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"I Will Remember You"
1999 US retail release of the live recording
Single by Sarah McLachlan
from the album The Brothers McMullen soundtrack and Mirrorball
Released	1995 1999 (live)
Recorded	1995 1999 (live)
Genre	Pop
Label	Arista
Songwriter(s)	Sarah McLachlan Séamus Egan Dave Merenda
Producer(s)	Pierre Marchand
Sarah McLachlan singles chronology
"Good Enough" (1994) "I Will Remember You" (1995) "Full of Grace" (1996)
"Angel" (1998) "I Will Remember You (live)" (1999) "Ice Cream (live)" (1999)

"I Will Remember You" is a song written by Sarah McLachlan, Séamus Egan and Dave Merenda. The original inspiration came from Seamus Egan's instrumental song, "Weep Not for the Memories", which appeared on his album A Week in January (1990). McLachlan and Merenda added lyrics and modified the melody for her version. The song first appeared on the soundtrack for the movie The Brothers McMullen in 1995 and was released the same year, when it peaked at number 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 in Canada. It was also featured on McLachlan's 1996 remix album, Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff. The Rarities version of the song has three verses, the first of which is omitted during live performances, as heard on her 1999 album Mirrorball.

In 1999 McLachlan released the live version of the song from Mirrorball; this release peaked at number 14 in the United States on July 20, 1999, and number 10 in Canada on July 26, topping the country's adult contemporary chart on August 16 and August 23. The live version went Gold in the United States and earned McLachlan her second Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2000 (after winning for "Building a Mystery" in 1998 and being nominated for "Adia" in 1999). McLachlan performed the song during an "in memoriam" slide show at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards, held on September 20, 2009.

Critical reception

Billboard reviewer Brett Atwood praised the vocal delivery on the studio version along with the "detailed" guitar and piano lines. Steve Baltin from Cash Box chose it as a Pick of the Week, writing, "McLachlan's contribution to the soundtrack of The Brothers McMullen is as good a ballad as will be released this year. Against an alternately sparse and lush arrangement, the Canadian with the voice of an angel beautifully asks the age-old question, "will you remember me when all is said and done?" Reminiscent of her hit from last year, "Good Enough", this song further establishes McLachlan as one of the most gifted singers in pop/rock. As the film's success continues to grow, look for this song to be a smash at Adult Contemporary and to eventually cross over to CHR and Top 40. If this one doesn't move you, you've never been in love."

Chart performance

On the week ending January 20, 1996, the original recording of the song peaked at number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The live recording of the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart in July and August 1999 and at number three on the Adult Contemporary chart in August and September 1999. On the week ending July 31, 1999, it peaked at number 14 on the Hot 100. The song has sold more than two million copies worldwide as of February 2000.

Charts

Certifications

Covers

This song was covered by Kenny Rogers on his 1999 album, She Rides Wild Horses.

Séamus Egan's band Solas included a version of the song on their 2000 album The Hour Before Dawn.

Andy Bernard sings an acoustic version of the song on the ninth-season episode of The Office entitled "Livin' the Dream".

This song opened the series finale of Melrose Place "Ashes to Ashes" in 1999.

This song was covered by Canadian indie rock band Metric for the second episode of the 2023 animated series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Christina Aguilera performed a cover version of the song in the Amazon Prime Video's comedy special Yearly Departed, which first aired in December 2020.

References

1. Billboard (May 13, 2000)
2. Atwood, Brett (August 26, 1995). "Single Reviews." Billboard, edited by Larry Flick.
3. Baltin, Steve (September 30, 1995). "Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. p. 7. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
4. "Hot 100 Singles, p. 86. Billboard, January 20, 1996.
5. "Hello Dolly: Welcome to the Chart" by Fred Bronson, p. 128. Billboard, September 6, 1997.
6. Adult Top 40 (July 17, 1999). Billboard.
7. Billboard, p. 75. August 21, 1999.
8. Adult Contemporary, Billboard. p. 90. September 11, 1999.
9. Billboard, October 2, 1999.
10. Billboard. July 31, 1999. p. 98.
11. "Culture 2000 Budget Disappoints" by Emmanuel LeGrand. February 26, 2000. p. 54.
12. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. October 16, 1995. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
13. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. July 26, 1999. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
14. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8542." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
15. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8358." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
16. "Canadian Top 20 in 1999" (PDF). Cross Canada Countdown. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2005. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
17. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
18. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
19. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard.
20. "Sarah McLachlan Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
21. "RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved March 26, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
22. "RPM Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1995". RPM. Retrieved March 26, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
23. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Hit Tracks". RPM. Retrieved March 26, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
24. "RPM 1999 Top 100 Adult Contemporary". RPM. Retrieved March 26, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
25. "Billboard Top 100 – 1999". Archived from the original on July 9, 2009. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
26. "1999 The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. YE-99. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
27. "1999 The Year in Music: Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 52. December 25, 1999. p. YE-100. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
28. "Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1999". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 7, no. 52. December 24, 1999. p. 54.
29. "2000 The Year in Music: Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 112, no. 53. December 30, 2000. p. YE-98. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
30. "American single certifications – Sarah Mc Lachlan – I Will Remember You". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
31. Atad, Corey (December 30, 2020). "Christina Aguilera Covers Sarah McLachlan's 'I Will Remember You'". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Global. Archived from the original on 2020-12-30. Retrieved December 30, 2020.

• 1995 singles
• 1996 singles
• 1999 singles
• Music videos directed by Sophie Muller
• Sarah McLachlan songs
• Pop ballads
• Arista Records singles
• Songs written by Sarah McLachlan
• 1995 songs
• 1990s ballads
• Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
• Songs about parting