--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Dreams are like songs. Their task is not…" description: "\"“Dreams are like songs. Their task is not to offer an exact image of the world, but a suggestion of it.”\" — Bernard Cornwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/bernard-cornwell-1849_dream_dreams-are-like-songs-their-task-is-not_2800136.jpg" --- # Dreams are like songs. Their task is not to offer an exact… ![“Dreams are like songs. Their task is not to offer an exact image of the world, but a suggestion of it.” quote by Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/bernard-cornwell-1849_dream_dreams-are-like-songs-their-task-is-not_2800136.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/bernard-cornwell-1849_dream_dreams-are-like-songs-their-task-is-not_2800136.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/bernard-cornwell-1849_dream_dreams-are-like-songs-their-task-is-not_2800136.jpg) > ““Dreams are like songs. Their task is not to offer an exact image of the world, but a suggestion of it.”” [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dreams suggest possibilities rather than depict reality, guiding imagination. **In simple terms:** Dreams offer suggestions, not exact images. Key Takeaway Use dreams as creative inspiration. Themes creativity psychology literature Mood imaginative reflective Type creativity psychology When to use this quote - writing workshops - design brainstorming - goal setting Key Concepts artistic vision problem solving personal reflection Questions to Reflect On - How can one translate vague dreams into concrete ideas? - What techniques sharpen dream interpretation? A Different Perspective Dreams can be vague. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Dreams Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams-like/) [Excalibur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excalibur/) [Like Songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-songs/) [Songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songs/) [Songs Task](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songs-task-3444375/) ## Related quotes > [I especially like the songs Hurry Up and The Curse Of Castle Dragon, and I often include them in my live show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gilbert/i-especially-like-the-songs-hurry-up-and-the-curse-of-castle-dragon/) [Paul Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gilbert/) > [“It’s true—there are only, like, two songs about rainbows, including that one. He should be asking why there are so few songs about rainbows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-cory/it-s-true-there-are-only-like-two-songs-about-rainbows-including-that/) [Cheryl Cory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-cory/) > [I don't like when songs are distinctly happy or sad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-g/i-don-t-like-when-songs-are-distinctly-happy-or-sad/) [Alex G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-g/) > [Everything needs to be catchy because a listener is either going to stay with the song or lose interest in the first five seconds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-blanco/everything-needs-to-be-catchy-because-a-listener-is-either-going-to/) [Benny Blanco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-blanco/) > [I think you want to write a song that's like the songs you are into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-finn/i-think-you-want-to-write-a-song-that-s-like-the-songs-you-are-into/) [Craig Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-finn/) > [I like songs. It's a weakness that I have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mani-ratnam/i-like-songs-it-s-a-weakness-that-i-have/) [Mani Ratnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mani-ratnam/) > [I've got a few reasons why I've got to maintain stability. I've got into wanting people to hear my music. I've got something I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sly-stone/i-ve-got-a-few-reasons-why-i-ve-got-to-maintain-stability-i-ve-got/) [Sly Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sly-stone/) > [Some people don't like my songs because they think they're too simple or easy or not that thought-out. I feel like the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langhorne-slim/some-people-don-t-like-my-songs-because-they-think-they-re-too-simple/) [Langhorne Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langhorne-slim/) > [If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/if-dreams-are-like-movies-then-memories-are-films-about-ghosts/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [“Dreams are like children. They want for attention if they are to flourish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-goff/dreams-are-like-children-they-want-for-attention-if-they-are-to/) [J.D. Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-goff/) > [In particular, the film 'Excalibur' was definitely one of those films that was instrumental in me realizing that I wanted to become an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-hunnam/in-particular-the-film-excalibur-was-definitely-one-of-those-films/) [Charlie Hunnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-hunnam/) > [I did commentary with Excalibur. It is an extremely, extremely difficult job. It gave me a whole new appreciation to how on point you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-spears/i-did-commentary-with-excalibur-it-is-an-extremely-extremely/) [Shawn Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-spears/) > [“At least I’m the one leaving. It’s so much easier to leave than to be left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-emunds/at-least-i-m-the-one-leaving-it-s-so-much-easier-to-leave-than-to-be/) [Stefan Emunds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-emunds/) > [“Arthur without Excalibur was still Arthur.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendare-blake/arthur-without-excalibur-was-still-arthur/) [Kendare Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendare-blake/) > [“Wake up! You’re a sacred soul and glory is yours for the taking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-emunds/wake-up-you-re-a-sacred-soul-and-glory-is-yours-for-the-taking/) [Stefan Emunds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-emunds/) ## More by Bernard Cornwell > [“They laughed, but I was melancholy. The remnants of Rome always make me sad, simply because they are proof that we slide inexorably towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/they-laughed-but-i-was-melancholy-the-remnants-of-rome-always-make-me/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Some mothers soften their sons, but Osbert was motherless and I had raised him hard because a man must be hard. The world is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/some-mothers-soften-their-sons-but-osbert-was-motherless-and-i-had/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Enemies come soon enough in a mans life,' he told me, 'you don't need to seek them out”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/enemies-come-soon-enough-in-a-mans-life-he-told-me-you-don-t-need-to/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Wyrd bi ful aræd.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/wyrd-bi-ful-ar-d/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“‎"He sang the song of the sword, keening as he fed his blade, and Rollo, standing thigh-deep in the creek, ax swinging in murderous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/he-sang-the-song-of-the-sword-keening-as-he-fed-his-blade-and-rollo/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“A battle in the shield wall. It's smelling your enemy's breath while he tries to disembowel you with an axe, it's blood and shit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/a-battle-in-the-shield-wall-it-s-smelling-your-enemy-s-breath-while/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [I'll happily mentor anyone who wants mentoring, and most of that goes on by internet rather than face to face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/i-ll-happily-mentor-anyone-who-wants-mentoring-and-most-of-that-goes/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Nor did he care about his childhood, for certainly I never heard him speak of it. I once questioned him about his early days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/nor-did-he-care-about-his-childhood-for-certainly-i-never-heard-him/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Calix meus inebrians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/calix-meus-inebrians/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“And we screamed. We screamed our war cry, our shout of slaughter, our joy of being men in battle who are driven by terror.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/and-we-screamed-we-screamed-our-war-cry-our-shout-of-slaughter-our/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [It's fun. I sit down every day and tell stories. Some folk would kill to get that chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/it-s-fun-i-sit-down-every-day-and-tell-stories-some-folk-would-kill/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“You will tell him that Uhtred of Bebbanburg is in a mood to kill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/you-will-tell-him-that-uhtred-of-bebbanburg-is-in-a-mood-to-kill/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Priests come to my home beside the northern sea where they find an old man, and they tell me I am just a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/priests-come-to-my-home-beside-the-northern-sea-where-they-find-an/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“An English man-at-arms had his helmet split open and his skull with it, so that he rode wavering from the fight, blood pouring down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/an-english-man-at-arms-had-his-helmet-split-open-and-his-skull-with/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) > [“Instinct is everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-cornwell/instinct-is-everything/) [Bernard Cornwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) [Explore all 171 Bernard Cornwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-cornwell/) ## More Dream quotes > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I have long felt that the way to keep children out of trouble is to keep them interested in things. Lecturing to children is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/i-have-long-felt-that-the-way-to-keep-children-out-of-trouble-is-to/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“His dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/his-dream-must-have-seemed-so-close-that-he-could-hardly-fail-to/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) [Browse all 26,527 Dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Dreams are like songs. 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