I'm dying / Is it blissful? / It's like a dream / I want to dream

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About

"I'm dying / Is it blissful / It's like a dream / I want to dream" is a lyric from shoegaze black metal band Deafheaven's song "Dream House." The melodrama of the phrase has made it a popular snowclone among metal and indie music fans.

Origin

On May 2nd, 2013, Deafheaven released "Dream House" ahead of the June 11th, 2013 release of their second studio album, Sunbather. "Dream House" received Best New Music certification for "Dream House" from indie music website Pitchfork,^[2] and the album went on to receive a 92/100 on Metacritic.^[1]

Spread

The lyric made an immediate impression. Reviews of Sunbather on Pitchfork^[3] and Popmatters^[4] made special note of the lyric's impact on the record. Deafheaven fan art featuring the lyric appeared on Tumblr as early as June 12th, 2013.^[5] By the end of the year, it had started to grow into a popular snowclone. For example, the blog Sentimental Movie Marathon^[6] titled their year-end best-of list "“2013 IS DYING.” “IS IT BLISSFUL?” “IT’S LIKE A DREAM.” “I WANT TO DREAM.”: TOP 30-21 ALBUMS OF 2013." It was also used as an in-joke for Deafheaven fans and music journalists around this time.^[8]^[9]

On March 1st, 2014, Tumblr user bakertothemount^[7] published what would become one of the more popular comedic uses of the snowclone, an exploitable comic of Winnie the Pooh leaning in to whisper the lyric to Piglet (shown below).

Over the next two years, the lyric was quoted less sincerely and used as a punchline caption accompanying various images including Marge Krumping, ^[10] Ted Cruz, ^[11] and many others. The phrase has been used to express existential despair and intense melodrama to humorous effect.