Tim Rice and his Award-Winning Song: You Must Love Me.
- Jan 17
- 3 min read
Tim Rice, an English author and lyricist, started his career as a management trainee at EMI Records in 1966. While there, he worked with several artists, including Cliff Richard and The Scaffold. In 1968, Rice and British record producer and composer Norrie Paramor left EMI Records. Rice became an assistant producer at Paramor's newly formed company.
Rice is best known for his successful collaborations with Disney on productions like Aladdin and The Lion King. In 1994, he won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for the lyrics to the song Can You Feel the Love Tonight, featured in The Lion King.
Rice also won several awards for the song, A Whole New World from Aladdin, including Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for Best Song of the Year.
In 1978, Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber collaborated on the musical, Evita. It was adapted into a film in 1996 with Rice as the lyricist. Madonna played the role of Eva.
Evita is the story of Eva Peron, the former First Lady of Argentina. It centres on her journey as a political and spiritual figure, but this was short-lived by her demise.
Eva sang the song, You Must Love Me, as a desperate attempt to secure the relationship she had with her husband because they both knew she was dying. The song was beautifully sung by Madonna and won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe in 1999.
In the song's lyrics below, we see the simplicity of the words Rice uses to convey desperation, uncertainty, and a vulnerability that is both emotional and powerful.
Eva's uncertainty is introduced at the beginning of the song with the question 'Where do we go from here?' and resonates throughout.
The chorus, 'You must love me,' is Eva’s final command and plea to Juan, her spouse, not to abandon her because of her illness. The chorus seems like the song's best part. It's also what keeps Eva Peron alive in many hearts.
You must love me.
Where do we go from here?
This isn't where we intended to be.
We had it all, you believed in me
I believed in you.
Certainties disappear
What do we do for our dream to survive?
How do we keep all our passions alive
As we used to do?
Deep in my heart, I'm concealing
Things that I'm longing to say
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you'll slip away
You must love me
You must love me
Why are you at my side?
How can I be of any use to you now?
Give me a chance and I'll let you see how
Nothing has changed
Deep in my heart, I'm concealing
Things that I'm longing to say
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you'll slip away
You must love me
You must love me
You must love me
My Version of You Must Love Me.
Take the reins of my heart.
It's time to aim high
I’ve paved the way for you to fly,
It's time to charge out like a bull
Cause you’re no fool.
And one thing you must do
It is to take my life with you.
Take the reins of my heart
Shake the world
Pull the reins, it's still the same
Take my life with you
And the reins of my heart.
My night is still young
Why is my face fading away?
I’ll never despair, crushing fate
Until the end.
So, one thing you must do
It is to take my life with you.
Take the reins of my heart
Shake the world
Pull the reins, it’s still the same
Take my life with you
And the reins of my heart.
As my mind floats beyond
I hear the applause
For our love and fight for the victory that we made to be.
Take the reins of my heart
Shake the world
Pull the reins, it’s still the same,
Take my life with you,
Take the reins,
Take the reins,
Take the reins of my heart.
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