I Dreamed A Dream
Lesley Garrett Lyrics

There was a time when men were kind
Once upon a time when men were good and empathetic

When their voices were soft
When they spoke with gentle and comforting tones

And their words inviting
And the things they said made everyone feel welcomed

There was a time when love was blind
Back when people loved without judgment or prejudice

And the world was a song
And life was enjoyable and full of music

And the song was exciting
And every moment of life was thrilling

There was a time
But, unfortunately, that time is now past

Then it all went wrong
Now, however, everything seems to have taken a turn for the worse

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
I once dreamed of a life that no longer exists

When hope was high
When I felt positive about the future

And life worth living
And I felt like every day was truly worth experiencing

I dreamed that love would never die
I hoped that love could last forever

I dreamed that God would be forgiving
I hoped that God would be understanding and merciful

Then I was young and unafraid
When I was young and brave, unafraid of the future

And dreams were made and used and wasted
When dreams were common, but often abandoned or ignored

There was no ransom to be paid
And I did not yet fully understand the cost of life’s struggles

No song unsung
And people had the desire to express themselves fully

No wine untasted
And no happiness yet unexperienced

But the tigers come at night
But now everything that was once good has been replaced by shadows

With their voices soft as thunder
Whose voices are deep and harsh, able to shake a person to their core

As they tear your hopes apart
As these shadows destroy all hopes and happiness

As they turn your dreams to shame
As these shadows make once cherished dreams seem worthless and embarrassing

He slept a summer by my side
But for a while I shared a life with someone who was dear to me

He filled my days with endless wonder
He showed me joy and beauty that I’d never known before

He took my childhood in his stride
He accepted and supported me, even with my unhealed scars from my youth

But he was gone when autumn came
But eventually, like everything else, he was lost to me

And I still dream he'll come to me
But, unfortunately, I still hold onto a hope that will never be fulfilled

That we will live the years together
That somehow, someday, we’ll be able to spend our entire lives with each other

But there are dreams that cannot be
But there are some desires and hopes that can never be fulfilled

And there are storms we cannot weather!
Sometimes life’s challenges are too powerful to overcome

I had a dream my life would be
I used to have a dream of how my life would turn out

So different from this hell I'm living
But now, it's full of tragedy and immense difficulty that I could never have planned for

So different now, from what it seemed
Everything is now changed, and not for the better

Now life has killed the dream I dreamed
Life, with all its struggles and challenges, has destroyed the hope and joy I once had