Fantine: "Bittersweet Symphony" (Maya)

Fantine: “Bittersweet Symphony” The Verve

Lyrics:
'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Try to make ends meet
You're a slave to money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the veins meet yeah,

No change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people
From one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

Well I never pray,
But tonight I'm on my knees yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold

And I'm a million different people
From one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no
I can't change
I can't change

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life
Try to make ends meet
Try to find some money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
You know the one that takes you to the places
Where all the things meet yeah

You know I can't change, I can't change
I can't change, I can't change
But I'm here in my mold
I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people
From one day to the next
I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no

I can't change my mold
No, no, no, no, no,
I can't change
Can't change my body,
No, no, no

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down
Been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Ever been down
Have you ever been down?
Have you've ever been down?

Analysis:
The Verve's “Bittersweet Symphony” is about being trapped, powerless to change your life because you have been placed in a situation with circumstances you are unable to control. Both Jean Valjean and Fantine face this struggle to not succumb to societal pressures, though the song is especially fitting for Valjean. The singer says, “I can’t change, I can’t change / But I’m here in my mold.” He or she is under the impression that it is impossible to become anyone other than who society dictates that he or she can be. This person’s “mold” is society’s preconceived notions about someone based on their past. Similarly, upon meeting the Bishop, Valjean says that he is, “now a yellow passport. That is all” (Hugo 18). Since he has been turned away by person after person, Valjean believes that the only thing he can be is a criminal, because that is all that society is willing to view him as. Valjean is “immobilized” in his mold, having no choice but to continue down this path, accepting all of its consequences, until he makes a detour.

The song also deals with the idea that no matter a person’s path in life, everyone is united in death. Death is universal. More than that, sometimes the only way for a person’s path of misery to end is in death. As the singer says, it is the place “where all things meet.” Fantine’s life is filled to the brim with misfortune and suffering, and it is only in death that she is relieved of her pain. The fact that Hugo decided to have her die suggests that dying allowed her to achieve something that living never could have. Hugo’s description of her dead body suggests it had something to do with spirituality. “The face of Fantine, at this instant, seemed strangely illuminated” (Hugo 134). It was only in death that she could find God as well as happiness. During her time on the path of life, Fantine was unable to change, to break out of the mold, but when she died, she was freed.

Audio: