‘My Heart Will Go On’ 25-Year Retrospective: A Record We Won’t Let Go

Jack and Rose fade out on screen, “Titanic” credits begin to roll, a mellow melody playing in the background.

“My Heart Will Go On” is one of the most iconic songs of the ’90s, but the road to the track’s creation 25 years ago was no walk in the park. After Irish Singer-Songwriter Enya declined the project, American composer James Horner was tasked with composing, orchestrating, and conducting the soundtrack to the now-iconic movie, “Titanic.” Horner had originally composed the basis of what is now “My Heart Will Go On” as an instrumental motif throughout the soundtrack, heard in tracks like “The Portrait,” for example, (“Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls”). He then suggested developing the motif into a full song, to be released with the film’s soundtrack.

To this, “Titanic” director James Cameron originally responded with disfavor. Cameron did not want the end credits of his epic historical drama to run to the tune of a pop song, ­reportedly commenting: “Would you put a song at the end of ‘Schindler’s List’?”

Still, Horner went ahead and composed the pop song anyway.

Horner brought in Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings to assist as the lyricist for the project. While Jennings would typically write based on a script or rough cut of the film, this was not the case for “Titanic.” Instead, Horner explained the script’s story to Jennings and shared the theme that he had composed.

From there, Jennings was inspired, saying he “wrote everything from the point of view of a person of a great age looking back so many years … It was the love story that made the film.”

Last came the vocals. Horner already had Céline Dion in mind, but convincing her to join the project wasn't easy. She had just enjoyed the massive successes of “Because You Loved Me” as well as the title track of Disney film “Beauty and the Beast” and was not eager to jump into this new endeavor.

At one point, Dion, Horner, and Dion’s (now late) husband and manager René Angélil were together at a suite in Caesars Palace. Horner wanted to show Dion what of “My Heart Will Go” he had so far, and so began to play and sing it on the in-suite piano.

In an interview with Billboard, Dion commented on the life changing moment; “With all the respect that I have for James — poor him, this guy is looking above us right now — he is not the greatest singer. I was making this sign like, ‘This is not possible.’” Her husband stopped Horner, saying “James, James, James. Listen to me. You’re not doing justice to the song right now. I’m going to make a deal with you: Let’s have Céline make a demo.”

Though she went ahead with the demo, Dion did not hesitate to vocalize her discontent: “I wanted to choke my husband. Because I didn’t want to do it!”

Despite her reluctance, Dion went into the studio one evening to try it out. The singer proceeded to electrify the atmosphere with her rendition of the song. By the time she was finished, everyone present was crying, and Horner informed her that they may not even need her to sing it again. Indeed, this first take is the one that found itself in the film.

The production of “Titanic” had not forecasted success — the movie had been far over budget and filming was delayed for months. Nobody expected the swell of popular and critical acclaim yet to come.

The movie, of course, quickly captured the hearts of millions. “Titanic” opened a few days before Christmas on about 2,700 screens in the US, and grossed $28 million in its first week. It went on to gross a worldwide total of over $2.2 billion on a production budget of $200 million, and became the highest-grossing film of all time in 1998 (a title it held for the next twelve years). It also received 14 Oscar nominations and 11 wins including Best Picture.

The film’s soundtrack and song “My Heart Will Go On” experienced similar success. The record topped the charts in more than 25 countries, was the world's best-selling single in 1998, and would become one of the best-selling singles of all time. In fact, the picture and record experienced a symbiotic relationship of sorts, in which the popularity of each boosted that of the other.

Céline Dion also recorded and released a slightly different version of “My Heart Will Go On” for radio. While the one-take film version has a more melancholy, melodic feel with an extended ending, the track produced for the radio has a fuller sound, supplemented with percussion, strings, and electric guitar. It is this iteration of the track that won the 1998 Grammys for Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Song Of The Year, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. Still, the general integrity of both tracks remains the same, and they fundamentally share the qualities that make “My Heart Will Go On” the cultural titan that it is.​​

What exactly makes “My Heart Will Go On” so special? It is most helpful, perhaps, to start at the beginning.

“My Heart Will Go On” is enrapturing from its very first notes. Its sound is initially quite hollow, as the signature Irish tin whistle pierces the air with a simple yet iconic melody. The overall effect is gorgeous yet undeniably haunting — it conveys a sense of grief and loss, but also of memory, meaning, and timeless love.

The lyrics only add to this sentiment. Jennings’s lyrical storytelling is versatile:
It reflects the film’s narrative of Jack’s death and Rose’s memory of him, but there is also a sense of universality within it. This quality allows “My Heart Will Go On” to be appreciated not just in the context of being in the “Titanic” soundtrack, but as a standalone piece about the transcendent and transformative power of love.

Even more impactful is the song’s structure, culminating a powerful slowburn into a rousing finale. As previously mentioned, the song begins quite unassumingly. Dion is reserved vocally: She begins with a gentle almost-whisper. Even as she enters the subsequent verses and chorus, and the instrumental becomes a bit more full, her voice grows only marginally. This choice, paradoxically, only adds to the track’s effectiveness. It is well-known that Dion is a vocal powerhouse, so her use of a softer vocal sound creates an airy yet extremely emotive quality to the record.

This unassuming start sets up what is one of the most iconic and impactful key changes of all time. After a rousing second chorus, Dion’s vocals dramatically cut out, paving the way for a brief instrumental bridge which builds into a stunning modulation on the final chorus. Dion’s soaring yet effortlessly controlled vocals exclaim, “You’re here, there’s nothing I fear … We’ll stay forever this way.” Meticulously crafted from beginning to end, the track meanders to its conclusion, fading out slowly into a single hummed line.

It seems that most critiques of “My Heart Will Go On” revolve around the song’s constant cultural circulation over the years. The song has been played and replayed to no end over the years. At the same time, there is no doubt that the record is an iconic cultural entity. There is a reason, after all, why — 25 years after its release — everybody is still intimately familiar with “My Heart Will Go On.”

The songwriting, production, and of course Céline Dion’s signature tone join to create a beautiful and emotional piece. Factoring in its relation to the heart-wrenching story in “Titanic,” what results is more akin to a spiritual journey than mere song. Although created against the odds and despite a series of roadblocks, it seems that the legacy of “My Heart Will Go On” will endure — as a society we just seem unable to let go.

—Staff writer Julia Hynek can be reached at julia.hynek@thecrimson.com.