Finding his voice in a school choir, Crawford began his professional career still a teenager. Having some luck on the London stage in the early 60s, he then found his way onto the BBC and starred in various programmes such as 'Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'. He also had film roles in 'The War Lover', 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'. and 'How I Won the War' (which brought him into the same work as John Lennon).
Andrew Lloyd Webber's casting of him opposite Sarah Brightman and Steve Barton as the Phantom in 1986 shot his career into high gear. Winning a Tony Award for his role, Crawford also had the aforementioned tune, "The Music Of The Night", reach the British Top Ten. He has released several studio albums such as 'A Touch of Music in the Night' and 'On Eagle's Wings' among others.
If You Could See Me Now
Michael Crawford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Silent stars, light from a distant flame
Just like the memories of you that I hold inside
I feel you touch but all the warmth has died
Empty rooms crowded by the past
Time is my enemy, days keep moving faster
But the nights alone can be an eternity
If only you could see me, now
Goodbye is not so easy, now
The freedom that I walked away to gain
Is nothing but these chains
That you alone can break
And you would free me, now
Your heart would come undone
Just looking at me once
And my love would bring you back
If only you could see me, now
Here I am, stranger to a smile
Trying to fight the tears, missing by a mile
I'm not the one who laughed at you on that yesterday
When you warned me not to throw your love away
If you could only see me, now
Goodbye is not so easy, now
The freedom that I walked away to gain
Is nothing but these chains
I know your heart would break
If you could hear me, now
Your heart would come undone
If you could hear me once
Hoping love will bring you back
If only you could see me, now
Like the lonely moon you see above
That sails the dark alone forever
I have no light of my own
Other the love we've known
So long ago, together
If you could feel me, now
Your heart would come undone
If you could touch me once
I know love will bring you back
If only you could see me, now
See me now
The song "If You Could See Me Now" by Michael Crawford tells the story of a heartbroken man who deeply regrets losing the love of his life. Every night, he looks up at the stars and remembers his former love. He can still feel her presence but the warmth and intimacy they once shared are gone. He is haunted by the past and the memories of the love they had together. He now lives in an empty room, stuck in the past with time moving faster than he can handle. The nights alone seem endless as they fail to heal the scars of his foolish pride.
He longs for his love to be beside him once again. He believes that if his former love could see him now, she would come back to him. He confesses that saying goodbye to her was not as easy as he thought it would be. The freedom he thought he would gain by walking away from the relationship was actually a trap. The chains of his own making bind him to this lonely existence. He realizes that only his former love has the power to break these chains and set him free.
The song is an emotional plea from a heartbroken individual who longs for the love he has lost. It highlights the pain and regret that follows when one loses someone they truly loved. The hopelessness and despair that comes from such a loss are palpable in the lyrics. Overall, "If You Could See Me Now" is a powerful and emotional song that speaks to anyone who has lost someone they loved deeply.
Line by Line Meaning
Here they come every night the same
Every night the stars come out just like the memories of the person he loves
Silent stars, light from a distant flame
The stars shine quietly from far away like the light of a distant flame
Just like the memories of you that I hold inside
The stars remind him of the memories he holds inside about the person he loves
I feel you touch but all the warmth has died
He remembers feeling the warmth of the person's touch, but now it's all gone
Empty rooms crowded by the past
He's alone in empty rooms, but they're still crowded with memories of the past
Time is my enemy, days keep moving faster
Time seems to be working against him, as the days go by faster and faster
But the nights alone can be an eternity
The night seems to last forever when he's alone
That never heals the scars of foolish pride
Even though time passes, the pain of his foolish pride doesn't go away
If only you could see me, now
He wishes the person he loves could see him now
Goodbye is not so easy, now
Saying goodbye is harder now than it was before
The freedom that I walked away to gain
He thought he was gaining freedom by walking away from the person he loves
Is nothing but these chains
But now he realizes that he's actually trapped by his own decision
That you alone can break
Only the person he loves can break the chains that he put himself in
And you would free me, now
If the person he loves came back, they would free him from his own chains
Your heart would come undone
The person he loves would also be freed from the pain they both feel
Just looking at me once
A single look from the person he loves would make everything better
And my love would bring you back
His love for the person could bring them back to each other
Here I am, stranger to a smile
Now he's alone and can't even smile anymore
Trying to fight the tears, missing by a mile
He's trying to hold back his tears, but failing miserably
I'm not the one who laughed at you on that yesterday
He's not the person who laughed at the person he loves when they warned him not to throw their love away
When you warned me not to throw your love away
The person he loves warned him not to throw their love away, but he didn't listen
If you could only see me, now
He still wishes the person he loves could see him now
I know your heart would break
He knows that the person he loves would be heartbroken if they saw him now
Like the lonely moon you see above
He compares himself to the lonely moon in the sky
That sails the dark alone forever
Just like the lonely moon, he feels like he's alone and will be forever
I have no light of my own
He doesn't have his own light to guide him out of this darkness
Other the love we've known
The only light he has is the love they used to share together
So long ago, together
That love feels like it was so long ago, even though it wasn't that far in the past
If you could feel me, now
He wishes the person he loves could feel his presence now
Your heart would come undone
The person he loves would be overwhelmed with emotion if they could feel him
If you could touch me once
A single touch from the person he loves would mean everything to him
I know love will bring you back
He's convinced that their love could bring them back together
If only you could see me, now
He can only hope that the person he loves will notice him now
See me now
He just wants to be seen by the person he loves
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Bettis, Walter Afanasieff
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jeannahicks7251
What a beautiful song and a beautiful voice singing it.
@yayin43
He truly sings from his soul, that’s what makes him different from the other Phantoms.
@user-eu1cm8wz9g
Michael Crawford has a beautiful voice and l love ❤️ hearing it 2:51
@marygraczykowski1723
Heartbreaking. I was in tears before Michael Crawford finished singing. Don't know how he sang this without crying.
@bethhaines6340
Hes got such an intimate voice and he always sings so tenderley and so sensitively and so gently and he always sings from his heart and he is so genuine i wouldve loved to been at his 80th birthday celebration thatd wouldve been awesome id have given him such a big hug and said happy birthday michael i love you
@TheaterRaven
Oh, Michael, you never fail to deliver a masterpiece. Beautifully poignant song.
@lumberjack6c
Master vocalist, Master storyteller.............
@Mira_Dunia
Michael Crawford is beautiful.
@marthamathes5146
""""BEAUTIFUL""""
@elizabethb.1266
Michael, I would love.to sing.with.you one day. I'm no Sarah, more Stevie Nicks.
If.you could see me now
Love you, EN