I Dreamed a Dream

FANTINE
There was a time, when men were kind,
When their voices were soft,
And their words inviting.
There was a time, when love was blind,
And the world was a song,
And the song was exciting.
There was a time...
...Then, it all went wrong.
I dreamed a dream, in time gone by.
When hope was high, and life worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die.
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then, I was young and unafraid.
And, dreams were made, and used, and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid!
No song unsung, no wine untasted.
But, the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart,
And they turn your dream to shame...
He slept a summer by my side.
He filled my days with endless wonder.
He took my childhood in his stride,
But, her was gone when autumn came!
And still, I dream he'll come to me,
And we will live the years together.
But, there are dreams that cannot be!
And, there are storms we cannot weather!
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this Hell I'm living...
So different, now, from what it seemed!
Now, life has killed the dream I dreamed...

(Fantine now goes to the docks, in the hope that she might be able to scrape up enough money to send for Cosette.)