Epilogue
Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am ready Fantine!
Monsieur, lay down your burden
At the end of my days
You’ve raised my child with love
She’s the best of my life
And you will be with God
Are you all right?
Why did you go away
Cosette, my child
Am I forgiven now?
Thank god, thank god
I’ve lived to see this day
It’s you who must forgive a thoughtless fool
It’s you who must forgive a thankless man
It’s thanks to you that I am living
And again I lay down my life at your feet
Cosette, your father is a saint
When they wounded me
He took me from the barricade
Carried like a babe
And brought me home
To you
Now you are here
Again beside me
Now I can die in peace
For now my life is blessed
You will live, Papa, you're going to live
It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye!
Yes, Cosette, forbid me now to die
I'll obey
I will try.
On this page
I write my last confession
Read it well when I, at last, am sleeping
It's the story
Of one who turned from hating
The man who only learned to love
When you were in his keeping
Come with me
Where chains will never bind you
All your grief
At last, at last behind you
Lord in Heaven
Look down on him in mercy.
Forgive me all my trespasses
And take me to your glory.
Take my hand
I'll lead you to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God.
Do you hear the people sing
Lost in the valley of the night?
It is the music of the people
Who are climbing to the light.
For the wretched of the earth
There is a flame that never dies.
Even the darkest night will end
and the sun will rise.
They will live again in freedom
In the garden of the Lord.
We will walk behind the plowshare
We will put away the sword.
The chain will be broken
And all men will have their reward.
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
Is there a world you long to see?
Do you hear the people sing?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
It is the future that they bring
When tomorrow comes!
Ah!
Ah!
Ah!
Tomorrow comes!
The lyrics to "Epilogue" from the musical Les Misérables speak from multiple perspectives as the characters reach the end of their story arcs. The opening lines are spoken by Fantine, who blesses Jean Valjean for raising her daughter Cosette with love. She is ready to pass on, and it is clear that she holds no resentment towards Valjean despite their difficult past. Valjean responds by asking to be forgiven by Cosette for leaving her, to which she responds with confusion and concern. Valjean insists that he will try to stay alive for her sake, showing his love for his daughter.
Valjean then sings of his gratitude towards Cosette for giving him a purpose and changing his life for the better. He sees himself as a thoughtless and thankless man, but his love for Cosette has redeemed him. He also reveals that he carried an injured revolutionary, Marius, to safety during a battle and brought him home to Cosette, solidifying his role as a father figure to him as well. Valjean and Cosette express their love for each other and Valjean prepares for his inevitable death.
The song then shifts to a more hopeful tone, as Valjean’s death is not the end for the other characters. The people of France are rising up to fight for their freedom, and the darkest night will eventually end. There is a chain of oppression that will be broken, and all people will be rewarded for their struggles. The final lines of the song ask for the listener to join this crusade for a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Monsieur, I bless your name
I am grateful to you for everything you've done for me and I am going to thank you by blessing your name.
I am ready Fantine!
I am prepared and ready to meet Fantine in the afterlife.
Monsieur, lay down your burden
You've done so much for me, it's time for you to rest and let go of your burden.
At the end of my days
As my life slowly comes to an end.
You’ve raised my child with love
I am grateful for how you've provided a loving and caring environment for my child to grow up in.
She’s the best of my life
My child is the most precious thing in my life.
And you will be with God
I have faith that when you pass on, you will be with God.
Papa, papa, I do not understand
Cosette, my child, I am confused and do not understand what is happening to you.
Are you all right?
Are you okay and not in any pain?
Why did you go away
Why did you have to leave me?
Cosette, my child
My dear child Cosette.
Am I forgiven now?
Do you forgive me for not always being there for you?
Thank god, thank god
I am grateful to be alive and to have the chance to ask for your forgiveness.
I’ve lived to see this day
I am lucky to have lived to see the day when I can ask for your forgiveness.
It’s you who must forgive a thoughtless fool
It's your forgiveness that I need, for I was thoughtless and foolish to not always be there for you.
It’s you who must forgive a thankless man
I have not always been grateful for all that you've done for me, and I ask for your forgiveness.
It’s thanks to you that I am living
I owe my life and everything in it to you.
And again I lay down my life at your feet
I am willing to do anything for you, even if it means sacrificing my own life.
Cosette, your father is a saint
Your father, who took care of me when I was wounded, is a saint.
When they wounded me
When I was injured in battle.
He took me from the barricade
Your father saved me and carried me away from the barricade where I was injured.
Carried like a babe
He carried me like a small child.
And brought me home
And brought me back to safety and to you.
Now you are here
Now that you are by my side.
Again beside me
Once again, we are together.
Now I can die in peace
I can now pass on knowing that I have made peace with you.
For now my life is blessed
I feel truly blessed to have had you in my life.
You will live, Papa, you're going to live
I will not let you die, you will live on.
It's too soon, too soon to say goodbye!
It's too early to say goodbye to you, my dear father.
Yes, Cosette, forbid me now to die
I will do as you say, and I will try not to die.
I'll obey
I will do what you ask of me.
On this page
In this letter.
I write my last confession
I am confessing my sins to you for the last time.
Read it well when I, at last, am sleeping
Take the time to read this confession carefully when I am gone.
It's the story
It's the tale of what happened to me.
Of one who turned from hating
Of one who learned to love, despite previously being filled with hate.
The man who only learned to love
Me, the man who only learned to love when I met you, Cosette.
When you were in his keeping
When you were in my care and I felt a new kind of love for you.
Come with me
Follow me to the afterlife.
Where chains will never bind you
A place where you will be free from all constraints.
All your grief
All the pain and suffering you've experienced in life.
At last, at last behind you
Will be over and in the past.
Lord in Heaven
God in Heaven.
Look down on him in mercy.
Show compassion for me when I reach the afterlife.
Forgive me all my trespasses
Forgive me for all the things I've done wrong in my life.
And take me to your glory.
Bring me to Heaven with you.
Take my hand
Take my hand and I will lead you to salvation.
I'll lead you to salvation
I will guide you to a place of redemption.
Take my love
Take my love with you to the afterlife.
For love is everlasting
Love is eternal and never fades.
And remember
And never forget.
The truth that once was spoken
The truth that loving another person is like seeing the face of God.
To love another person
To truly love another person.
Is to see the face of God.
Is to experience the divine.
Do you hear the people sing
Do you hear the voices of those who are fighting for freedom?
Lost in the valley of the night?
Are you lost in the darkness, unable to see the light?
It is the music of the people
The people are singing songs of hope and resistance.
Who are climbing to the light.
Who are working tirelessly to achieve a better future.
For the wretched of the earth
For those who are suffering and oppressed.
There is a flame that never dies.
There is a spark that cannot be extinguished, a hope that cannot be silenced.
Even the darkest night will end
The darkest times will come to an end.
And the sun will rise.
And a new era of hope and light will come.
They will live again in freedom
Those who have suffered will one day enjoy freedom.
In the garden of the Lord.
In a place of peace and perfection, where everything is as it should be.
We will walk behind the plowshare
We will embark on honest, industrious work to rebuild what has been destroyed.
We will put away the sword.
We will no longer need to resort to violence and bloodshed.
The chain will be broken
The shackles of oppression will be broken.
And all men will have their reward.
Everyone who has fought for freedom and justice will receive their reward.
Ah!
An exclamation expressing emotion.
Tomorrow comes!
A new day full of hope and promise will come!
Will you join in our crusade?
Will you stand with us in our quest for freedom?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Who among you will be brave and help fight for our cause?
Somewhere beyond the barricade
In a place where liberty and justice prevail.
Is there a world you long to see?
Is there a place where your dreams can come true?
Do you hear the people sing?
Do you hear the voices of those fighting for freedom?
Say, do you hear the distant drums?
Can you hear the sounds of the battle in the distance?
It is the future that they bring
They are fighting for a new and better future.
When tomorrow comes!
When the new day arrives with new hope.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Herbert Kretzmer, Jean Marc Natel, Claude Michel Schonberg, Alain Albert Boublil, John Caird, Trevor Robert Nunn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mrtuwnbr
@@kp4692 Yees, this song says “To love another person is to see the face of God!” And, as they are in heaven they should have loved someone, if they didn’t they wouldn’t be there. A lot of them were sinners, but it was that selfless love that made them find God and win heaven.
Javert did not love anyone and that’s why he’s not there, rejecting love was rejecting God.
The students loved freedom and people (they wanted they to had a good life and be free) and probably they loved each other (they were fiends after all and It’s not only romantic love the one that counts)
But R did not love those ideals, he loved Enjorlas. If love weren’t what he felt for him he wouldn’t be there, specially not by Enj’s side!
But, Enj should also loved someone too, if he only loved his ideals he would be just the revolutionary version of Javert: a man that only saw ideas and not people.
Yes, he lived for revolution, but that’s not enough to win heaven. Probably he loved his friends, but maybe he did love R, maybe his sacrifice made him love him.
They balanced each other, cynicism and idealism may look like oposites, but actually they completamente each other, both extreme are bad so they need to be together to come to balance.
Also, Enjorlas’s characteristic color is red while Grantaire’s color is green, two complementary colors.
Those differences kinda made them perfect for each other.
Also, Enj and the rest of revolutionaries taught people that fighting for your beliefs it was worthy, as cheesy as it sounds. And when I say people I include us, the audience, that “you” on “Do you hear the people sing” is directed to us.
It’s there to say that we should keep fighting and loving cause those are the things that will make tomorrow a better day (geez, it sound really cheesy like that but yeah)
As you say, it’s beautiful to watch them together… even in afterlife. As the song says now they are free in the garden of the Lord and… that’s just wonderful.
@sloppyjoes7
The Bishop is the real hero of the story. It's so appropriate to see him here.
@billfisher9238
more fitting than having Eponine welcome him after death--as in the play. she barely knew him. but the Bishop changed his life.
@UnfixedPython
@Jonathan Loh the original Valjean meets Wolverine Valjean 😂
@beccadarin758
@@billfisher9238 it was fantine.
I think it's fitting she was there. She left the world knowing her daughter would be ok, then he became a new man. Fantine gave him a new purpose.
@BrassMaster84
@@billfisher9238 The Bishop put the whole story in motion. If he hadn't "straightened out" Valjean, then Fantine, Cosette, Marius, and others would have had a much worse fate.
@erinloker4861
@@billfisher9238 I think Eponine was there in the musical because Jean Valjean saved Marius at the barricade
@alejandragutierrez7843
I heard once that Marius can hear the song of the revolution because a part of him died with his friends.
@kristenrichardson439
Oh, my gosh! That is beautiful
@sofiamuller5579
damn
@kenrize1400
Both Cosette and Marius can hear it