Gregg Allman wrote in My Cross to Bear that the first time he sat down at a Hammond B-3 organ he wrote Dreams. He probably messed around a bit at first, picking out A Whiter Shade of Pale and Louie Louie. Then he settled on the first three notes from Also Sprach Zarathustra and went from there.
After the 0:24 intro, Gregg sings Just one more morning, I had to wake up with the blues. He's pretty bummed out because he hasn't been able to fulfill his dreams of making it as a musician. Don't worry, Gregg, this will all change soon. Then you will be able to hook up with Cher and together you will be Allman and Woman.
Duane Allman takes control of the song at 1:42 and plays a typically excellent slide guitar solo that lasts until 4:30. Let's see if Gregg is still moping around. Ah, I think he's shaken off the blues. That's it Gregg, pull yourself together, put on a new face, climb down off the hilltop and get back in the race. Don't give up on your dreams, work hard, play that B-3 some more. Pretty soon your dreams will come true and you will be packing them in at the Fillmore East.
The Allman Brothers must have loved playing the music after the second chorus because they went through it twice, at 5:24 and 6:45. Gregg is playing a four note scale on the organ while Duane and Dickey Betts play descending runs on the guitars. It's a pretty sweet groove, although I sometimes wish they had just started it once and built it up over a few minutes instead of cycling back through the chorus. But no big deal, Dreams is still a classic and one of my favorites of theirs.
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