Tim Rice and his Award-Winning Song: You Must Love Me.

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, he left EMI with Norrie Paramor, a British record producer and composer. 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 and Golden Globe award for the lyrics of 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.

The song, You Must Love Me was sung by Eva as a desperate attempt to secure the relationship she had with her husband after they both knew she was dying. The song, beautifully sung by Madonna, won Best Original Song at the Academy Awards and a Golden Globe in 1999.

In the lyrics below, we see the simplicity of the words Rice uses to convey desperation, uncertainty, and a display of unabashed vulnerability, which is both emotional and powerful.

Eva's uncertainty comes at the beginning of the song with a question, 'Where do we go from here,' and resonates throughout.

The chorus, 'You must love me,' is Eva’s final command and plea to her spouse, Juan, not to leave her because of her illness. The chorus seems like the song's best part. It is 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

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 is 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.