John Parr

Songwriter: John Parr

Producer: John Parr

This little house
This little voice
This little town
Of Little Choice
I remember a dream
Bigger than me

My friends all laughed
My mother cried
But I would not be denied
I was going to be
All that I could be

Is this the same sky we're under
Is this the same sun
Are these the same dreams we're dreamin'
Or am I the only one
Dream on...

I left school and got a job
They tried to make me
What I'm not
Punchin' time at the old factory

In my time of desperation
I was dreamin' of you
Does your heart lie in a fortress
Can these words of mine break through
Dream on...

Dreams come true in California
Gonna write my name in stone
Fancy names in old disguises
Bled me to the bone
Left me hangin' by the phone
Ten thousand miles from home

And in the end
One truth remains
Through the passions and the pain
Oh the fire's still burnin' in me

I climbed the highest mountain
Crossed the wildest sea
I knew this old town was
Dependin' on me

Dream on...

John Parr (born 18 November 1952) is a Grammy-nominated English musician, best known for his 1985 US #1 single “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” and for his 1984 single “Naughty Naughty” (US Rock #1). Parr was nominated for a Grammy award for “St Elmo’s Fire” in 1985.

Parr first entered the music scene when he was 12 years old and formed a band with two fellow schoolmates, which they named The Silence. The band had achieved some success. They eventually became professional and started to tour Europe. He then joined a band named Bitter Suite who were a huge success in the working men’s clubs in Yorkshire, he then formed a “Super Band” with musicians from other working men’s club bands, and named the band Ponders End , a band that set a new precedent for the bands in the north.

Parr secured a publishing deal with Carlin America in 1983 and in the same year Meat Loaf asked him to write some songs for his new album. It led to a fateful meeting with John Wolff, who was tour manager for The Who. Foreseeing the initial demise of The Who, Wolff was looking for a new venture and considered Parr to be a suitable partner. Parr first visited America in 1984 and worked with Meat Loaf on Bad Attitude. Meanwhile, Wolff secured Parr’s solo Atlantic recording deal in New York.

more tracks from the album

Letter to America

From the album

Letter to America (2011)

John Parr popular songs

Dream OnJohn Parr

John Parr

Letter to America