[Fantine is left alone, unemployed and destitute]  
   
 [FANTINE]  
 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  
 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.