“Roadtrip” by Dream (ft. PmBata)

On “Roadtrip”, the vocalists (Dream and PmBata) are chanting about a “past life”. However, they don’t mean this in any sort of metaphysical sense. Rather as Dream has explained, his personal life has changed significantly in the last few years. For instance, he just recently (circa 2020) gained millions upon millions of social-media followers. So his lifestyle is vastly different, now being in his early 20s, than it was when he was just 18, which would be the age the lyrics of “Roadtrip” are actually based in.

Song’s Narrative

And interpreting the narrative being put forth is pretty simple. At that time in his life Dream was dating a girl who was also around 18. And he would take “road trips” to visit her on occasion. Fans of Dream have ascertained that he was living in Orlando at that stage, while his girlfriend resided somewhere along the upper East Coast, i.e. New York or New England. So the “20 hours” he spent in “an old van” would represent him driving up the east coast of the United States to visit her. 

So his “past life” was highlighted by being in the type of love which would encourage a man to take such treks. Additionally, the implication is that he has since parted ways with this lady. However, just driving on “that interstate” can’t help but to remind him of the love they once shared.

And PmBata takes a similar approach in recounting his “past life”. That is to say that his musings are also primarily centered on a now-defunct romance. He recalls that he is his ex “flew just a little too close to the sun”. This is of course an allusion to the myth of Icarus. And the implication is that whereas their relationship ‘was cool… for a minute’, perhaps the two of them moved too fast. So now he finds himself in a position akin to that of his co-star, lamenting over a lost love if you will. Indeed PmBata endured his own 20 hour trips in the name of love though in his case, with the performer being from Kansas City, across the Midwest as opposed to the East Coast.

Conclusion

So again this song is pretty simple, as perhaps to be expected from an entertainer who is a gamer more so than a musician.  And whereas Dream and PmBata don’t necessarily come off as being heartbroken in the truest sense of the word, it is still obvious that their former sweethearts have left lasting impressions on their life.

Facts about “Roadtrip”

Dream is a popular YouTuber whose main channel boasts of well in excess of 17,000,000 subscribers as of this track’s release.  And he has really made a name for himself in the videogame field, specializing in the ever-popular Minecraft.

This track marks Dream’s first foray into the music field. He decided to venture into music in the name of increasing his fanbase. And according to the artist, he took this project seriously, as in it not being the type of comedic effort that many other popular YouTubers tend to put forth song-wise. He further went on to explain that “the song is a story from (his) life and is emotional to (him)”.

His vocal collaborator on this track is a musician from Kansas City, Missouri named PmBata. The song itself was also recorded partially in Kansas City, Kansas. And the other city it was recorded in is Orlando, Florida, which is the hometown of Dream.

Dream is an enigmatic figure himself, who is not overly fond of showing his real face on the internet or divulging much of his personal life. However, it is common public knowledge that his first name is actually Clay.

The producers of this track are Perish Beats and Banrisk.

“Roadtrip” officially came out on 5 February 2021. Dream had teased it the day prior via his Instagram account (@Dream), which itself boasts of 2,300,000 followers at the time of this song’s release.

Summary

The ‘road trips’ the vocalists of this song are recounting were primarily for the purpose of visiting women who once played prominent roles in their lives.