
This song was made famous by Whitney Houston, and became the biggest song of her career, but what most people don't know was that it was originally sung by Dolly Parton. The original track is a soft country ballad, instrumented mainly by piano, harmonica, and fiddle. I love this version. Although Parton's vocals aren't as powerful as Houston's, there's something about her voice that just fits this song and it's lyrics better than Houston's does. Houston hits an incredible note at the chorus, but Parton scales it back and softly sings that note, with more tenderness than I ever thought could be in a singing voice. She tells the story, and sings it as if she were actually speaking to her lover. The bridge is a spoken verse, where Parton speaks in an almost tearful voice, saying,