I Dreamed a Dream
Claude-Michel Schönberg Lyrics

There was a time when men were kind,
Once upon a time, men were generous and compassionate individuals.

And their voices were soft,
Additionally, their voices were gentle and soothing.

And their words inviting.
Their choice of words was welcoming and pleasing to listen to.

There was a time when love was blind,
There was also a time when love made people oblivious to the world around them.

And the world was a song,
During this time, the world seemed to be a melodious tune.

And the song was exciting.
This song evoked a sense of thrill and anticipation in people.

There was a time when it all went wrong...
However, things changed and took a turn for the worse.

I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
I had a dream about a time from my past.

When hope was high and life, worth living.
This was a time when I had high hopes, and life seemed worth living.

I dreamed that love would never die,
In this dream, I imagined that love would last forever and never fade away.

I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
I also imagined a world where God would pardon our mistakes and be lenient.

Then I was young and unafraid,
At this time, I was young and full of courage and fearlessness.

And dreams were made and used and wasted.
During this phase, I created many dreams and even discarded some of them.

There was no ransom to be paid,
At this time, there was no price to be paid, and everything felt free and easily attainable.

No song unsung, no wine, untasted.
I felt free to live life to the fullest and experience everything without any inhibition.

But the tigers come at night,
However, with the passage of time, fears and worries began to haunt me, even at night.

With their voices soft as thunder,
These fears manifested as quiet but powerful and intimidating voices that lingered in my mind.

As they tear your hope apart,
These fears had the power to shatter my hopes and break me apart from within.

And they turn your dream to shame.
These fears were so intense that they managed to turn even my wildest dreams into an embarrassment in my eyes.

He slept a summer by my side,
In my dream, I had a companion who spent an entire summer with me.

He filled my days with endless wonder...
This companion added excitement and mystery to my days, making them seem endless and captivating.

He took my childhood in his stride,
This companion also had a way of taking charge, even of my childhood and molding it in ways he saw fit.

But he was gone when autumn came!
But as time passed, this companion vanished, leaving nothing but sepia-toned memories.

And still I dream he'll come to me,
Years later, I still have dreams of him coming back to me.

That we will live the years together,
In these dreams, I imagine us living our lives together and sharing all the joys and sorrows that come with it.

But there are dreams that cannot be,
However, I realize that some dreams are just that, dreams- unattainable, unrealistic and doomed to wither away.

And there are storms we cannot weather!
Similarly, there are some challenges and hurdles that are too intense for us to face and conquer.

I had a dream my life would be
I once had a dream that my life would be different from what it turned out to be.

So different from this hell I'm living,
In contrast, the reality of my life is the polar opposite, and it feels like I am living in a never-ending nightmare.

So different now from what it seemed...
My life is miles away from what it felt like it would be like in my dreams.

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...
Finally, life has managed to crush and destroy the dream that I once cherished.