If you’re going to do a cover of a song, do it right.

Now, if you’re doing a cover of

such an iconic song as “Sweet Dreams” by The Eurythmics, you better go the extra

mile. Because if you don’t you get written down in history as “Hooked on a Feeling” by

David Hasselhoff. Lets not do that. Marilyn Manson took a song that was on in no way

anything close to what he makes, and made it into one of his best selling songs of all

time.

The original “Sweet Dreams” is a song by the ever so popular 80’s electro pop

duo, They Eurythmics. They were praised for their unique style and sound. The song

was written by them and released in 1983. It absolutely DEMOLISHED the charts

worldwide. It swept through every position until it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It

would’ve gotten to #1 sooner, however “Every Breath You Take” by The Police released

that same year. And for some reason, people like creepy songs made my Sting.

Eventually it did reach # 1 and stood there for awhile. What made it so good though? It

was unique. For the time, all their was was nice ballads, rock songs, and the new age of

pop. This was different though, ands the people were loving it.

Manson wanted his version of the song featured in his bands 1st day view album,

however, legally he could not do that. The record labels weren’t budging. However with

luck (and loads of cash), Universal Music Publishing Studios said “okay”. Marilyn

Manson made the song his own, and it changed the entire game. 1st of all, the lyrics

stayed the same. The only thing that changed, was of course the style of song. Manson

turned a poppy electronic song like “Sweet Dreams” into a terrifying heavy rock

experience. The kind of hard rock that makes an old person say “This is the devils
work”. But even with the demonic tone of the song, it still manages to keep the same

catchiness.

As I have said, the song keeps all of the lyrics, about 90% to be exact. The form

of the song, is where the first change takes place. Manson starts the song with the

same lyrics as the original, “Sweet Dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree”.

Then goes on to the “Some of them want to abuse you” part. The chorus starts with a

loud electric guitar, followed by the words “I wanna use you and abuse you”. This may

be odd because in the original song the chorus consisted of the words “Sweet Dreams”.

As in the intro was the chorus. In Manson’s rendition of the song, there is also no “Hold

your head up, movin on” part like in the original. However it is not missed at all.

With the few minor changes, Manson manages to take the song somewhere else

and still apply its uniqueness. Another example would be its major guitar solo near the

end of the song. The original song had a violin solo and it was very much “iconic” in a

way. Manson knowing that the violin isn’t in his repertoire, uses an electric guitar solo

that can only rival the guitar solo in “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses. It is

BEAUTIFUL. The solo itself makes the song a major success. I would even say that the

guitar solo in this song deserves a spot on the Top 10 best guitar solos.

The meaning of the song is supposed to give an eerie feeling. The song warns

you “Some of them want to use you “ and “some of them want to abuse you”. These

lyrics let you know that these so called “Sweet Dreams” are more like nightmares.

Manson’s rendition is all scary. Not only do the original lyrics have its creepiness, but

now with the added ominous guitar and raves that set off sharp tingles in your spine, are

of course, a great addition.

 With that comes a new tone and tempo. The tone sounds even more eerie than

the original, thanks to Manson’s insane vocal range. Is it just another cheap tactic to

make the songs more “metal”? Sure but Manson is technically a God at screaming his

lungs out, which is passable. What other rocky tones are their? The addition of different

voices after the guitar solo is MUCH appreciated. Manson could’ve used the normal

“Sweet Dreams are made of this”. BUT NO! He started of with a scratchy voice (think

pennywise the clown), then changed to an abrasive one (think childs play doll when he

was burning alive) and finally to an over the top high pitched scratchy voice (think

Regan from The Exorcist). It gives the song its own identity and it is like no other work

Marilyn Manson has done.

While Manson resorts to his usual “BLEGH” and “AGHH” which gets exhausting

(to a point), he never fails to make each demonic scream unique. Is it tiring? A bit. Is it

appreciated? Sure. The public sure appreciated it. The song speaks for itself. It topped

the Rock charts instantly, and while never making it too far on the top charts, it was still

very popular. It appeared once more in the album Lest We Forget, which was basically

a “best of” album. The song has also made appearances in things like games, films, and

T.V shows. The music video for the song is rated and recognised as the “Scariest Music

Video of all time”. No duh.

Covers of record breaking songs are not really done. Mainly because the original

songs are too respected. Or you know the many times an artist has covered a song and

downright ruined it (which happens way too often). It transforms the erie feeling of the

original song into an even more metal experience. An almost better experience, in my
opinion. Best believe, you will not be having sweet dreams any time soon after listening

to this.