Fig (ft. Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boy) – I Heard It In My Dream

When I was younger, songs played in my dreams every night for almost a whole year. Research told me that the lyrics to these songs may be trying to uncover some buried feeling or subconscious message. I was told that only I would understand the meaning of these lyrics. 

All these years later, I still have no idea what the songs were trying to tell me. I still think often, however, about their meaning. 

It makes sense, I suppose, that Fig’s new single, ‘I Heard It In My Dream’, is evoking the memories of these dreams. The song is dream-like in name, lyrical content, and sound; digging through memories of conversations that may or may not have actually happened, trying to make sense of a relationship. 

‘I Heard It In My Dream’ has an immediate familiarity, with Fig’s signature wobbly synth sounds and a slow, hypnotic rhythm. Frontman Tim Burnett has an effortless croon that weaves perfectly with guest vocalist Caitlin Harnett’s Steve Nicks-esque harmonies. 

The two trade laments and one-liners (“I hope your family’s rich, I think they’ve gotta pay us too”) that never really establish whether the song exists in reality or not (“I wish I was way back, alive and well // Maybe I am, I can never tell”). 

The song seems as though it’s about to fade from existence before it punches back with one of the most beautiful lines: “I thought I would survive, a bit past sixty-five // Oh but a fun life takes its toll, and now I gotta beg for more”. 

They say the true meaning of a dreamt song’s lyrics will only ever be known to the dreamer, so maybe I’m completely off the mark, but here the song’s surreal lyrics begin to uncover their significance. All the toing and froing, the mixed feelings and buried sentiments of the song ultimately give way to a feeling of joy.

I never got much from the songs in my dreams, but I got a hell of a lot from this one. 

Check out the video for ‘I Heard It In My Dream’ above.