MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
I will always love you (Whitney Houston)
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4:34
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/music/i-will-always-love-you-whitney-houston-3770
Description

One of the best love ballads, and Whitney's greatest hit. It was number 1 in the States for 14 weeks, which was a record at the time.

Transcript

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.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.
You, my darling you. Hmm.

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.

And I will always love you.
I will always love you.

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you've dreamed of.
And I wish to you joy and happiness.
But above all this, I wish you love.

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.

You, darling, I love you.
Ooh, I'll always, I'll always love you.

Explanations

IF I SHOULD STAY= This is a conditional sentence mixing types 1 and 2: “If I should stay, I would only be in your way”.
Type 1: if-present + will = If you love me, I will marry you (you probably love me)
Type 2: if-past + would = If you loved me, I would marry you (but you don’t, or it’s very improbable)
We can use SHOULD in type 1 to make the condition less probable:
- If you see my sister, tell her I’m looking for her (maybe you will see her)
- If you should see my sister, tell her I’m looking for her (I don’t think you’ll see her, but maybe you will)
Here, we are using “if-should + would” instead of “if-past + would” with the same result. “Should” is making the condition less probable:
- If you should love me, I would marry you = If you loved me, I would marry you. (but you don’t love me)
- If I should stay, I would only be in your way = but I won’t stay, I’m leaving.

IN YOUR WAY= Bothering, causing trouble.

EVERY STEP OF THE WAY= All the time, in every moment of my life ("the way" = "my life").

BITTERSWEET= Something “bitter” is sour, acid, like a lemon, and something “sweet” is like honey or sugar, so something “bittersweet” has a mixture of both things, like the well-known Chinese sauce for pork. We can also use it in a figurative sense, like here. A bittersweet memory is a memory that makes us feel happy (sweet) because it brings back good feelings, but at the same time makes us sad (bitter) because when I remember you and your love, I miss you so much.

CRY= Weep, shed tears (water drops) through your eyes.
 
KIND= This is an adverbial of manner, so it should be “kindly”, but in colloquial English (especially AmE) it is very common to use an adjective instead of an adverb:
- I feel good = I feel well
- You drive too slow = too slowly

ABOVE ALL THIS= More important that this.
“Above” /əbʌv/ = over, higher than.


 

Meaning

This was featured in the movie The Bodyguard, which Houston starred in with Kevin Costner. Houston played a famous singer and Costner her bodyguard. They fall in love but she felt their relationship was impossible because her life of an artist was too complicated for him, so she decided to leave. It was Costner himself who picked this song for the movie, because it is incredibly beautiful and because the lyrics go very well with the kind of love they have in the movie.

Too many people just pay attention to the “I will always love you” part of the song and think it is a love song where they promise love forever, and some people even use it for their wedding ceremonies. Big, big mistake, the song is a sad song about an impossible love, she loves him but she leaves him. I would never marry to a song like that… just in case.