I Dreamed A Dream
Ruthie Henshall Lyrics


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There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
When dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living




So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed

Overall Meaning

In Ruthie Henshall's rendition of the song "I Dreamed a Dream," the lyrics reflect the life of a woman who had a happy life in the past, but is now living a miserable existence. At the beginning of the song, the lyrics describe a time when men were kind and love was pure. The world was filled with hope and wonder, and the future was looking bright. However, everything changed and it all went wrong. The woman dreamed of a time when love and hope still existed, and God was forgiving. It was a time when she was young and unafraid and everything seemed possible. But that was all just a dream.


The lyrics of the song reflect the woman's desperate situation, and her attempt to deal with it. She remembers the happy times she once had, and the man who shared them with her. However, he was gone and she is now living in a terrible situation. She dreams that the man will someday come back to her and they will be able to live out their years together. However, there are dreams that cannot come true, and there are storms that are too much to bear. The woman realizes that her life is not the one she had hoped for, and that the dream she once had is now gone.


Overall, the song portrays a sense of sadness, loss, and despair. The lyrics speak to anyone who has ever gone through a difficult time in their life and come out on the other side feeling defeated. It is a powerful reminder that sometimes we have to let go of the dreams that we had for ourselves and accept the reality of the situation.


Line by Line Meaning

There was a time when men were kind
There was a time when men were gentle and compassionate


When their voices were soft
When their tone conveyed warmth and tenderness


And their words inviting
And their words were welcoming and encouraging


There was a time when love was blind
There was a time when one could love without judgment or reservation


And the world was a song
And the world was filled with joy and possibility


And the song was exciting
And the possibilities were endless


There was a time
This time is now long gone


Then it all went wrong
Then something changed, and everything fell apart


I dreamed a dream in time gone by
I had a beautiful dream of the past


When hope was high
When there was much to be optimistic about


And life worth living
And life held great promise and purpose


I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that love would be eternal


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


Then I was young and unafraid
Then I was full of courage and confidence


When dreams were made and used and wasted
When dreams were abundant and could be both fulfilled and ignored


There was no ransom to be paid
There was no cost too high to achieve one's aspirations


No song unsung, no wine untasted
Nothing was left undone or untried


But the tigers come at night
But sometimes unexpected danger or hardship can arrive


With their voices soft as thunder
With a menacing presence that contradicts their quietness


As they tear your hope apart
As they destroy your aspirations


As they turn your dream to shame
As they make your dream feel foolish or embarrassing


He slept a summer by my side
He spent a blissful summer with me as my companion


He filled my days with endless wonder
He made every day exciting and new


He took my childhood in his stride
He helped me transition from childish innocence to a more mature perspective


But he was gone when autumn came
But he disappeared before the next season could arrive


And still I dream he'll come to me
And yet I still hope he will return


That we will live the years together
That we will reunite and spend the rest of our lives together


But there are dreams that cannot be
But sometimes dreams can never be realized, no matter how much we want them


And there are storms we cannot weather
And sometimes we cannot overcome the challenges that life presents us with


I had a dream my life would be
I once had a vision of what my life could be like


So different from this hell I'm living
A life that is drastically different from the miserable existence I am experiencing now


So different now from what it seemed
So different from what I imagined it would be


Now life has killed the dream I dreamed
Now reality has crushed the dream I once had




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Alain Albert Boublil, Claude Michel Schonberg, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean Marc Natel

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@jasminemeza6186

There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong
I dreamed a dream in times gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed, that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
As they turn your dream to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream
I dreamed



@paulsutton5896

I woke up with bits of this song coursing round my brain.
I needed to hear it.
Ms Henshall does not disappoint.

I have long hoped that Helene Fischer would sing this song.
For no other reason that she has been my favourite singer for ten years.
Instead, she now spends her time f***ing about on a trapeze.
Ye gods.
Three months ago, the trapeze attacked her, and spoiled one of the most beautiful faces which I had ever seen.
In time, the scar will no doubt fade.
But insofar as this is a song about lost possibilities, (as, I suppose, are many), I have thought about it often, in connection with Helene Fischer.
Already an old man, I shall go to my grave with huge gaps in my musical pleasure. Huge gaps in what might have been.



All comments from YouTube:

@lees_box

I worked as an usher at the Palace Theatre for Les Mis and would hear this every night and Ruthie Henshall gave an identically perfect performance of this song each and every time. It was always flawless. She's amazing.

@UndertakerU2ber

So you got paid and watched performances for free?

Why would anyone pay for tickets when they could just apply for a job? lol

@sashap1547

Best.job.ever

@lees_box

@@sashap1547 it was, I loved it. The Palace Theatre was a nice atmospheric place to work as well. I used to stand behind the sound engineers desk and watch him working the massive mixer, he turned everyone's mics up and down in real time and looked like he was playing an instrument. After there I went to usher at the RSC Barbican Center, Comedy of Errors was on at the time which was a lot of fun to see. They designed that production in a very trippy colourful way.

@elliottgreenwood5543

She was autotuned everyone knows. Lol.

@lees_box

@@elliottgreenwood5543 It was a mixer desk which only did volume. Every singer was miked-up with a tiny head mic, they had to turn them up and down so the only thing which came through the system was those singing at the time. The moment someone stopped singing their fader came down and someone else's was pushed up. There was no auto-tune or processing of any kind going on.

59 More Replies...

@lukeprimmer6780

The roughness of her voice used in "but he was gone when Autum came" and "so different from this hell I'm living" really helps hit home the anger and hurt she must feel! It's my favourite part of the performance!

@mirandaroy7630

It's one of the most titular parts of singing. It requires feeling

@colin-kun3611

Same man

@billyraybar

Serendipity

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