I Will Always Love You Lyrics by Whitney Houston

“I Will Always Love You” is a song composed and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973. The country single was published in 1974 as a farewell to her business partner and mentor, Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton’s choice to start a solo career. The song was a commercial success for Parton, reaching the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart twice in June 1974 and then again in October 1982, when it was re-recorded for the soundtrack film The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

Whitney Houston covered the song in 1992 for the film The Bodyguard. Houston’s hit spent 14 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting a new record and becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time and the best-selling single by a female artist.

Short info

• Artist: Whitney Houston
• Album: The Bodyguard Soundtrack (1992)
• Genre: R&B
• Length: 2:54
• Songwriter: Dolly Parton
• Producer: Bob Ferguson

Background

Whitney Houston, an American singer, released a fresh arrangement of “I Will Always Love You” for the soundtrack to her 1992 film début, The Bodyguard. Kirk Whalum contributes a saxophone solo to the tune. Originally, she was scheduled to record Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” as The Bodyguard’s lead single. Houston, however, requested a different tune when it was learned the song would be used for Fried Green Tomatoes.

Kevin Costner, who was playing Linda Ronstadt’s 1975 version from her album Prisoner in Disguise, offered “I Will Always Love You.” Houston and producer David Foster rearranged the song as a soul ballad. Although her record company did not believe an a cappella entrance would be as popular, Houston and Costner insisted on keeping it. When Parton learned that Houston was using Ronstadt’s version as a template, she contacted Foster to provide him with the final verse, which was omitted from the Ronstadt recording due to its importance to the song. On November 3, 1992, Arista Records released her interpretation of the song as the soundtrack’s lead single.

I Will Always Love You Lyrics

[Verse 1]
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I’ll go, but I know
I’ll think of you every step of the way

[Chorus]
And I will always love you
I will always love you
You
My darling, you

[Verse 2]
Bittersweet memories
That is all I’m taking with me
So goodbye, please don’t cry
We both know I’m not what you, you need

[Chorus]
And I will always love you
I will always love you
You
[Saxophone Solo]

[Verse 3]
I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of
And I’m wishing you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish you love

[Chorus]
And I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I will always love you
I, I will always love you

[Outro]
You
Darling, I love you
I’ll always
I’ll always love you

I Will Always Love You Song

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Whitney Houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston was a singer and actress from the United States of America. She is known as “The Voice” and is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time, with more than 200 million albums sold worldwide. Houston has impacted a large number of contemporary vocalists and is renowned for her powerful, soulful vocals and vocal improvisation abilities.

She is the only artist to have seven consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, from 1985’s “Saving All My Love for You” to 1988’s “Where Do Broken Hearts Go.” Houston’s popularity was also boosted by her entry into the film industry. Her creations, including music and films, have achieved both commercial and critical acclaim. She garnered numerous awards throughout her career and posthumously, including two Emmys, eight Grammys, and fourteen World Music Awards and inductions into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020.

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