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Emily Peck

April 4, 2021

Eng.1201

Dr. Cassel

“I Will Always Love You” Essay

“So I'll go but I know, I'll think of you every step of the way,” is a line from “I Will Always

Love You”, a song remembered by most to be performed by Whitney Houston in 1992.

However, this song was written and performed originally by Dolly Parton in 1982. Parton’s

verson was performed for an audience of southern film-goer adults with its campy-country,

musical influences, while Houston’s version gained mainstream success as it was a part of the

soundtrack to a major block buster and contains more pop and soul elements. Houston’s

rendition of “I Will Always Love You” is more well-known than Parton’s due to its mainstream

reach and dramatic stylings while Parton’s version is different in the more niche audience

intended as well as a more mournful tone musically. This is proven by the different storylines in

each movie that support the same overarching theme of love and loss.

The music video for Houston’s version was released to accompany the 1992 drama

entitled The Bodyguard, starring Houston and Kevin Costner. The video depicts Houston’s

character reminiscing about her time spent with Costner’s charter through flashbacks and

reflecting on her decision of saying goodbye to her lover all while she sings on a stage. Parton’s

version was for her movie with Burt Reynolds called The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The

video for this song is the scene from that movie where Parton sings the song to Reynold's
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character as a rejection to his marriage proposal, where ultimately at the end they decided that

their love is worth the pain and ride off into the sunset in Reynold’s beat up truck.

The audience for Parton’s verson of the song is middle to lower-class southern U.S.,

musical-comedy lover, women between the ages of 18-35 and beyond. The song is country and

uses elements of western music storytelling and appeals to that audience very well.

Houston’s version is more well-known as it was created for a major film release with a

bigger budget. Houston’s version also utilized the more commercially accessible medium of pop

music to reach a wider audience of listeners and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

This caused the song to reach a wider audience of pretty much anyone in America with a radio,

but more specifically geared towards middle class 16–34-year-old women in the U.S. who can

relate to being in love.

Parton’s main theme in her video is one of love and loss. Though it hurts Stangley, she

must let Sheriff Dodd go for the better, as the line “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,”. Just as Sheriff Dodd comes to terms with this, however, Stangley has made her mind up

that the couple can never bring each other peace though they love one another. This theme is at

the core of the song itself and is shared by Parton and Houston alike.

The Bodyguard is a drama that centers around bodyguard Frank Farmer played by

Costner, as he attempts to protect pop star Rachel Marron played by Houston. The popstar

receives increasingly threatening notes, and the bodyguard takes precautions that seem over the

top to the popstar as she performs songs that reflect her emotional standing with Frank Farmer.
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This drives the attraction between them into a relationship but them Farmer realizes the danger

that is created from their relationship.

Houston's version of the song reflects the same theme and message of love and loss, but

in different ways. Where Parton's theme is solidified by the characters moral differences, the

theme of losing a great love in Houston’s is driven by the tension between a love that cannot be.

that makes lines like “We both know I'm not what you, you need”, more meaningful as the lovers

are conflicted by Marron being in danger. This is an important distinction that creates the distinct

sonic differences between the versions.

Parton’s version is longing for a love that cannot be, this is supported with the more

subtle long notes, and almost whispered spoken section in the middle of the song. The style of

the music is more southern in nature, with its mournful strumming of the banjo and guitar that

accompanies Parton. This creates an even further distinction between both the audience that the

video was intended for as well as the way the theme of love and loss is portrayed.

Houston’s version however is more pop influenced by and dramatic in its vocals to

intensify the finality of the relationship. This is supported by the dramatic belts Houston

provides, the acapella opening, and the key change at the very end of the song. The 90’s pop

influenced music, is more pronounced than Parton’s version to exemplify the dramatic stakes at

hand.

So, ultimately, Houston took the recognition for song due to the wide reach of the movie

surrounding it, but that doesn't mean that Parton’s isn’t worth discussing. The song, while

intended to be a bittersweet country ballad of love and loss, had greater success as a pop power

ballad. Parton’s version fulfilled its purpose of expressing longing for a love that is not enough to
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give one another peace with campy story context, goofy cliches, and wistful singing. However,

Houston’s version fulfilled the songs' greater purpose of the ultimate pop power ballad that is

rooted in the drama of the film and strong vocals. The reconstruction of the song gave the lyrics

new meaning, to the same themes and did this through a different medium and bigger budget.
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Work Cited

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. 23 July 1982, www.imdb.com/title/tt0083642/.

The Bodyguard. www.imdb.com/title/tt0103855/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl#synopsis.

Movieclips, director. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) - I Will Always Love You

Scene (10/10) | Movieclips. YouTube, YouTube, 12 Dec. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?

v=0KjO3YwlhEE&t=22s.

Whitney Houston. www.billboard.com/music/whitney-houston/chart-history/HSI/song/15629.

WhitneyhoustonVEVO, director. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (Official 4K Video).

YouTube, YouTube, 27 Sept. 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU.

“Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You.” Genius, genius.com/Whitney-houston-i-will-

always-love-you-lyrics.