How Long Will I Love You?

For the 1975 song written by D. Belcher, see Lyn Paul. For the Chinese film, see How Long Will I Love U.

"How Long Will I Love You?" is a song by folk rock band the Waterboys from their fifth studio album, Room to Roam (1990). Written by Mike Scott, it was released as the album's lead single. The song was subsequently covered by English singer Ellie Goulding and released as the second single from her album Halcyon Days (2013). Goulding's version is included on the soundtrack to the 2013 film About Time, which also features a different cover by Jon Boden, Sam Sweeney and Ben Coleman.^[1]

"How Long Will I Love You?"
Single by the Waterboys
from the album Room to Roam
Released	1990 (1990)
Recorded	Spiddal House (Spiddal, Ireland)
Genre	Folk rock
Length	2:48
Label	Ensign
Songwriter(s)	Mike Scott
Producer(s)	Barry Beckett Mike Scott
The Waterboys singles chronology
"And a Bang on the Ear" (1989) "How Long Will I Love You?" (1990) "A Man Is in Love" (1991)

The Waterboys' version is immediately followed by She's All That I Need, a short song which has not been included separately on the tracklist of Room to Roam.^[2]

Release

"How Long Will I Love You?" was given a single release in Ireland and certain European countries, but not the UK or US. A special sleeve was designed for the single's release in Ireland.^[3] The B-side, "Come Live with Me", is a cover of the Felice and Boudleaux Bryant-penned song. The Waterboys recorded the song after Anthony Thistlethwaite attended a Ray Charles concert and fell in love with the song. It was recorded during the sessions for Fisherman's Blues, but it was not released at the time. After appearing on a UK bootleg, it received its first official release on the "How Long Will I Love You?" single.^[3]

Track listings

• Ireland 12-inch single and German CD single

1. "How Long Will I Love You?" – 2:49
2. "When Will We Be Married?" – 2:57
   • Traditional. Arranged by Mike Scott and Steve Wickham. Produced by Mike Scott and John Dunford.

• French and German 7-inch single

1. "How Long Will I Love You?" – 2:49
2. "Come Live with Me" – 7:23
   • Composed by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. Produced by Mike Scott.

Charts

Chart performance for "How Long Will I Love You?"

Chart (1990)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)^[4]	28

Ellie Goulding version

"How Long Will I Love You"
Single by Ellie Goulding
from the album Halcyon Days
Released	10 November 2013 (2013-11-10)
Genre	Pop
Length	2:34
Label	Polydor
Songwriter(s)	Mike Scott
Producer(s)	John Fortis
Ellie Goulding singles chronology
"Burn" (2013) "How Long Will I Love You" (2013) "Goodness Gracious" (2014)

"How Long Will I Love You" was covered by English singer Ellie Goulding for Halcyon Days (2013), the reissue of her second studio album, Halcyon (2012). Released on 10 November 2013 as the second single from the reissue, it also served as the official song for the BBC's 2013 Children in Need appeal.^[5][6] It is also on the soundtrack to the 2013 Richard Curtis film About Time, although her version is not featured in the film itself.^[7] Goulding performed "How Long Will I Love You" live in the BBC Children in Need appeal show on BBC One on 15 November 2013.^[5]

"She changed a couple of the lines", Mike Scott said of Goulding's version. "I'm not sure if she did it deliberately. I don't think they're as good as the original lines, but good for her. I do the same thing myself. I've changed Dylan's words, so I can't really complain if somebody changes mine."^[8]

Commercial performance

"How Long Will I Love You" was a commercial success for Goulding and notably a bigger success than its original. It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, selling 82,872 copies. It reached the top ten in a total of 7 charts, and reached the top twenty in a total of 11 charts. Since its release it has appeared on 16 different charts. The song has appeared inside the top 50 and the UK year end list in both 2013 and 2014 respectively.

In Goulding's native United Kingdom it has been Certified 2x platinum for sales of 1,200,000 Unites and sales. It has been certified Gold in 6 countries, Australia, the United States, New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden and Belgium.

The music video for "How Long Will I Love You" was directed by Mike Sharpe and released on 9 September 2013.^[7][9] The video shows Goulding walking along a beach,^[10] intercut with footage from About Time.^[9]

A second music video premiered on Goulding's official Vevo channel on 28 October 2013, and contains scenes from the short film Tom & Issy, directed by Roger Michell and starring Goulding and Dylan Edwards.^[11][12] The video was shot entirely on a Nokia Lumia 1020.^[12][13]

Track listing

• UK CD single and digital download^[14][15]

1. "How Long Will I Love You" – 2:34

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Halcyon Days.^[16]

Recording

• Mixed at Sentinel Sound
• Mastered at Whitfield Mastering (London, England)

Personnel

• Ellie Goulding – vocals
• John Fortis – production, bass, keyboards
• Joe Kearns – engineering
• Richard Kayvan – engineering, mixing
• Ashley Krajewski – engineering, percussion
• Nick Cornu – guitar
• Chris Ketley – piano
• Kirsty Mangan – violin, viola
• Rachael Lander – cello
• Naweed – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "How Long Will I Love You" Chart (2013–2014) Peak position Australia (ARIA)^[17] 46 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[18] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)^[19] 47 Brazil (Brasil Hot 100 Airplay)^[20] 72 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)^[21] 97 Euro Digital Song Sales (Billboard)^[22] 4 Iceland (RÚV)^[23] 17 Ireland (IRMA)^[24] 3 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)^[25] 13 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[26] 6 Scotland (OCC)^[27] 2 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)^[28] 12 South Korea International Singles (Gaon)^[29] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[30] 58 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[31] 16 UK Singles (OCC)^[32] 3

Year-end charts 2013 year-end chart performance for "How Long Will I Love You" Chart (2013) Position UK Singles (OCC)^[33] 48 2014 year-end chart performance for "How Long Will I Love You" Chart (2014) Position Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)^[34] 31 UK Singles (OCC)^[35] 47

Certifications and sales

Certifications for "How Long Will I Love You"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[36]	Gold	35,000^^
Belgium (BEA)^[37]	Gold	15,000^*
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[38]	Gold	45,000^‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[39]	Gold	7,500^*
South Korea (Gaon)	—	451,300^[40]
Sweden (GLF)^[41]	Gold	20,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[43]	2× Platinum	1,500,000^[42]
United States (RIAA)^[44]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "How Long Will I Love You"

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
United Kingdom	10 November 2013	Digital download	Polydor	^[15]
	11 November 2013	CD single		^[14]

References

1. Monger, James Christopher. "About Time – Original Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
2. The Waterboys – Room To Roam, discogs.com
3. "Waterboys go on the retro trail". Sunday Tribune. 25 November 1990. p. 10.
4. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – The Waterboys". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
5. "Ellie Goulding releases official single for BBC Children in Need". BBC. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
6. . EllieGoulding.com. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
7. . EllieGoulding.com. 9 September 2013. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
8. Moody, Paul (February 2015). "Welcome back: The Waterboys". Classic Rock. No. 206. p. 24. ISSN 1464-7834.
9. Brown, Jimmy (10 September 2013). "Ellie Goulding 'How Long Will I Love You' by Mike Sharpe". Promonews. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
10. Copsey, Robert (9 September 2013). "Ellie Goulding unveils 'About Time' movie song video". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
11. . EllieGoulding.com. 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
12. McGovern, Kyle (31 October 2013). "Ellie Goulding Shills for Nokia in Charity Single Video 'How Long Will I Love You'". Spin. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
13. Willans, Joel (13 November 2013). . Nokia Conversations. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
14. "How Long Will I Love You". Amazon. United Kingdom. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
15. "How Long Will I Love You (Official BBC Children In Need 2013) – Single by Ellie Goulding". iTunes Store. United Kingdom. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
16. Halcyon Days (liner notes). Ellie Goulding. Polydor Records. 2013. 3750660.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. "Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
18. "Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
19. "Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
20. . Billboard Brasil (in Portuguese). 27 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
21. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201428 into search. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
22. "Ellie Goulding Chart History (Euro Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
23. "Ellie Goulding Chart History". RÚV. 11 April 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
24. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – How Long Will I Love You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
25. "Ellie Goulding Lebanese Chart Top 20 History". The Official Lebanese Top 20. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
26. "Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
27. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
28. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201412 into search. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
29. "2014년 02주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
30. "Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
31. "Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 9 February 2014.
32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
33. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
34. "Jaaroverzichten 2014 – Singles" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
35. "End of Year Singles Chart Top 100 – 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
36. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
37. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2014". Ultratop. Hung Medien. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
38. "Danish single certifications – Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". IFPI Danmark. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
39. "New Zealand single certifications – Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". Recorded Music NZ. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
40. Sales references for "How Long Will I Love You":
    • (in Korean). Gaon Singles Chart. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015.
    • (in Korean). Gaon Singles Chart. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.
    • (in Korean). Gaon Singles Chart. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017.
41. "Sverigetopplistan – Ellie Goulding" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
42. Griffiths, George (13 April 2023). "Ellie Goulding's biggest singles on the Official Chart revealed". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
43. "British single certifications – Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". British Phonographic Industry. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
44. "American single certifications – Ellie Goulding – How Long Will I Love You". Recording Industry Association of America. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.