I Dreamed A Dream Lyrics – Anne Hathaway
Soundtrack Album: Les Miserables (2012)
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.
[Thanks to Zack Reiser for corrections]
Les Miserables (2012)
Soundtrack Lyrics for Movie, 2012
Track Listing
Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe & The Convicts
Colm Wilkinson
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, The Factory Girls & Les Miserables Cast
Anne Hathaway
Hugh Jackman & Anne Hathaway
Isabelle Allen
Sacha Baron Cohen & Helena Bonham Carter
Hugh Jackman
Russell Crowe
Eddie Redmayne, Les Miserables Cast & Aaron Tviet
Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne & Samantha Barks
Samantha Barks
Les Miserables Cast
Eddie Redmayne, Daniel Huttlestone & Les Miserables Cast
Hugh Jackman
Les Miserables Cast
Russell Crowe
Eddie Redmayne
Amanda Seyfried, Hugh Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Anne Hathaway, Colm Wil
Song Overview
Personal Review
In Tom Hooper’s 2012 adaptation of Les Misérables, Anne Hathaway’s “I Dreamed a Dream” was captured live on set, with only a faint piano fed into her earpiece to guide her pacing and the orchestra added in post-production for maximum emotional immediacy.
This haunting lament unfolds over more than three minutes in a single, uninterrupted close-up, her voice at times barely a whisper before breaking into anguished sobs—a raw, “dirty” realism that pulls the viewer into Fantine’s despair.
Song Meaning and Annotations
Originally written for the 1980 French production of Les Misérables and later adapted into English by Herbert Kretzmer with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, “I Dreamed a Dream” serves as Fantine’s soul-bearing lament upon her expulsion from the factory and descent into abjection.
The song is composed in E-flat major, lifting briefly to F major for its final chorus, and has evolved into a pop-standard ballad beyond its theatrical roots. Its gentle verses, infused with soft, melancholic orchestration, give way to a taut, anguished climax as Fantine cries aloud over shattered hopes.
In the stage version, the number appears after Fantine’s firing; Hooper’s film swaps it to follow “Lovely Ladies,” heightening the contrast between her humiliation and desperate plea for compassion.
As one annotation notes, “most of the music is soft and melancholic, but towards the end becomes louder and taut with frustration and anguish as she cries aloud about the wretched state of her life and her unfair mistreatment.”
By the song’s midpoint, Fantine’s voice completely breaks down, the piano-backed lullaby morphing into torn-at-the-seams confessions—“There was a time when men were kind... Then it all went wrong.” Each pause, each sob-punctuated breath, underscores a world stripped of mercy.
Verse Highlights
Verse 1
Fantine recalls a bygone era of innocence, where love and kindness reigned. Her recollections of “men... soft” and “the world was a song” establish the tragedy of her present solitude and betrayal.
Chorus
“I had a dream my life would be / So different from this hell I’m living”
The chorus crystallizes her despair: the dream of unfading love lies in ruins, replaced by a hellish reality where hope has died.
Song Credits
- Featured: Anne Hathaway
- Producer: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Anne Dudley
- Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg
- Release Date: December 21, 2012
- Genre: Musical, Theatrical, Pop
- Instruments: Piano, Strings, Harp, Cello, Full Orchestra
- Label: Universal Republic
- Mood: Lament, Despair, Anguish
- Length: 4:38
- Track #: 5
- Language: English
- Album: Les Misérables: Highlights from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
- Music Style: Orchestral Musical Theatre Fusion
- Poetic Meter: Iambic with Occasional Trochaic Inversions
- Copyrights: © 2012 Universal Republic
Songs Exploring Themes of Lost Dreams and Despair
“Someone Like You” by Adele – While Adele’s ballad channels acceptance after a lost love, it shares Fantine’s sense of shattered expectation. Adele’s stripped-back piano underpins her soulful voice, mirroring Fantine’s sparse accompaniment, though Adele finds gentle closure where Fantine finds none.
“My Immortal” by Evanescence – This gothic rock-tinged lament also recalls better times before sorrow took hold. Amy Lee’s ethereal delivery over mournful strings parallels Fantine’s transformation from hopeful maiden to broken outcast, though Fantine’s fury adds a sharper edge.
“On My Own” from Les Misérables (Éponine’s Solo) – Performed by Samantha Barks in the 2012 film, this song also foregrounds unrequited love and yearning. Barks’s crystalline soprano and gentle sway contrast with Hathaway’s raw mezzo-soprano agony, yet both numbers share the same orchestral DNA and tragic heart.
Questions and Answers
- What inspired the live-on-set recording approach?
- Tom Hooper wanted emotional freedom for the actors—allowing them to breathe, falter, and cry in real time without the constraints of lip-sync playback.
- How did Anne Hathaway prepare for Fantine’s anguish?
- She lost 11 kg, cut her hair on set, and even sent her husband home to immerse herself in loneliness and despair.
- Why swap “Lovely Ladies” and “I Dreamed a Dream” in the film?
- This reordering heightens the dramatic contrast between Fantine’s descent into prostitution and her desperate plea for mercy.
- What is the song’s key emotional arc?
- It journeys from nostalgic hopefulness to raw, shattered despair, underscored by a swelling orchestral climax.
- How has the song influenced popular culture?
- Its live-on-set realism set a new standard for musical films, inspiring subsequent adaptations to embrace raw performance over polished playback.
Awards and Chart Positions
Anne Hathaway’s portrayal earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2013.
The track peaked at No. 69 on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks on the chart, and reached No. 22 on the UK Singles Chart during a six-week run.
In May 2022, the song was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry for over 200,000 sales and streams.
How to Sing?
Spanning roughly from G♭3 to C5, “I Dreamed a Dream” sits comfortably in the mezzo-soprano tessitura, requiring control over both intimate, low-lying lines and soaring climaxes. Singers should focus on breath support for long phrases, dynamic contrast between soft laments and full-voice outbursts, and maintain a slow, deliberate tempo (around 88 BPM) to convey the song’s stark emotional shifts.
Fan and Media Reactions
"I had an earpiece on that played a live piano, and you can feel every crack in her voice when the orchestra comes in—it’s devastatingly real." Anne Hathaway
"There are a couple of redeeming moments on this chart-topping soundtrack... Anne Hathaway gives the schmaltzy 'I Dreamed a Dream' her all." Jody Rosen, Rolling Stone
"If you are blown away by the scene—as many will be; it will almost certainly earn Hathaway her first Oscar—this may be the film for you." Christopher Orr, The Atlantic
"The centerpiece of a movie composed entirely of centerpieces belongs to Anne Hathaway, who as the tragic heroine Fantine sings another of the memorable numbers." Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post
"She’s superb as the tragic Fantine." Claudia Puig, USA Today
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