You Stepped Out Of A Dream
Dissecting a song and a recent read
I adore love songs, I mean who doesn’t? When I hear a song that pulls at my heartstrings, I either Shazam it, Google the lyrics to find it, or if I recognize the song I’ll go Spotify and add it to one of my sappy playlists. I blame Seven Days In June for this idea of love on the brain. All pun. The story followed two teenage friends (lovers?) who reconnected 15 years later in June, unexpectedly. I don’t think this is a spoiler but if you plan to read the book and haven’t maybe stop here. The two main characters are some version of soulmates. The energy between them is hard to ignore, for them and for anyone in their orbit. A few weeks ago I came across (aka it appeared on my TikTok For You page) Samara Joy singing “You Stepped Out Of A Dream.” Her voice transports me to a time before I was even here and the lyrics are some of the most beautiful and vivid. I immediately added it to my playlist. Between listening to this song on repeat and binge watching Fight Night, this winter I may need to put on my best cocktail dress with my mom’s mink coat for a night out in Gotham. Anyway, after reading Seven Days In June, I realized this song perfectly mirrors how Eva and Shane thought, dreamt, and felt about each other.
The song starts with Samara singing about her love being better than she could’ve imagined:
“You stepped out of a dream
You are too wonderful
To be what you seem”
If you’ve read the book (and if you haven’t), I’d imagine this song playing faintly in the background as Eva sat on stage during a panel at the Brooklyn Museum when she saw Shane enter the room. Not only did she not expect to see him, but she hadn’t seen him in so long she thought her eyes were deceiving her. And because she was a last minute addition replacing someone who couldn’t make it, when Shane entered the room aware of the event and confirmed panelists, he felt the same. Of all people, Eva wasn’t who he expected to see on stage. As time goes on we learn that things ended with them abruptly and we spend most of the book trying to figure out why. Despite their strained relationship and a very testy conversation between Eva and Shane on stage that everyone witnessed, there was still so much electricity between them.
“Could there be eyes like yours?
Could there be lips like yours?
Could there be smiles like yours, honest and truly?”
The way the narrator describes Eva and Shane is one of obsession. Shane would drink Eva’s bathwater if he could, and Eva would stare into his honey-tinged eyes for a lifetime if she could. It’s an odd (read: possibly unhealthy) magic between them—one that you don’t know whether to root for or pray for its downfall. I found this obsession and their ability to know each other so well to be…fascinating. Eva could read Shane’s expression across the room without him saying a word. She knew what he was thinking or if he was uncomfortable, which no one else would know. Shane knew Eva’s quirks, how she managed the pain of her headaches, her fidgeting that seemed normal to everyone else but had a deeper meaning. Despite knowing each other like the back of their hands, they had to admit the other person could let them down, and this wouldn’t be the first time.
“You stepped out of a cloud
I want to take you away from the crowd
And have you all to myself
Alone and apart
Out of a dream
Safe in my heart”
Most times—especially in larger gatherings—it was clear that Eva and Shane would much prefer to stay in their own little world. When they had time alone it was as if their bodies melted into one. They were irresistible. They couldn’t get enough of each other, from Shane poking his finger into Eva’s dimple, to Eva not getting enough of Shane’s stubble rubbing on her cheek (or elsewhere ch). The moments with just the two of them behind closed doors was a dream for them. It was as if they were almost picking up where they left off but as much healthier—not necessarily healed—people.
“Safe in my heart
Out of a dream
Safe in my heart
Out of a dream
Safe in my heart”
We get to a point in the book where we don’t know if this love will survive the real world. Is it just safe in their hearts? Distractions of the world and a painful past among other things made it hard to imagine that the dream could be a reality. That was the hardest part for me to read. It felt obvious that the love was there, the lust was certainly there, and a genuine care and respect for one another, but it made me wonder is there ever a time that that’s not enough?
When I listen to Samara sing this, I have an internal battle debating the meaning behind the lyrics. If you read it as “And have you all to myself, Alone and apart, Out of a dream, Safe in my heart” it seems pretty obvious, but if you focus on “Safe in my heart, Out of a dream,” the meaning could be totally different. I’m sure I’m overthinking it but that’s the magic of words. Without spoilers but keeping it vague enough, I’ll say the book and song end the exact same, “Out of a dream, Safe in my heart.”
P.S. The vocal acrobats she does in this live performance should be studied. Most of these girls could never.
Today’s excerpt is Violet being the lovergirl she is at her neighborhood bar. It’s only right that the bartender’s name is Shane, an odd realization I had when I went to choose an excerpt. Let’s call it serendipity for now. (I’ll probably change his name down the line.)
“Hey V, welcome back.” Music to her ears…and a sight for sore eyes. Shane emerged from the stock room as Frank Ocean’s “Sweet Life” filled Ruth’s. Violet gave Shane a head nod and swerved on the stool to face him as he refilled the back bar with the vodkas, tequilas, and aperitifs her nights were made of. “I should be saying welcome back to you. How have you been? I haven’t seen you the last few times I’ve been here.” Shane paused from returning the bottles to their rightful home, and turned to lock eyes with Violet. “It finally got me. I’m surprised no one told you. I had COVID! I thought I escaped it like some magician.” If you could wrap Violet’s type into a man, Shane would be it. He was right over six feet—a true six feet, not the ‘let me add a couple of inches to my dating profile six feet’—with dark chocolate skin that made Violet swoon. His head was rarely uncovered, balancing a beanie or fitted cap as his freedom locs cascaded over his shoulders. He wore a workman’s wardrobe which Violet found incredibly sexy. It was very carpenter meets hypebeast a la Andre 3000. Chances he wouldn’t be wearing at least one piece of Carhartt clothing (or a hat) were slim. She loved that his work shoe was a retro Jordan 1, but didn’t know how his feet survived the long shifts in such flat shoes. And his teeth. Shane’s teeth were some of the best chompers she’d seen. Anytime Violet overheard a patron compliment his teeth, she knew what was coming next. She rolled her eyes and mouthed the words as Shane said, “Thank God my mom forced me to get braces in high school, and dared me to not wear my retainer up until I was 30.” Violet could easily get wrapped in Shane’s presence. “I’m sorry to hear that, Shane! How are you feeling now? You should’ve hit me. I would’ve left something for you at the doorstep.” “It’s no sweat, V. I’m feeling a lot better. The first couple of days were brutal but I’m back.” Violet smiled and shook her head slowly. Violet and Shane played this game at least once a month. A lot hidden between their stares and seconds of silence.
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Later alligators.