"Dreams"
from the album 5150
B-side: "Inside"
Released: May 1986
Recorded: 1985–1986
Studio: 5150 Studios, Studio City, California
Genre: Synth rock, hard rock, pop metal

Length: 4:20 (7" edit), 4:53 (7") & 5:07 (12")
Label: Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s): Sammy Hagar, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen & Michael Anthony

"Dreams" is a song by Van Halen released in 1986 from the album 5150. It was the second single from that album, and it reached number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that year. It was released in 7" and 12" single formats. The 7" single features the album version, while the 12" features a slightly extended one. Nine years after its original release, "Dreams" introduced the band to a new generation of fans when it appeared in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie and on its soundtrack album.

Background:
"Dreams" was written during the Sammy Hagar era of the band. It was performed during most tours featuring Hagar, including the final Hagar reunion tour. Even the Gary Cherone–headed tour supporting Van Halen III featured the song in their set-list. The song was also used to close the 2004 Democratic National Convention, played after the acceptance speech of John Kerry. It was also used as the campaign's theme song at rallies across the country in 2004. During an interview with Hagar for Rolling Stone featuring questions from fans, Hagar said that "Dreams", along with "Right Now", were his favorite Van Halen songs, with "Dreams" being his most favorite if you pushed him. The song has also been redone by Hagar by his solo band, becoming a slower, more contemplative song, performed acoustically instead of the original album's faster-paced rock arrangement.

Arrangements:
Eddie Van Halen played guitar and keyboards on the studio version of this song. During the 5150 Tour, he played the keyboards and switched to the guitar during the first solo, while Hagar played the rhythm parts before then. On later tours, he would play guitar only, while the keyboard was either played offstage by a hired performer (such as Alan Fitzgerald of Night Ranger during the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge Tour), or prerecorded material was used.

During live performances, on the chorus "We'll get higher and higher, straight up we'll climb. Higher and higher, leave it all behind", bassist Michael Anthony usually sang the second "higher" in both parts. On the studio version, Sammy Hagar sings them both. This became a standard part of the song's live performances and Eddie Van Halen would also join in the singing.

Of the album version, producer Mick Jones said: "I was able to push Sammy to new heights – literally. He was singing so high that he was hyperventilating. He almost passed out."

5150 is the seventh studio album by American rock band Van Halen. It was released on March 24, 1986, by Warner Bros. Records and was the first of four albums to be recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar, who replaced David Lee Roth. The album was named after Eddie Van Halen's home studio, 5150, in turn named after a California law enforcement term for a mentally disturbed person (a reference to Section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code).

The album hit number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, surpassing the band's previous album, 1984, which had peaked at number 2 behind Michael Jackson's Thriller album, on which Eddie made a guest appearance.

Live performances and in popular culture:
During the 5150 and OU812 tours, Eddie Van Halen played the keyboard parts (using either a Kurzweil K250 or Yamaha KX88 connected by MIDI to an OB-8 backstage) while Hagar played the guitar parts and the solo. For the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and subsequent tours, Van Halen took over the guitar parts and the keyboards were played backstage. Starting during the 1995 Balance tour, Michael Anthony and Eddie Van Halen would sing the second verse of the song during live performances. They would continue to do this on both the 1998 and 2004 tours.

The song is often a source of humor since it contains the tautological lyrics Only time will tell if we stand the test of time. In 2008, The Daily Telegraph named this the eighth worst lyric of all time.

Personnel:
Sammy Hagar – lead vocals
Eddie Van Halen – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Michael Anthony – bass, backing vocals
Alex Van Halen – drums, backing vocals

The album was remastered by Donn Landee and released on October 6, 2023 as part of The Collection II; the four studio albums with Hagar, plus an extra disc of eight rarities from this era.

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