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Aubrey Smith

Professor Riley

English Composition 1201

21 June 2020

I Will Always Love You

The song, “I Will Always Love you” was originally written and performed by the country

idol, Dolly Parton, and later performed, more famously, by the R&B singer, Whitney Houston.

Both performers appeared in movies that featured their performance of this song. While Whitney

Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You” shares multiple similarities with Dolly Parton’s

original, including the same audience appeal, the videos that go along with them have very

different claims regarding love and how to act when you are in love. 

Dolly Parton's  music video appeared in the 1982 musical comedy, The Best Little

Whorehouse in Texas. At the beginning of the video, the audience is introduced to the character,

Ed Earl Dodd. Dodd asks for Miss Mona’s hand in marriage, who is played by Dolly Parton. 

Parton’s verse begins by her declaring, “And so I'll go, but I know, I'll think of you each step of

the way”, thus turning down his marriage proposal. She then turns to the chorus and proclaims,

“I Will Always Love You”, promising that even though she can’t marry him, she still does, and

always will love him.  

While the lyrics remain the same in Whitney Houston's rendition, the video contains an

altogether different story. Appearing in the 1992 film, The Bodyguard, Houston’s video shows

her remembering many of the situations she’s been through with her lover. The line, “Bittersweet

memories, That is all I'm taking with me”, can be seen visually in Houston’s scenes as images
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flash on the screen, displaying their time together. Houston’s beautiful vocals, along with

dramatic scenery, and lines like, “But above all this, I wish you love”, are the proof of her

character's love for her beloved.

The overlap between the audience appeal to romance movie fans can be heard in both the

references of “love” and the appearance of the song in the romantic movies. As a pure romantic

ballad, “I Will Always Love You” speaks to the heart of every adult who can relate to being in

love. The song potentially appeals to couples and those who are single alike, reminding us of

what it feels like to be in love.

Although the audience appeal of the lyrics are potentially similar, the claims that both

scenes make differ vastly. In Dolly Parton's original, her character, Miss Mona, turns down Ed's

marriage proposal, claiming “We both know I'm not what you need”. Miss Moana just wants Ed

to be happy, and she believes she can't give him that. In a world of selfishness and distrust, it’s

rare to witness a scene of such courage that someone is able to walk away from something they

desperately desire in order to help someone else. As she concludes, she goes on to state, “I know

you’re going to get your dream”. Miss Mona undoubtedly believes she will just get in the way,

and she only wants to give Ed what he truly needs. Dolly’s claim to us is that sometimes, you

have to do what’s best for the person you love, even if it could potentially cause you pain. 

The claims that Whitney Houston’s scene makes differ significantly from Parton’s. In the

video accompanying Houston’s famous cover of the song, she boards a plane, leaving her love

behind, only to end up exiting the plane and dramatically running back to her lover.  The saying,

“I will always love you”, takes on a strikingly different meaning in Houston's version, as she

shows that if you truly love someone you should chase after them and never give up.
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While both scenes show different sides of being in love, the audience is led to the

conclusion that these are two very different situations. The way both claims are presented greatly

differ both visually and thematically. With Parton's solemn and country version, it reminds us of

how inspiring it is to be in love. It shows not only how all-consuming those feelings can be, but

how we can't let them blur our vision of what is best as well. Conversely, Houston's R&B

version uses pathos that leaves us with a more emotional feeling.  All of this accompanied with

the dramatic flashbacks of the love scenes in the movie, and it is understandable that the

audience would be filled with a desire to both love and be loved. While both videos teach the

audience a valuable lesson, they individually may speak to each and every person in their own

special way, reminding us that to “always love” may mean different things to different people.

Works Cited  

Vegeta57. Dolly Parton - I will always love you. YouTube, 2007,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_utP1mGoutQ. Accessed 13 June 2020.

Houston, Whitney. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Official Video).YouTube,

27 Sept. 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU. Accessed 13 June

2020.