I Dreamed a Dream

I dreamed a dream in days 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 dreamed he'd come to me,

That we would live the years together

But there are dreams that can not be

And there are storms we can not weather.

I had a dream my life would be

So different from this hell I'm living,

So different now from what it seemed