Rybak (1986) Norwegian singer, actor, violinist, composer, pianist
"Funny Little World" (2009).
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali polymath
59 <br class="br"> The Gardener http://www.spiritualbee.com/love-poems-by-tagore/ (1915)
Elton John (1947) English rock singer-songwriter, composer and pianist
Original Sin
Song lyrics, Songs from the West Coast (2001)
Elvis Presley (1935–1977) American singer and actor
Acceptance speech for the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award (16 January 1971), published in Elvis — Word for Word: What He Said, Exactly As He Said It (1999) by Jerry Osborne, p. 188
Context: I'd like to thank the Jaycees for electing me as one of their outstanding young men. When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed, has come true a hundred times... And these gentlemen over here, these are the type of people who care, they're dedicated, and they realize that it is possible that they might be building the kingdom of heaven, it's not just too far fetched, from reality. I'd like to say that I learned very early in life that "Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain't got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend — without a song." So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.
Zhuangzi (-369–-286 BC) classic Chinese philosopher
As translated by Lin Yutang
Alternative translations
Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, a veritable butterfly, enjoying itself to the full of its bent, and not knowing it was Chuang Chou. Suddenly I awoke, and came to myself, the veritable Chuang Chou. Now I do not know whether it was then I dreamt I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. Between me and the butterfly there must be a difference. This is an instance of transformation.
As translated by James Legge, and quoted in The Three Religions of China: Lectures Delivered at Oxford (1913) by William Edward Soothill, p. 75
Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a fluttering butterfly. What fun he had, doing as he pleased! He did not know he was Zhou. Suddenly he woke up and found himself to be Zhou. He did not know whether Zhou had dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly had dreamed he was Zhou. Between Zhou and the butterfly there must be some distinction. This is what is meant by the transformation of things.
One night, Zhuangzi dreamed of being a butterfly — a happy butterfly, showing off and doing things as he pleased, unaware of being Zhuangzi. Suddenly he awoke, drowsily, Zhuangzi again. And he could not tell whether it was Zhuangzi who had dreamt the butterfly or the butterfly dreaming Zhuangzi. But there must be some difference between them! This is called 'the transformation of things'.
Once upon a time, Chuang Chou dreamed that he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting about happily enjoying himself. He didn’t know that he was Chou. Suddenly he awoke and was palpably Chou. He didn’t know whether he were Chou who had dreamed of being a butterfly, or a butterfly who was dreaming that he was Chou.
Context: Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things.
W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) Irish poet and playwright
He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/1499/ <br class="br">Variant: I have spread my dreams under your feet.<br>Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. <br class="br">Source: The Wind Among the Reeds (1899) <br class="br">Context: Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,<br>Enwrought with the golden and silver light,<br>The blue and the dim and the dark cloths<br>Of night and light and half-light,<br>I would spread the cloths under your feet:<br>But I, being poor, have only my dreams;<br>I have spread my dreams beneath your feet;<br>Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
“If you even dream of beating me, you'd better wake up and apologize.”
Muhammad Ali (1942–2016) African American boxer, philanthropist and activist
Mary Oliver (1935–2019) American writer
Variant: Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.
Source: Thirst
“America is too great for small dreams.”
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
“I confess I do not know why, but looking at the stars always makes me dream.”
Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)
“Son, are you happy?
I don't mean to pry,
but do you dream of Heaven?
Have you ever wanted to die?”
Tim Burton (1958) American filmmaker
Source: The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories
“Lose your dreams and you might lose your mind.”
Mick Jagger (1943) British rock musician, member of The Rolling Stones
“If the dream is a translation of waking life, waking life is also a translation of the dream.”
René Magritte (1898–1967) Belgian surrealist artist
“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.”
Les Brown (1945) American politician
Variant: Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living out fears.
“When all of your wishes are granted, many of your dreams will be destroyed.”
Marilyn Manson (1969) American rock musician and actor
“They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn't. I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”
Frida Kahlo (1907–1954) Mexican painter
Quoted in Time Magazine, "Mexican Autobiography" (27 April 1953)
1946 - 1953
Variant: I don't paint dreams or nightmares, I paint my own reality.
Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) Portuguese poet, writer, literary critic, translator, publisher and philosopher
Não sou nada.
Nunca serei nada.
Não posso querer ser nada.
À parte isso, tenho em mim todos os sonhos do mundo.
Álvaro de Campos (heteronym), Tabacaria ["The Tobacconist's" or "The Tobacco Shop"] (15 January 1928)
Variant translations:
I am nothing.
Never shall be anything.
Cannot will to be anything.
This apart, I have in me all the dreams of the world.
trans. Jonathan Griffin, in Selected Poems (Penguin Books, 1974), p. 111
I am not nothing.
I will never be nothing.
I cannot ever want to be nothing.
Apart from that, I have in me all the dreams of the world.
In Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations (2005), p. 649
I am nothing.
I shall never be anything.
I cannot even wish to be anything.
Apart from this, I have within me all the dreams of the world.
Variant: I am nothing.
I will never be anything.
I cannot wish to be anything.
Bar that, I have in me all the dreams of the world.
Henry Kissinger (1923–2023) United States Secretary of State
"The Next Steps With Iran" in The Washington Post (31 July 2006), p. A15 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/30/AR2006073000546.html <br class="br">2000s
Daniel Radcliffe (1989) English actor
About getting the part of Harry Potter http://www.danradcliffe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23&Itemid=28
“I dream of silent verses where the rhyme
Glides noiseless as an oar.”
Richard Aldington (1892–1962) English writer and poet
From At the British Museum Collected Poems, 1929
Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America
2010s, 2016, July, 2016 Republican National Convention (21 July 2016)
