On My Own
Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics


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EPONINE
And now I'm all alone again,
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to.
Without a home, without a friend,
Without a face to say hello to.
And now the night is near,
Now I can make believe he's here.
Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him, and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping.
The city goes to bed,
And I can live inside my head.

On my own,
Pretending he's beside me.
All alone,
I walk with him till morning.
Without him,
I feel his arms around me,
And when I lose my way I close my eyes
And he has found me.

In the rain,
The pavement shines like silver.
All the lights
Are misty in the river.
In the darkness,
The trees are full of starlight,
And all I see is him and me for ever and forever.

And I know
It's only in my mind,
That I'm talking to myself
And not to him.
And although I know that he is blind,
Still I say,
There's a way for us.

I love him,
But when the night is over,
He is gone,
The river's just a river.
Without him,
The world around me changes.
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers.

I love him,
But every day I'm learning,
All my life,
I've only been pretending!
Without me,
His world will go on turning,
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known!

I love him...
I love him...




I love him...
But only on my own...

Overall Meaning

In this song from the musical Les Misérables, Eponine expresses her feelings of loneliness and unrequited love for Marius, one of the main characters of the show, who is in love with Cosette. Eponine sings about her lack of companionship and a place to call home and how she can only find solace in her own imagination. She walks the streets alone at night, but when she thinks of Marius, she feels like she has his company. She visualizes him holding her and guiding her even though she knows it's all in her head. She longs for a world where they could be together, but she also realizes that it's just a fantasy, and she will always love him on her own.


Line by Line Meaning

And now I'm all alone again,
After having glimpses of love, I'm back to solitude


Nowhere to turn, no one to go to.
No one to seek solace and comfort for my heartache


Without a home, without a friend,
Alone in the city, without any shelter and companionship


Without a face to say hello to.
Nobody to address my greetings and emotions


And now the night is near,
Night signifies the only way to escape my pain


Now I can make believe he's here.
I pretend that he's by my side, even though he is not


Sometimes I walk alone at night
Finding solace by walking in solitude at night


When everybody else is sleeping.
When the world around me is at peace and calmness


I think of him, and then I'm happy
He is my ray of positivity in the midst of despair


With the company I'm keeping.
I'm content with the memories that I cling on to


The city goes to bed,
When everyone falls asleep, the city becomes my haven


And I can live inside my head.
My fantasies come alive and provide me with the love I crave


On my own,
Living in isolation


Pretending he's beside me.
Fantasizing that he's walking beside me


All alone,
Solo journey towards hope and happiness


I walk with him till morning.
My memories of him hold my hand and walk me through the night


Without him,
His absence is like a sharp knife that cuts through me


I feel his arms around me,
His touch that once gave me comfort still lingers in my mind


And when I lose my way I close my eyes
In moments of disorientation, I shut my eyes to find my way back


And he has found me.
He is still capable of captivating and finding me in despair


In the rain,
The rainy weather adds to the emotion of despair and isolation


The pavement shines like silver.
The silver shimmer is a reflection of the hope I subconsciously seek


All the lights
The world I live in seems to be mystical, lighting up my path


Are misty in the river.
The river signifies the muddled life that seems to be going on


In the darkness,
In the absence of the light, I run towards the world I create in my mind


The trees are full of starlight,
The stars that shine on the trees signify the light in my mind


And all I see is him and me for ever and forever.
We're stuck in love's merry-go-round, together, forever, and never apart


And I know
I'm sane and aware of the reality


It's only in my mind,
My fantasies and love are a figment of my imagination


That I'm talking to myself
My conversation is one-sided and a product of me seeking comfort


And not to him.
He's far off and not present in the reality I live in


And although I know that he is blind,
He's blinded by love and unaware of the torment I face


Still I say,
Still, I find hope in the love we once shared


There's a way for us.
I'm adamant that our love will find a way back to each other


I love him,
His absence still tugs at my heart in ways that I can't ignore


But when the night is over,
Reality hits when the charade of night ends


He is gone,
He's long gone and lost in the wilderness of my thoughts


The river's just a river.
Unlike the symbolism of the riverside before, it's just water


Without him,
His absence looms large, and seems to have taken center stage


The world around me changes.
The world seems to be flipping and nothing seems to be constant


The trees are bare and everywhere
The life in the world seems stripped away, leaving emptiness


The streets are full of strangers.
My old world now comprises an array of unknown faces


I love him,
His memory is seeped so deep that it still undeniably dominates my heart


But every day I'm learning,
Each day teaches me to let go of him and live for myself


All my life,
The realization ends for not just a day or two, but my entire life


I've only been pretending!
My love for him, to some extent, has been a pretense; I admit so now


Without me,
He's capable of moving forward without me, ignoring what I still feel


His world will go on turning,
He'll continue to live his life regardless of what I'm going through


A world that's full of happiness
A place where joy and love reside without me


That I have never known!
Something, I think, is hard to come by in a world of despair


I love him...
His presence in my heart cannot be curtailed by time or distance


I love him...
He's the very essence of my heart and soul, no matter what


I love him...
Even though living without him may be the only option left, the love lingers


But only on my own...
I'll continue living in that love I seek with only my memories for company




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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