"I'll Stand by You" is a 1994 song recorded by The Pretenders from their sixth studio album, Last of the Independents.

Oh, why you look so sad?
The tears are in your eyes
Come on and come to me now
Don't be ashamed to cry
Let me see you through
'cause I've seen the dark side too
When the night falls on you
You don't know what to do
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

So if you're mad, get mad
Don't hold it all inside
Come on and talk to me now
Hey, what you got to hide?
I get angry too
Well I'm a lot like you
When you're standing at the crossroads
And don't know which path to choose
Let me come along
'cause even if you're wrong

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you

And when...
When the night falls on you, baby
You're feeling all alone
You won't be on your own
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you

I'll stand by you
Take me in into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you

I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you, yeah

(Won't let nobody hurt you)
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
No no, no no

Take me in into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by...

ASHAMED= Embarrassed.

LET ME SEE YOU THROUGH= Let me help you overcome this bad situation. Let me help you, comfort you while you're hurting.

CONFESS= Admit having done (or to be) something wrong.

I'LL STAND BY YOU= I'll always be there for you, to help you, to support you when you need me.

WON'T LET NOBODY= (coll.) A double negative, totally incorrect in standard English but often used in colloquial English. The subject of this sentence, "I", is also missing.

MAD (AmE)= Angry (BrE)

DON'T HOLD IT ALL INSIDE= If you hold it all inside, you don't tell anything about it, you suffer in silent, without sharing your pain.

TAKE ME IN= Accept me.

YOUR DARKEST HOUR= Your time of most suffering.

DESERT= Abandon.

ALL ALONE= (emphatic) Alone.

ON YOUR OWN= Alone.

The song is a power ballad that pledges love and faithful assistance in times of personal darkness. Basically what the song says is: "when you are in trouble, I'll be there for you, you can always count on me".

In an interview by Songfacts, Steinberg said: "I remember when we wrote it I felt two things: I felt one, we had written a hit song and I felt two, a little sheepish that we had written something a little soft, a little generic for The Pretenders. Whereas 'Night In My Veins' really felt like a great Pretenders rocker, 'I'll Stand By You' felt a little generic. I know that Chrissie felt that way too to some extent. I don't think she really entirely embraced it to begin with, but she certainly does now because when she plays it live, it's one of the songs that gets the strongest response. It's done really well for her and for us."