“Got something in my eyes, it might be a tear…”

“A couple of songs that I really like myself that weren’t singles like ‘I’m Sorry’, ‘Lover Lover Lover’ and ‘Dream On’”
Per Gessle, TDR x PG #ROX40 Interview, March 25, 2026

We’re closing the ‘Charm School‘ era with one final imaginary single, and this time we have a little help from the songwriter himself.

When we sat down with Per for our #ROX40 Interview earlier this year, we asked which Roxette songs he felt remained underrated. Among his choices was ‘Dream On‘, an album track that never became a single and has never really enjoyed its own moment in the spotlight. That makes it a fairly easy choice for our countdown, plus it happens to be a personal favourite.

Per’s T&A Demo was recorded on January 25, 2010. It’s a wonderfully warm Gessle composition, packed with acoustic guitars, a touch of ’60s pop and a melody that seems to have wandered in from somewhere between Gyllene Tider, Son of a Plumber and classic Roxette.

TDR loved it back in 2011 too. Our original ‘Charm School‘ review described it variously as Beatles-esque, summery, folksy and almost Gyllene Tider sounding, while also highlighting Marie’s appearance on the bridge. Perhaps not an obvious single on the album, but certainly one of its most ‘charming‘.

And for me (Thomas2), it goes considerably further than that. ‘Dream On‘ remains one of my all-time favourite Roxette songs and Per Gessle compositions.

There’s something wonderfully deceptive about its simplicity. Nothing feels overworked or unnecessarily clever, yet every chord, melodic turn and harmony seems to land exactly where it should. That kind of apparent effortlessness is perhaps one of the clearest signs of Per’s skill as a songwriter: the ability to take a handful of simple ingredients and shape them into something distinctive, memorable and emotionally complete. It’s the sort of song that sounds as though it must have arrived fully formed, when in reality making songwriting feel this natural is something only a truly accomplished writer can consistently achieve.

So, fifteen years after ‘Charm School‘, perhaps ‘Dream On‘ deserves its place in #ROX40.

Per thinks it’s underrated, we certainly agree, and that feels like the perfect way to close this era… “Dream on, yesterday is gone…”

★ Currently on Streaming
01 T&A Demo, Jan 25, 2010
02 Album Version

★ Missing from Streaming
– No other officially released versions are currently known to us.