Bon Jovi – Always

About The Song

“Always” is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi. The power ballad was released in September 1994 by Mercury as a single from the band’s first official greatest hits album, Cross Road (1994), and went on to become one of their best-selling singles, with a million copies sold in the US and more than three million worldwide. The song reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming their 11th and last top 10 hit. It was an international hit, peaking at number one in Belgium, Canada, Ireland and Switzerland, number two in Australia and the United Kingdom, and number four in Germany. The music video for the song was directed by Marty Callner. “Always” was bass player Alec John Such’s final single with the band before he left in late 1994.

The song was originally written by Jon Bon Jovi for the soundtrack to the 1993 film Romeo Is Bleeding, starring Gary Oldman as a corrupt cop and Mafia aide who is renounced by his wife. After being unimpressed by a preview screening of the movie – which was a critical and box office flop – he decided not to lend “Always” to the producers. Bon Jovi commented, “The script was great: the movie wasn’t.” He left the track on his shelf and forgot about it until John Kalodner, a friend and A&R executive, found it and convinced him to re-record and release the song.

Larry Flick from Billboard described “Always” as “a charming new tune that banks on a crisp guitar breeze generated by Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi’s familiar rasp.” He added, “With lush orchestration by Michael Kamen and gradual shifts in tempo, grand track is easily one of the band’s most interesting efforts to date. Prepare for deservedly active airplay well into the fall season.” In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, that it “is an epic ballad of the type they are so fond of penning and a bit of judicious promotion smashes it straight into the Top 5.”

Alan Jones from Music Week gave the song four out of five and named it Pick of the Week, writing, “An intense rock ballad, with strings and piano filling out the group’s sound, and Jon Bon Jovi delivering a strong, stylish lead. Shame about the weak bridge. Even so, this is sure to soar with a TOTP appearance already in the bag.” Tommy Udo from NME declared it as “softy rock”, commenting, “It’s really between Jon Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams for the title as king of that genre which involves straining for the high notes in a big, emotional, best-a-man-can-get ballad. Bon Jovi wins because every track sounds like the theme for a crap epic starring Kevin Costner.”[8] Another NME editor, Paul Moody, said the song “is so Bryan Adams it turns up on his doorstep whenever it gets lost.” Jonathan Bernstein from Spin viewed it as “karaoke Bryan Adams”.

Video

Lyrics

This Romeo is bleeding
But you can’t see his blood
It’s nothing but some feelings
That this old dog kicked up
It’s been raining since you left me
Now I’m drowning in the flood
You see, I’ve always been a fighter
But without you, I give up
I can’t sing a love song
Like the way it’s meant to be
Well, I guess I’m not that good anymore
But baby, that’s just me
And I will love you, baby, always
And I’ll be there forever and a day, always
I’ll be there ’til the stars don’t shine
‘Til the heavens burst and the words don’t rhyme
And I know when I die, you’ll be on my mind
And I’ll love you, always
Now your pictures that you left behind
Are just memories of a different life
Some that made us laugh, some that made us cry
One that made you have to say goodbye
What I’d give to run my fingers through your hair
To touch your lips, to hold you near
When you say your prayers, try to understand
I’ve made mistakes, I’m just a man
When he holds you close, when he pulls you near
When he says the words you’ve been needing to hear
I wish I was him
With these words of mine
To say to you ’til the end of time
That I will love you baby, always
And I’ll be there forever and a day, always
If you told me to cry for you, I could
If you told me to die for you, I would
Take a look at my face
There’s no price I won’t pay
To say these words to you
Well, there ain’t no luck
In these loaded dice
But baby, if you give me just one more try
We can pack up our old dreams
And our old lives
We’ll find a place where the sun still shines
And I will love you, baby, always
And I’ll be there forever and a day, always
I’ll be there ’til the stars don’t shine
‘Til the heavens burst and the words don’t rhyme
I know when I die, you’ll be on my mind
And I’ll love you, always
Always, always