I didn't know what song it was in the dream until I found it on the CD. There's little chance I ever heard it before either
That really is odd! Maybe a remnant from a past life indeed. It's interesting also that the dream ends (as these pursuit dreams often tend to) before a clear resolution either way. Maybe it's not necessary for that kind of dream to end on either definitive answer in the dream world? I don't know.
Ah, so you're old in the dream as well! Hm that might be a significant detail - maybe there's also powerlessness? You passing by those seedy characters/places, but being old and keeping your head down (after your own pleasures and interests), maybe you're powerless to change the seediness of your surroundings? That's a cool dream!
I do :D Mostly bad ones for me, though. Pursuit, also, features heavily in my dreams. That and keeping monsters at bay. Typical childish dreams maybe :)
That was the part that kind of freaked me out. It was such a revelation when I heard the song from the CD though. Maybe it's an imagined connection? I'm not sure. Perhaps it isn't necessary for the those kinds of dreams to end. One common theme throughout most of these kinds of dreams for me is the emotional impact -- contentment, fear (with the staircase dream), dread, and joy.
Yes, I get the impression I'm old in that Tobacco Shop dream. I don't remember feeling pain but I was walking with a cane. The surroundings weren't seedy. This was a downtown city street filled with red brick storefronts. The weather was gloomy, overcast and grey. The tobacco shop was just down a small flight of stairs in the basement level of one of the buildings.
I kind of epiphany came to me last night that these three recurring dreams could be memories from a single lifetime. Wealth and privilege seemed a common thread throughout the three. The first two are filled with light, happiness, and joy...the last, sadness. Very Dickensian.
That isn't childish at all! I think a lot of people have these kinds of "bad" dreams. I think these are usually dripping with metaphor.