LAST NIGHT I HAD THE STRANGEST DREAM

Ed McCurdy was a folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His anti-war classic,

“Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream,” inspired and gave hope to those in the peace

movement. “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream,” has been recorded in seventy-six

languages (it was most recently by Garth Brooks). His collection of risqué Elizabethan

folk songs in a three-part series of albums titled When Dalliance was in Flower (and

Maidens Lost Their Heads), became a favorite record series of Prince Phillip of England.

The actor Alan Arkin played with him on these recordings. His single “Miracle of the

Wheat” released on Kapp Records in 1956 became a Christmas Tradition on Cincinnati

Radio.

By the late 1960s, McCurdy was forced to retire with severe health problems, while a

new generation of folk sings and songwriters would soon replace him. In 1980, he was

gratified that two of his compositions, “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream,” and

“King’s Highway,” as recorded by his old friend Josh White, Jr. became the official theme

songs respectfully for the Peace Corps and VISTA

Last night I had the strangest dream

I’d ever dreamed before

I dreamed the world had all agreed

To put an end to war

I dreamed I saw a mighty room

Filled with women and men

And the paper they were signing said

They’d never fight again

And when the paper was all signed

And a million copies made

They all joined hands and bowed their heads

And grateful pray’rs were prayed

And the people in the streets below

Were dancing ’round and ’round

While swords and guns and uniforms

Were scattered on the ground

Last night I had the strangest dream

I’d never dreamed before

I dreamed the world had all agreed

To put an end to war.

Banjo Mountain