“You were once my one companion / you were all that mattered / You were once a friend and father / then my world was shattered…”
Though it’s not talked about much, the theme of fatherneed runs through much of The Phantom of the Opera, and is powerfully displayed in the video clip below.
In the story, Christine Daae (pictured) was very close to her father, who died when she was seven, leaving her an orphan. Christine is still devastated by her father’s death even a decade later. The Phantom is able to capture her heart because he is a father figure, and Christine believes that he may be the “Angel of Music” who her father, a famous violinist, promised he’d send Christine after his death.
In the clip below, Christine, now age 16, is still agonizing over her father’s death, and visits his grave and sings a powerful ode to him–“Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.” The Phantom begins to lure her in by pretending to be the spirit of her father, until her suitor Raul arrives and shakes her out of her delusions.
To watch the video of the scene, click here or see below. The lyrics to Christine’s song to her father are also below.
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again
You were once my one companion . . .
you were all that mattered . . .
You were once a friend and father,
then my world was shattered . . .
Wishing you were somehow here again . . .
wishing you were somehow near . . .
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed,
somehow you would be here . . .
Wishing I could hear your voice again . . .
knowing that I never would . . .
Dreaming of you won’t help me to do
all that you dreamed I could . . .
Passing bells and sculpted angels,
cold and monumental,
seem, for you the wrong companions –
you were warm and gentle . . .
Too many years fighting back tears . . .
Why can’t the past just die . . .?
Wishing you were somehow here again . . .
knowing we must say goodbye . . .
Try to forgive, teach me to live . . .
give me the strength to try . . .
No more memories, no more silent tears . . .
No more gazing across the wasted years . . .
Help me say goodbye.
Help me say goodbye!
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5rsc4GLrd0#”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5rsc4GLrd0#]