"Daydream Believer" is a song composed by American songwriter John Stewart shortly before he left the Kingston Trio.

Jones claimed he had been "pissed off" recording the song, with his lead vocal showing a hint of annoyance at the ongoing takes.

A last-minute switch meant that "Daydream Believer" now became the A-side and "Goin' Down," a song written by all four Monkees with Diane Hildebrand in the style of Mose Allison, became the flip side.

"[9] Cash Box said that it has "fascinating arrangements that develop from a simple piano opening to a compelling... ensemble and the hypnotic repetition of a very catchy refrain.

"[11] According to Variety, the song's lyrics focus on the endgame of a comfy but increasingly distant relationship, with the narrator "caught in mid-gaze before the bathroom mirror, reflecting on the quiet dissolution of his materialistic marriage – a union between 'a daydream believer and a homecoming queen,' now curdled, driven more by money than by romance.

Stewart initially objected because the change would completely reverse the meaning of the line and would not make sense in the context of the song.

"[6] In 1986, three of the four Monkees (Dolenz, Jones and Tork) mounted a successful reunion tour and had a major hit with the newly recorded "That Was Then, This Is Now."

Arista Records, which owned the Monkees' masters at the time, rereleased "Daydream Believer" as a followup single, remixed with a new and heavier percussion track by Michael Lloyd, who had produced "That Was Then, This Is Now."

In 1971, songwriter John Stewart recorded his own version and included it as the ninth track on his fourth studio album, The Lonesome Picker Rides Again.

Canadian singer Anne Murray recorded a cover version of "Daydream Believer" for her platinum-certified 1979 studio album I'll Always Love You.

Produced by Jim Ed Norman and issued on Capitol Records the following year, Murray's single became her eighth No.