Information/Write-up
The song, "Dream on the Horizon" was written in response to a Toronto-based record company's request. They were looking for Canadian talent for an album they were putting together for the 1988 Olympics in Calgary Alberta, Canada.
Craig Farraway was approached by Chartwell Records In Toronto to write a song on the subject of the Olympics. Up until that point, Farraway had only really written songs about relationships, typically what you would find on the radio back in the 80s. Craig says that he wasn't sure how to approach this type of subject, and that he didn't know much about the Olympics to begin with.
"Some nights before they contacted me, I was on my way home from being out of town, delivering a cassette of my music to my Aunt, who had a brother with connections", Says Craig. "Riding in the back seat of my parents' car, I watched the sun setting over the horizon. For some reason, I thought about there being a 'dream' on the horizon. The phrase just came to me, I mean, I had a dream to be a singer/songwriter, but it seemed so far away, just like that horizon."
Craig was awakened early a few days later, with the phone call. "Of course I agreed to write the song," says Craig, "but I was used to writing love songs, so this was a bit of a challenge for me." At age 21, and still living at home at the time, Craig consulted his Mother, who was in the kitchen making lunches. She explained the Olympic dream that athletes have, that they want to represent their country and win the Gold Metal. She explained about the torch that is carried across the country, and the hard work the Olympians face in order to compete with others from all over the globe. Craig explains, "it was a short conversation, but I got the idea. I went to my small studio in the basement, and in about 20 minutes, the song "Dream on the Horizon" was born. It was sort of autobiographical in a way. As I wrote the lyrics, I thought of my own dream to become a professional musician."
There was not much of an initial reaction when Craig delivered the song to the producers of the project. "It was a 4 track demo." he recalls. "They listened to it twice in a row, and I was only asked what drum machine I used. There was no positive or negative reaction. Very stalled, if you ask me." While leaving the meeting, Craig figured that it was a no-go.
Well, that's not what was on the minds of the producers. Not only did they happily agree to use the song, it became the title track on the album and was the lead single, possibly the only single released, Craig thinks. The album, which contained eight other tracks by Canadian musicians, including Liona Boyd, was released to record stores across Canada, along with a 45 single of "Dream on the Horizon", which was played on radio stations nation wide.
Craig performed the song live at the Torch Ceremony, at City Hall in his town.
A video was produced which was aired on Much Music, Canada's music television station at the time. The song was also used in a CBC television documentary called, "Dreams of Glory", as well as during the closing credits of the 1988 Stanley Cup hockey finals.
"It was a very exciting year for me, one of the most exciting years of my life."
Lyrics:
Try And You Can Strive For Your Dreams
Seems You Never Stop
It's An Uphill Climb
But Have You Got The Time
And Just Keep Climbing
Untill You Reach The Top
And There'll Be Times
When The World Is Not On Your Side
And You'll Cry
But You'll Always Get There(Oh...) And
There's A Dream On The Horizon!
And You'll Running Trough The Night
And If The Sun Isn't Shining
You Gotta Carry Your Own Light Yeah!
Somewhere Tonight There Is A Light Burning For You
And You Gotta Believe This Was Meant To Be
You Gotta Show The World Just What You Can Do
If There's A Stairway That You Must Climb
Don't Look Behind Take It One Step At The Time Yeah!
There's A Dream On The Horizon!
And You'll Running Trough The Night
And If The Sun Isn't Shining
You Gotta Carry Your Own Light Yeah!
Now Is The Time Fights Are On A Quarrel
The Lights Are All Green Now It's You Against The World
There's A Dream On The Horizon!
And You'll Running Trough The Night
And If The Sun Isn't Shining
You Gotta Carry Your Own Light
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