MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
A new day has come (Celine Dion)
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4:18
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/music/a-new-day-has-come-celine-dion-1236
Description

This song is about a very special kind of love. After having her first child, Celine Dion stopped singing for two years. This song marked her return and topped number 1 in the USA in 2002. The lyrics are so beautiful that they become almost cheesy, but the choirs and melody and the true meaning of the lyrics turn all the love cliché into one of Celine Dion's masterpieces.


You can see this song in karaoke mode here.

Transcript

A new day has...
A new day has...

I was waiting for so long
For a miracle to come
Everyone told me to be strong
Hold on and don't shed a tear

Through the darkness and good times
I knew I'd make it through
And the world thought I had it all
But I was waiting for you

Hush now
I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has...come


Where it was dark now there's light
Where there was pain now there's joy
Where there was weakness, I found my strength
All in the eyes of a boy

Hush now
I see a light in the sky
Oh, it's almost blinding me
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has...

Let the rain come down and wash away my tears
Let it fill my soul and drown my fears
Let it shatter the walls for a new sun
A new day has...come

Hush now
I see a light in your eyes
All in the eyes of a boy
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love
I can't believe
I've been touched by an angel with love

Hush now...
A new day...
Hush now...
A new day...

Explanations

FOR SO LONG= For a very long time.

HOLD ON= Wait.

DON’T SHED A TEAR= Don’t cry. If you shed a tear, you let a drop of liquid come out of your eyes.

I’D MAKE IT THROUGH= If you make it through you can survive a difficult situation.

I HAD IT ALL= I had everything.

HUSH= Be quite (in this context it means: stop crying). This expression is most often used when talking to babies because the sound of it is relaxing and comforting (but we can also use it for adults).

BLINDING ME= A blind person can’t see. If a light blinds you it is so strong that you can’t see.

I’VE BEEN TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL WITH LOVE= I’ve been touched with love (by an angel) = An angel has touched me with love.

LET THE RAIN COME DOWN= This is the imperative for the 3rd person (Let + infinitive without to).
- Dance! (imperative for the 2nd person = please, I want you to dance)
- Let Susan dance! (imperative for the 3rd person = I want Susan to dance, tell her to dance)
Let the rain come down= I want the rain to come down.

… WASH AWAY MY TEARS= She was crying so there are tears on her face. If it rains, the rain will fall on her face and wash those tears away, the tears will disappear. The particle AWAY expresses distance.

DROWN= To die or kill by putting a person or animal under water so they cannot breathe. If the rain drowns my fears, my fears die, disappear.

SHATTER= Destroy. To cause to break or burst suddenly into pieces, as with a violent blow.

SHATTER THE WALLS= The city walls are the big walls surrounding ancient cities for protection. Figuratively we can also talk about the walls of a person. Those walls are psychological barriers of protection that person built in order not to suffer, but the same walls that protect us from the bad things outside are also making it difficult for the good things to come to us. So if you break the walls, you are more receptive and love can get to you.

WEAKNESS= The quality of being weak (the opposite of “strong”).

STRENGTH= The quality of being strong.

Meaning

This song looks like yet another love song, a bit too sentimental for that matter. But the true meaning goes deeper than that. Céline Dion had long wanted to have a child and finally she had a boy. Two years after having her baby she made her comeback with this song: A New Day Has Come. In this song she’s talking about how much she had suffered and how much she had wanted to have a baby. Finally that baby arrived, “an angel”, and it became her “light in the sky”. She feels so touched by this new creature that all her world changed and a new day began and she can say: “Where it was dark now there's light, where there was pain now there's joy, where there was weakness. I found my strength, all in the eyes of a boy”. Also, we can't forget that when she says "a new sun" it may also be "a new son" (same pronunciation).