I'm Always Here#Other versions

{{short description|1991 song by Jimi Jamison}}

{{Infobox song

| name = I'm Always Here

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Jimi Jamison

| album = Empires

| released = 1993 (1991 in TV)

| format =

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Rock

| length = 4:03 (album version, 1999)
3:22 (single version, 1993)

| label =

| writer = Jimi Jamison, Joe Henry, Cory Lerios & John D' Andrea

| producer = Cory Lerios & John D'Andrea

| prev_title =When Love Comes Down

| prev_year =1991

| next_title =Have Mercy

| next_year =1996

}}

"I'm Always Here" (also known as "I'll Be Ready"{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/ill-be-ready-mt0040906827|title=I'll Be Ready - Jimi Jamison {{!}} Song Info {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2018-12-01}}) is a song by Jimi Jamison{{Cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/various-artists-2215-1236317|title='Baywatch' theme tune singer Jimi Jamison dies, aged 63 - NME|date=2014-09-02|work=NME|access-date=2018-12-01|language=en-US}} and it is most recognized as the theme of the popular 1990s TV series Baywatch, used for seasons 2 through 10.{{Citation|title=Baywatch (TV Series 1989–2001)|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096542/soundtrack|access-date=2018-12-12}}

Jamison is credited as the lyricist on this song along with Joe Henry, who co-wrote the Rascal Flatts hit "Skin" (not to be mistaken for the Joe Henry who wrote Madonna's "Don't Tell Me"). The music is credited to Cory Lerios and John D'Andrea.

Songfacts website wrote that the line "I won't let you out of my sight," whilst appropriate song for a TV series about lifeguards, could be related to a commitment to a girl, telling her that the singer will always be there for her.{{Cite web|url=https://www.songfacts.com/facts/jimi-jamison/im-always-here|title=I'm Always Here by Jimi Jamison - Songfacts|last=Songfacts|website=www.songfacts.com|language=en|access-date=2018-12-12}} However, Jamison himself wrote in his original handwritten song notes that there was another meaning.

:"A twist of lyrical fate"-

:Lifeguards save thousands of lives each year. The producers of 'Baywatch' thought these lyrics were only about those heroes ... but every hero needs a little help from above to be able to do what they do. So I wrote these lyrics as if GOD was speaking to them and us. Telling us all that he is always with us watching over us.

:Funny as it may seem, the only person who really understood the lyrics was a writer at 'Playboy Magazine' who in one of their issues broke the song down line per line and explained what the song was really saying. He was spot on ! If I remember correctly, the heading of his article was "Baywatch theme is obviously a christian theme"

An instrumental version was used as the ending theme of seasons 6 to 9 and a different instrumental version was used as the theme for season 10 (the first season of Baywatch: Hawaii).{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/im-always-here-mt0013657509|title=I'm Always Here - Jimi Jamison {{!}} Song Info {{!}} AllMusic|website=AllMusic|access-date=2018-12-01}}

Music video

The music video for "I'm Always Here" features Jimi Jamison performing throughout the bay, mixed with scenes from the TV series.{{Citation|last=Afternoon In Utopia|title=Jimi Jamison - I'm Always Here (Baywatch OST) HQ|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilAJJ3WHg6g|access-date=2018-12-12}}

Other versions

Other versions of "I'm Always Here" include:

  • The instrumental version of the song was featured in the outro of the show in later seasons.
  • The album version is melodically different from the single version due to the year release of both. While the single version reached the top ten of America's Greatest Hits in 1996, the album version entered the top 100 in the German charts in 1999.
  • An instrumental version of the song appears in the episode "Battles" of the UK television programme Spaced.
  • Swedish electronic musical group Sunblock remixed the song and released it under the title "I'll Be Ready" on 9 January 2006.{{cite magazine|title=Reviews – Records released 26.12.05–9.01.05: Singles|magazine=Music Week|page=24|date=January 7, 2006}} This version reached number 12 in Sweden, number four in the United Kingdom, and number eight in Denmark.{{cite web|url=https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Sunblock&titel=I%27ll+Be+Ready&cat=s|title=Swedishcharts.com – Sunblock – I'll Be Ready|publisher=Singles Top 100|access-date=August 5, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17964/sunblock/|title=Sunblock|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=August 5, 2020}}
  • German dance act Bass Bumpers had a UK hit single in 2006 with a mash-up of the song and "Phat Planet" by Leftfield. This new version was entitled "Phat Beach (I'll Be Ready)" (with the group being credited as Naughty Boy on this Ministry of Sound release) and reached number 36 on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/17965/naughty-boy/|title=Naughty Boy|publisher=Official Charts Company|accessdate=August 5, 2020}}
  • A soundalike version was used in the Hey Arnold! episode "Summer Love" over the end credits.
  • Swedish group Konditorns recorded the theme with Swedish lyrics for their album K2 (2012), titled "Jag är alltid här" which is a direct translation of the phrase "I'm always here".
  • In 2005, Andrew Spencer created a house version of the song featuring Pit Bailay on vocals.

References