"On My Own" - Original Orchestration by Orcha published on 2011-04-02T11:22:29Z DESCRIPTION: Eponine wanders the lonely streets after having evesdropped on Valjean reading the letter she has just delivered for Marius, which reveals Marius' deep love for Cosette and confirms to Eponine what she feared most. Still dressed in mens' clothes, she walks aimlessly through the deserted streets and does what she does best; slip into an ideal reverie where the world is kind and her love for Marius is returned. The fantasy doesn't last, as the difficult situation at hand renders her escapist tactics weak, exposing themselves as such, and revealing to the heartbroken girl the desperately tragic life she has been living and how the survival tactics that are her fantasies are the only things that get her through the day. Now without that, she is left with only Marius as a source of sunlight in her dark life, as she decides to go against his wishes and return to be with him at the barricade. Often falsely said to be a whiny song about unrequited love, listening to the lyrics and minding the orchestrations reveals a very different angle: this is a song of strength, acceptance, and self-discovery. With an emotionally thrilling original orchestration by John Cameron, the moment came to life onstage in the original production with warmly lit, scattered, but shuttered windows as a backdrop courtesy of designer John Napier, with atmospheric lighting like painting upon a grey canvas by David Hersey. One of the most haunting and beautiful, visually stunning stage pictures I've ever seen. It is such a pity that both the orchestration, staging and designs have been dumbed/watered down for the lackluster 25th anniversary production which now has her with nothing but darkness behind her, singing to an orchestration that sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon. Depressing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ON MY OWN Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer with input by John Caird and Trevor Nunn Original French lyrics (originally titled "La Misere" and sung by Fantine) by Alain Boublil Orchestrations by John Cameron EPONINE: And now I'm all alone again Nowhere to turn, no one to go to Without a home, without a friend Without a face to say hello to But now the night is near Now I can make believe he is here Sometimes I walk alone at night When everybody else is sleeping I think of him and then I'm happy With the company I'm keeping The city goes to bed And I can live inside my head... On my own Pretending he's beside me All alone I walk with him till morning Without him I feel his arms around me And when I lose my way I close my eyes and he has found me In the rain The pavement shines like silver All the lights Are misty in the river In the darkness The trees are full of starlight And all I see is him and me Forever and forever... And I know it's only in my mind That I'm talking to myself and not to him And although I know that he is blind Still I say there's a way for us! I love him! But when the night is over He is gone! The river's just a river Without him The world around me changes The trees are bare and everywhere The streets are full of strangers! I love him! But everyday I'm learning All my life I've only been pretending! Without me His world would go on turning A world that's full of happiness That I have never known! I love him I love him I love him But only On my own... Genre Musicals Comment by Henry Wilkinson 3 This is so stunning. A true gem! Thank you so much for creating this! 2016-11-15T08:45:29Z