"How Can We Hang On to a Dream" is a song composed and recorded by

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...

. It was Hardin's first single after he signed with

Verve Folkways Verve Forecast is a record label formed as a division of Verve Records to concentrate on pop, rock, and folk music. Founding Jerry Schoenbaum of Verve and Moe Asch of Folkways created Verve Folkways in 1964 to take advantage of the popularit ...

, released around six months before his debut album ''

Tim Hardin 1 ''Tim Hardin 1'' is the debut album by folk artist Tim Hardin, released in 1966 on Verve Records. History ''Tim Hardin 1'' contains one of his most well-known and frequently covered songs, "Reason to Believe"a notable hit for Rod Stewart in 1971. ...

''. The single was titled "Hang On to a Dream" in some territories. The song has been successfully covered by many artists, including charting versions by

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

and

Rudy Bennett Rudy Bennett (born Cornelis Johannes Rudy van den Berg, 27 December 1942) is a Dutch singer, who led the Nederbeat groups The Motions and Galaxy-Lin. Career Bennett formed The Motions with Robbie van Leeuwen, Henk Smitskamp, and Sieb Warner. ...

. Hardin's own version reached No. 50 on the UK Singles Chart. In the Netherlands, where the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

chart aggregated Hardin's version with a cover by the Dutch singer Rudy Bennett as one entry, the song reached No. 4 in 1987.

Charts

Covers

Many covers of the song have been recorded by prominent artists of the age, including a 1969 psychedelic rock recording by the short-lived band

Gandalf Gandalf is a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is a Wizards (Middle-earth), wizard, one of the Istari order, and the leader of the Company of the Ring. Tolkien took the name "Gandalf" fr ...

. A cover version with a choral arrangement by

Duncan Browne Duncan John Browne (25 March 1947 – 28 May 1993) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. His debut album, '' Give Me Take You'', was released by Immediate Records in 1968. Its 1973 follow-up, '' Duncan Browne'', spawned a minor UK hit ...

was recorded by

The Nice The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music. Keyboardist Keith Emerson, bassist Lee Jackson (bassist), Lee Jackson, guitarist David O'List, and drummer Ian Hague ori ...

, as "Hang On to a Dream", on their third album, ''

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. History Early ...

also as "Hang On to a Dream" on their album ''Long Long Time'', and

Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...

on '' Snakes 'n' Ladders'' (1989). A closer cover version was performed by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

on a 1969 BBC recording, released on '' Live at the BBC'' in 2001.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of The Nice, Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitars, producer) ...

covered it on ''

The Return of the Manticore ''The Return of the Manticore'' is a 4-disc retrospective on the career of the band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released in 1993, and features several new recordings of previously released songs, most notably a studio recording of "Pictures a ...

''.

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

released a cover of the track as a bonus addition to online editions of their 2009 covers album ''

Varshons ''Varshons'' is the ninth studio album and is an album of covers by alternative rock band the Lemonheads. On 27 March 2009, it was announced that ''Varshons'' would be released in the US on 23 June on The End Records. It was promoted with a US ...

''. '' Life of Riley: The Lightning Seeds Collection'' includes a cover version of the song.

The Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

with

Denny Laine Brian Frederick Hines (29 October 1944 – 5 December 2023), known professionally as Denny Laine, was an English musician who co-founded two major rock bands: the Moody Blues and Wings. Laine played guitar in the Moody Blues from 1964 to 1966 ...

recorded two complete versions of the song (on April 5, 1969, and July 5, 1969). Both versions remained unissued until the late 2014 UK Esoteric 2-CD boxset of ''

The Magnificent Moodies ''The Magnificent Moodies'' is the 1965 debut album by British rock band the Moody Blues, released on Decca Records. Background ''The Magnificent Moodies'' is the only album by the original line-up of Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Clint War ...

''.

Kathryn Williams Kathryn Williams (born 15 February 1974, Liverpool, England) is an English singer-songwriter who to date has released 14 studio albums, written and arranged for a multitude of artists, and was nominated for the 2000 Mercury Prize, Mercury Mus ...

recorded a cover version on her album ''

Relations Relation or relations may refer to: General uses * International relations, the study of interconnection of politics, economics, and law on a global level * Interpersonal relationship, association or acquaintance between two or more people * ...

''. The English

Romo Romantic Modernism, more commonly known as Romo, was a musical and nightclubbing movement, of glam/style pop lineage, in the UK circa 1995–1997, centred on the twin homes of Camden-based clubnight Club Skinny and its West End clone Arcad ...

band

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

contributed a cover version to the ''Fever Pitch E.P.'' which was released to accompany the soundtrack. The Dutch singer

had a hit with the song in 1967, reaching No. 5 on the Dutch charts.

recorded a French version in London in 1967, as "Je m'accroche à mon rêve", with French lyrics by Georges Aber. This version reached No. 4 on the Belgian Walloon chart.

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in F ...

recorded the song for her album ''En Anglais'' under the title "Hang On to a Dream". * 2003 - John Greene, ''A Different Game''

Popular usage

Hardin's version appeared on the soundtracks to the 1997 British film ''

Fever Pitch ''Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life'' is a 1992 autobiographical essay by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: '' Fever Pitch'' (1997, UK) and '' Fever Pitch'' (2005, US). The first edition was subtitled "A Fan's Life", but ...

'' and the 2000 German film ''

The State I Am In ''Tigermilk'' is the 1996 debut studio album from Scottish pop group Belle and Sebastian. Originally given a limited release (1,000 copies) by Electric Honey, the album was subsequently re-released in 1999 by Jeepster Records. The album is n ...

''. It was also used in the 1987 Dutch film '' Zoeken naar Eileen'' which led to the song's reappearance on the Dutch chart.

References

{{Authority control 1969 songs Tim Hardin songs Songs written by Tim Hardin Song recordings produced by Erik Jacobsen