I Still Believe Lyrics – Miss Saigon

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

The duet works like a split screen. Kim sings into the dark in Vietnam; Ellen answers from a tidy American bedroom. No fireworks - just steady breath, slow harmonic turns, and two women staking claims to the same ghost. The orchestration lets strings and woodwinds hover while the pulse stays hushed, so every consonant lands and the vowels carry the ache.

Highlights - Salonga’s focused line on the word “still,” Claire Moore’s grounded warmth on “Knowing part of you I’ll never share,” and the brief blossom of ensemble color that frames the final vow. The placement on Disc 1 sets the fuse for Act II.

Creation History

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. The song premiered with the 1989 London production and appears on the Original London Cast Recording issued in 1990 by First Night Records in the UK and by Geffen in the US.

William David Brohn’s orchestrations shape the hushed duet into a quietly symphonic arc - winds and strings cushion the alternating verses, then tighten under the overlapping lines.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Three years have passed since Kim and Chris’s night together. She imagines his return; on the other side of the world, Ellen wakes to the sounds of his nightmares and wonders who “Kim” is. The staging plays it like two rooms laid over each other, never touching, the harmony drifting closer as the women sing the same promise. The album’s sequencing flags the time jump: the track just before this marks “Ho Chi Minh City - April 1978,” then the duet enters.

Song Meaning

Two survival strategies: endurance by faith, and endurance by caretaking. Kim’s belief is propulsion - a future she sings into existence. Ellen’s belief is repair - if she can name the fear, maybe it loosens. The counterpoint near the end makes that tension audible: hope and doubt sharing a bar.

Annotations

“Yes, I know that this was years ago”

“I know as long as I can keep believing, I’ll live”

“Knowing part of you I’ll never share”

“I’m your wife now”

“I’m yours” ... “Until we die”

Style and instrumentation

A theatre ballad with pop phrasing: sustained strings, wind countermelodies, gentle kit and bass under long vocal arcs. Brohn’s orchestration leaves air around key syllables, then swells under the overlapped coda.

Emotional arc

From private confession to braided resolve. It begins intimate, edges into doubt, and ends on a held note that feels less like triumph and more like stamina.

Context and touchpoints

The show reimagines Puccini’s Madama Butterfly; this number is the clearest echo, reframed by the Vietnam War’s aftermath and diaspora. Lea Salonga’s breakthrough as Kim earned her the 1990 Olivier Award - the performance history shadows every revival of this duet.

Key Facts

• Artist: Lea Salonga, Claire Moore
• Composer: Claude-Michel Schönberg
• Lyricists: Alain Boublil, Richard Maltby Jr.
• Album: Miss Saigon (Original London Cast Recording)
• Release year: 1990
• Label: First Night Records [UK]; Geffen Records [US]; later reissues via Verve/UMG
• Track #: 14 on many editions
• Length: roughly 4 minutes (varies by edition)
• Orchestrations: William David Brohn
• Language: English
• Music style: lyrical theatre ballad with pop inflection; lilting 12/8 feel
• Mood: steadfast, uneasy, tender
• Poetic meter: mixed - conversational trochaic leaning in verse, broadened stresses in refrain
• © Copyrights: 1990 Cameron Mackintosh Ltd./rights administered with First Night and Geffen (territory dependent)

Questions and Answers

Who produced “I Still Believe” on the Original London Cast album?

Executive producers credited are Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg on 1990 releases.

When was it released?

The Original London Cast Recording was issued in 1990 (UK on First Night Records, US on Geffen).

Who wrote the song?

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; English lyrics by Alain Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr.

Where does the number sit in the show?

Act I, shortly after “The Morning of the Dragon,” marking a time jump to 1978.

Is there a filmed performance to compare?

Yes - the 25th Anniversary capture features Eva Noblezada and Tamsin Carroll in this duet.

Awards and Chart Positions

UK album charts. The Original London Cast Recording reached no. 4 on the UK Albums Chart in the week ending February 24, 1990.

Production accolades. Lea Salonga won the 1989-90 Olivier Award for her London performance as Kim, cementing the song’s early legacy through her portrayal.

How to Sing “I Still Believe”

Vocal range targets. Kim typically sits around E3–D5; Ellen around F3–E5. That overlap means matching color, not volume. Keep vibrato narrow early, then let it bloom across the final shared phrase.

Tempo and feel. Treat it like a lullaby in 12/8. Let phrases ride the bar line. Breath plans matter - stagger where the lines dovetail so the cross-rhythms stay smooth.

Technique notes. - Kim: center the vowel on “still” and keep consonants crisp so belief reads as backbone, not dreaminess. - Ellen: anchor chest mix on “Knowing part of you” before releasing into head mix on “my heart.” - Both: resist the belt temptation until the final parallel lines; the architecture depends on patience.

Additional Info

Significant covers and later recordings. Sumi Jo recorded a concert version on her 2000 album Only Love; the 2014 West End revival captured the duet live with Eva Noblezada and Tamsin Carroll; the 1995 Complete Recording features Joanna Ampil and Ruthie Henshall.

Video/film appearance. The 25th Anniversary performance film includes the number, widely circulated online and on commercial platforms.