Stunning~agree

I could not find much of the song's background other than an intro for the muscial in the wikipedia. Considerring what Susan Boyle had gone through, it is like she sang the song inside a mirror.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_from_Les_Mis%C3%A9rables#I_Dreamed_a_Dream

I Dreamed a Dream is a renowned solo sung by Fantine during the first act.

Most of the music is soft and melancholy, but towards the end becomes louder and taut with frustration and anguish; as she cries aloud about the wretched state of her life and her unfair mistreatment.

Overview
The lyrics are about lost innocence and broken dreams. Fantine is abandoned by her lover, gives birth to a daughter, Cosette, out of wedlock, is wrongly dismissed from a desperately-needed job, and forced into prostitution to survive and to support her daughter. It is sung directly after "At the End of the Day".