Show Synopsis:
Jean Valjean tries to make amends for his past criminal actions by taking in Cosette, the daughter of a dead prostitute and running a small French town as its mayor. He has to flee with Cosette when the policeman Javert begins pursuing him, pulling her away from her love Marius, who is involved in an upcoming student rebellion against the government for the good of the poor. Javert disguises himself to join the revolutionaries, as does Éponine, who is in love with Marius. The rebels begin to die in battle, and Valjean saves Javert, which causes Javert to question his rights and wrongs. Javert commits suicide, Marius mourns the death of many of his friends, and Valjean has to run away, so he gives Marius his blessing to marry Cosette. Cosette and Marius find Valjean before he dies in a convent and he gives Cosette his written final confession so that she can learn about her mother and Valjean's life.
Character:
Fantine, a poor young woman who wants to protect her daughter Cosette; stubbornly works and does everything possible to make money for her.
Song Context:
The factory foreman has fired Fantine, and no one else stood up for her. She reflects on her youth and how she became a young single mother without a job to support her child.
Fun Facts:
1. One of the longest running musicals of all time, Les Miserables is originaly based on Victor Hugo's novel of the same name.
2. Patti LuPone originated the role of Fantine on the West End and won an Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
3. In the original French production of the musical and the 2012 film adaptation, this song is performed after "Lovely Ladies" to augment Fantine's despair at becoming a prostitute.
"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 times 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 he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'll come to me,
That we'll 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 much different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed.
Now life has killed
The dream I dreamed."