“Always” by Bon Jovi is a soul-bearing ballad that is draped in love, loss, and regret. It’s a heart-wrenching narrative that digs deep into the nuances of romantic love and how its absence can lead to profound emotional turmoil.
When Bon Jovi whispers, “This Romeo is bleeding, But you can’t see his blood,” he connects his pain to Shakespeare’s heartbroken hero, conveying intense emotional hurt that’s invisible to the outside world. The line, “It’s nothing but some feelings That this old dog kicked up” uses lingo straight out of old-school blues, likely indicating that the singer’s digging up old feelings and emotions.
The phrase “It’s been raining since you left me Now I’m drowning in the flood” is a classic example of a metaphor used in rock lyrics, where the rain represents sorrow, and the flood symbolizes overwhelming emotional distress. Bon Jovi’s admission, “I’ve always been a fighter, But without you, I give up,” perfectly encapsulates his despair and defeat.”
As we stride into the chorus, “And I will love you, baby, always,” Bon Jovi belts out his eternal promise of love, even after death, expressing a romantic sentiment that’s timeless. He paints an extravagant picture of enduring love beyond even the existence of stars or coherent language, with ‘Til the heavens burst and the words don’t rhyme’. His love will persist even when the laws of the universe cease – talk about devotion!
“Now, your pictures that you left behind Are just memories of a different life” implies a rupture in the relationship. Bon Jovi’s desperate longing to physically be with his beloved, and his confession of making mistakes signify his remorse. With “When he says the words you’ve been needing to hear I wish I was him,” he conveys the gut-wrenching reality of his lover moving on, which further heightens the intensity of his longing.
In the final verse, Bon Jovi wraps it up with a hint of optimism. His offer to start over anew, “We can pack up our old dreams And our old lives We’ll find a place where the sun still shines,” is his plea for a second chance. Here, the “sun still shines” represents a hopeful place where they can leave their past behind and start afresh, reiterating the eternal theme of love’s enduring power.
“Always,” with its raw emotional delivery, real-world imagery, and poetic language, is a testament to Bon Jovi’s songwriting prowess and a testament to rock’s ability to cross into the territory of timeless love songs. Rock on!
