Songs from Les Misérables


The songs from Les Misérables are the sung-through musical numbers featured in the stage adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name.
The music was composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel. An English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer was later developed for the London production, which opened in 1985 following the original 1980 premiere in Paris.
The score includes a range of solos and ensemble pieces. Several songs, including "I Dreamed a Dream", "On My Own", and "Do You Hear the People Sing?", have been featured in various stage productions, recordings, and screen adaptations.

Performances

Several cast recordings of Les Misérables exist, including versions by the Original London Cast and the Original Broadway Cast.
The official motion picture soundtrack from the 2012 film adaptation reached number one on the American Billboard chart in 2012.

Characters

Key characters:
  • Jean Valjean, also known as "Prisoner 24601", is a morally conflicted convict on parole and the protagonist of Les Misérables. Failing to find work with his yellow parole note and redeemed by the Bishop of Digne's mercy, he tears up his passport. He conceals his identity under the alias "Monsieur Madeleine", to begin a new life. However, the police inspector, Javert, constantly pursues him.
  • Bishop Myriel offers Valjean shelter for the night and defends him from the police after Valjean steals from him.
  • Fantine is a struggling single mother who, after being fired from her job, becomes a street prostitute to pay for her child Cosette's well-being. She later dies, allowing Jean Valjean to become Cosette's guardian.
  • Javert, a police inspector, originally a prison guard, becomes obsessed with apprehending Valjean after he abandons his parole. When he is spared later in the musical by Valjean, he is unable to comprehend why he was shown mercy and throws himself off a building, ending his life.
  • Monsieur and Madame Thénardier are a crooked couple who own an inn and exploit their customers financially. They later operate as a band of thieves in Paris.
  • Cosette, Fantine's daughter, whom Valjean later adopts, is abused and mistreated by the Thénardiers.
  • Marius Pontmercy is a French student and revolutionary who falls in love with Cosette. He is one of two survivors at the barricade, rescued by Jean Valjean, who carries him through the sewers of Paris.
  • Éponine is the daughter of the Thénardiers. She transitions from a pampered childhood to a life of hardship in Paris. She harbors an unrequited love for Marius.
  • Enjolras is the leader of the student revolutionaries. He seeks to bring revolution and change to France.
  • Gavroche is the young son of the Thénardiers who joins the revolutionaries and supports their cause. He is a street urchin who is often interpreted as representing the youthful spirit of the rebellion.
  • Grantaire is a revolutionary who doesn't believe in the causes of the revolution. However, he reveres Enjolras. He is often portrayed drunk throughout the musical.

    Songs

Source:
Act I
  • Overture – Instrumental
  • Prologue: Work Song – Chain Gang, Javert and Valjean
  • Prologue: On Parole – Valjean, Farmer, Labourer, Innkeeper's Wife and Innkeeper
  • Prologue: Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven – Constables and Bishop
  • Prologue: What Have I Done? – Valjean
  • At the End of the Day – Fantine, The Poor, Foreman, Workers, Factory Girls and Valjean
  • I Dreamed a Dream – Fantine
  • Lovely Ladies – Fantine, Sailors, Whores, Old Woman, Crone and Pimp
  • Fantine's Arrest – Fantine, Bamatabois, Javert, and Valjean
  • The Runaway Cart – Onlookers, Valjean, Fauchelevent, and Javert
  • Who Am I? – Valjean
  • Fantine's Death – Fantine and Valjean
  • The Confrontation – Javert and Valjean
  • Castle on a Cloud – Young Cosette and Madame Thénardier
  • Master of the House – Thénardier, Madame Thénardier and Chorus
  • The Well Scene – Valjean and Young Cosette
  • The Bargain / The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery – Thénardier, Valjean, Madame Thénardier and Young Cosette
  • Suddenly – Valjean
  • The Convent – Nuns and Valjean
  • Look Down – Beggars, Gavroche, Old Woman, Prostitute, Pimp, Enjolras and Marius
  • The Robbery / Javert's Intervention – Thénardier, Madame Thénardier, Éponine, Marius, Valjean and Javert
  • Stars – Javert
  • Éponine's Errand – Marius and Éponine
  • The ABC Café / Red and Black – Students, Enjolras, Marius, Grantaire and Gavroche
  • Do You Hear the People Sing? – Enjolras, Grantaire, Students and Beggars
  • In My Life – Cosette, Valjean, Marius and Éponine
  • A Heart Full of Love – Marius, Cosette and Éponine
  • The Attack on Rue Plumet – Thénardier, Thieves, Éponine, Marius, Valjean and Cosette
  • One Day More – Valjean, Marius, Cosette, Éponine, Enjolras, Javert, Thénardier, Madame Thénardier and Company
Act II
  • Building the Barricade – Enjolras, Javert, Marius, Éponine and Valjean
  • On My Own – Éponine
  • At the Barricade – Enjolras, Students and Army Officer
  • Javert's Arrival – Javert and Enjolras
  • Little People – Gavroche, Students, Enjolras, and Javert
  • A Little Fall of Rain – Éponine and Marius
  • Night of Anguish – Enjolras, Valjean and Students
  • The First Attack – Enjolras, Grantaire, Students, Valjean, and Javert
  • Drink with Me – Grantaire, Marius and Students
  • Bring Him Home – Valjean
  • Dawn of Anguish – Enjolras and Students
  • The Second Attack – Enjolras, Marius, Valjean, Grantaire, Gavroche and Students
  • The Final Battle – Army Officer, Grantaire, Enjolras, and Students
  • The Sewers – Instrumental
  • Dog Eats Dog – Thénardier
  • Javert's Suicide – Valjean and Javert
  • Turning – Women of Paris
  • Empty Chairs at Empty Tables – Marius
  • Every Day / A Heart Full of Love – Cosette, Marius and Valjean
  • Valjean's Confession – Valjean and Marius
  • Suddenly – Marius and Cosette
  • Wedding Chorale – Guests, Thénardier, Marius and Madame Thénardier
  • Beggars at the Feast – Thénardier and Madame Thénardier
  • Epilogue: Valjean's Death – Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Marius and Éponine
  • Finale: Do You Hear the People Sing? – Full Company

    Prologue

Overture / Work Song

The overture "Work Song" features an instrumental introduction that sets the scene in Toulon, France, 1815.
In early versions, such as the Original London Recording, the overture was a simplified version of "At the End of the Day".
French versions
  • 1980 Original French Version: This song did not appear, nor did any part of the Prologue. However, its musical theme was adapted from "Look Down", which appeared as Donnez, Donnez.
  • 1991 Paris Revival Version: This song is known as Ouverture and Le bagne: pitié, pitié.
Other Languages
  • 2011 "Los Misérables - Más Que un Musical, una Leyenda" - This version is in Spanish, and the song is known as Prólogo.

    On Parole

"On Parole" is the second song in the prologue. Sometimes this is the first half of "Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven", but is more commonly the first part of "The Bishop of Digne". Valjean travels trying to find a place to work and stay. However, he is shunned almost everywhere he goes until the Bishop brings him in and supplies him with food and wine.
French versions
  • 1980 Original French Version: This song did not appear, nor did any of the Prologue.
  • 1991 Paris Revival Version: This song is known as En liberté conditionnelle.

    Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven

The song contains two parts. In the first part, Valjean is invited in by the Bishop and steals his silver. In the second part, Valjean is caught by two constables. The former is often omitted in recordings; but when both parts are played, the song is usually known as "The Bishop of Digne".
French versions
  • 1980 Original French Version: This song did not appear, nor did any of the Prologue.
  • 1991 Parisian Revival Version: This song is known as L'évêque de Digne.

    Valjean's Soliloquy – What Have I Done?

"What Have I Done?" is the fourth and final song in the Prologue and is sung by Valjean.
French versions
  • 1980 Original French Version: This song did not appear, nor did any of the Prologue.
  • 1991 Parisian Revival Version: This song is known as Pourquoi ai-je permis à cet homme?.

    Act I

At the End of the Day

The music of "At the End of the Day" is intended to be fast and intricate. Different melodies come together, sung by various groups of poor women and men, female workers, and solos by individual workers, all accompanied by a repetition of the title.
French versions
  • 1980 Original French Version: This song is known as La journée est finie, in which it appears as the first song.
  • 1991 Parisian Revival Version: This song is known as Quand un jour est passé.

    I Dreamed a Dream

"I Dreamed a Dream" is a solo sung by Fantine during the first act. Most of the song is soft and melancholic but, toward the end, it becomes louder and taut with frustration and anguish. She cries aloud about the wretched state of her life since being abandoned by Cosette's father.
Other uses
Several artists and characters have covered "I Dreamed a Dream" in other contexts.
  • Neil Diamond recorded "I Dreamed a Dream" for his 1987 live album Hot August Night II
  • The song appears on Aretha Franklin's 1991 album What You See Is What You Sweat. Franklin also performed this song for U.S. President Bill Clinton on the evening of the day that he was inaugurated.
  • In the film The Commitments, one of the auditionees for the titular band sings "I Dreamed a Dream" as her audition song.
  • Susan Boyle performed the song in 2009 for her audition on the third season of the ITV programme Britain's Got Talent. The song's renewed popularity caused Patti LuPone's 1985 recording to enter the UK Singles Chart, peaking at forty-five with 4,987 digital download sales. "I Dreamed a Dream" is the musical's only charted hit.
  • In season one, episode 19 of Glee, characters Rachel Berry and Shelby Corcoran sing "I Dreamed a Dream" as a duet in a dream sequence.
French versions
  • 1980 Original French Version: This song is known as J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie.
  • 1991 Parisian Revival Version: This song is known as J'avais rêvé d'une autre vie but had somewhat different lyrics to the original version.