The song “Wakin’ Up Dreaming” is a stream-of-consciousness performance where Shania Twain imagines herself as a 1980s rock goddess in the mold of Cyndi Lauper. She talks about flying higher than she had ever flown before. She talks to another person throughout the song, although she doesn’t identify who it is. Because of the line, “Every moment holding you is a moment stolen,” however, it’s quite likely that the other person is a lover. She is so overwhelmingly happy in this song that the surreal nature of the subject she’s describing is infectious, leaving the listener to want to dream right along with her.

A Big Star With Big Dreams

Twain appeared on the British talk show “The One Show” and talked about dreaming. She said that she loved to remember her dreams when she wakes up. But, she said that she enjoys daydreaming more because you have more control over what you dream when you’re awake. She said that she sometimes dreams that she’s Prince or Lauper. In the video, she even dons Lauper’s signature hair colors of red and pink. She also said that she wanted to be all kinds of crazy and fun things in her dreams that she’s never quite been able to be in real life.

In talking to “Entertainment Tonight,” Twain also said that those dreams of hers were crucial to her surviving during dark times in her life, especially the times as a poor child growing up hungry a lot of the time. She has leveraged those dreams into a sparkling career that has made her the No. 1 female country-and-western music artist of all time. She said that making the album that included “Wakin’ Up Dreaming” was great fun and that she enjoys just waking up and letting the dreams happen.

New Music From Twain

Twain is 57 years old, so she came of age in the late 1970s and 1980s. She told Rolling Stone that when she made “Wakin’ Up Dreaming,” she wanted to imbue the fun of 1980s rock with a 21st-century edge. The huge fake eyelashes and big teased hair are pure 80s, but the sparkling magenta pants and frilly blouses would be right at home in the glam magazines of today. Twain also hadn’t released any new music at all for five years when she released “Wakin’ Up Dreaming,” and it’s a triumphant return for the superstar who has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide in her legendary career.

Lyrics

Do you know I adore you
A million ways to show you
I do (I do, ooh ooh)
I do (I do, ooh ooh)

Every moment holding
You, is a moment stolen
It’s true (it’s true, ooh ooh)
It’s true (it’s true, ooh ooh)

Oh, woah, woah
Gotta be now or never
Oh, woah, woah
Time ain’t waitin’ forever

So let’s start waking up dreamin’
And dress up crazy like superstars
There ain’t no shakin’ this feelin’
Tonight we’re makin’ our way to Mars

Way up higher than we’ve ever been
No, we won’t stop at the ceilin’
So let’s keep waking up dreamin’

Now is the perfect timing
You know it’s worth us findin’
The rush (the rush, ooh ooh)
The rush (the rush, ooh ooh)

What if there’s no tomorrow
I promise I won’t let go, no
Matter what (matter what, ooh ooh)
Matter what (matter what, ooh ooh) oh

Oh, woah, woah
Gotta be now or never
Oh, woah, woah
Time ain’t waiting forever

So let’s start waking up dreamin’
And dress up crazy like superstars
There ain’t no shakin’ this feelin’
Tonight we’re making our way to Mars

Way up higher than we’ve ever been
No, we won’t stop at the ceilin’
So let’s keep waking up dreamin’

Way up higher than we’ve ever been
No, we won’t stop at the ceilin’
So let’s keep waking up dreamin’

Can’t live my best life without you, baby
Don’t think I could carry on
We’re stronger the longer we can make it

Oh, way-oh, way-oh

So let’s start waking up dreamin’
And dress up crazy like superstars
There ain’t no shaking this feelin’
Tonight we’re making our way to Mars

Way up higher than we’ve ever been
No, we won’t stop at the ceilin’
So let’s keep waking up dreamin’

Way up higher than we’ve ever been
No, we won’t stop at the ceilin’
So let’s keep waking up dreamin’

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David Stewart / Jessica Agombar / Shania Twain

Waking Up Dreaming lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Editor’s Note: This article was first published September 25th, 2022 and last updated April 5th, 2023.

Listeners of music from the 2020’s, might also appreciate the song You Proof by Morgann Wallen.