All By Myself was originally a loneliness ballad written by Eric Carmen in 1975. Forty years later, in Celine Dion's voice, it has become an anthem of vocal power and, since her battle with stiff person syndrome, a symbol of resilience.
From Rachmaninov to Eric Carmen
Eric Carmen composed All By Myself drawing inspiration from the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2. The verse melody follows the Russian composer's theme almost note for note. Carmen believed the work was in the public domain, which proved incorrect: he had to share royalties with the Rachmaninov estate.
The track was released in 1975 and reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's a song about loneliness, emotional emptiness, the desperate need for another person.
Celine's transformation
Celine Dion recorded her version in 1996 for the Falling into You album. David Foster's arrangement pushed the track into an entirely different dimension. The vocal progression, from the initial whisper to the explosion of the final bridge, has become one of the most famous demonstrations of Celine's technique.
In concert, the bridge of All By Myself is the moment when the audience holds its breath. The sustained note, which seems to defy the laws of physiology, is one of the most anticipated passages of every show. The track has accumulated 243 million streams on Spotify.
A new meaning
Since the announcement of her stiff person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022, the song has taken on an additional dimension. "All by myself" is no longer just a romantic lament: it's the story of an artist who had to face illness alone, far from the stage, before returning. If Celine performs it in Paris in 2027, the moment will carry an emotion no one could have imagined in 1996.