"I'll Go On Loving You" is a song written by Kieran Kane

Kieran Kane

Kieran Kane is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number...

 and recorded by country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 artist Alan Jackson

Alan Jackson

Alan Eugene Jackson is an American country music singer, known for blending traditional honky tonk and mainstream country sounds and penning many of his own hits. He has recorded 13 studio albums, 3 Greatest Hits albums, 2 Holiday albums, 1 Gospel album and several compilations, all on the Arista...

. It is the lead-off single to his 1998 album High Mileage

High Mileage

High Mileage is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Alan Jackson. It was released on September 1, 1998 and produced four hit singles on the Hot Country Songs charts for Jackson: "I'll Go on Loving You" , "Right on the Money" , "Gone Crazy" and "Little Man"...

. It peaked at number 3 in the United States, and number 2 in Canada.

Content

Written by Kieran Kane

Kieran Kane

Kieran Kane is an American country music artist, as well as the owner of Dead Reckoning Records, an independent record label. Between 1986 and 1990, he and Jamie O'Hara comprised The O'Kanes, a duo which charted seven singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number...

 (formerly of The O'Kanes

The O'Kanes

The O'Kanes was an American country music duo, composed of Jamie O'Hara and Kieran Kane. Active between 1986 and 1990, the duo recorded three albums for Columbia Records and charted seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, including the Number One "Can't Stop My Heart from Loving...

), "I'll Go On Loving You" is a mid-tempo ballad in minor key. Through the spoken-word verses, Jackson promises that he will be faithful to his lover, "long after the pleasures of the flesh". The song is accompanied mainly by steel-string acoustic guitar

Steel-string acoustic guitar

A steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...

 and a string section

String section

The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...

.

Critical reception

Alanna Nash

Alanna Nash

Alanna Nash is an American journalist and biographer.Nash holds a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is the author of several acclaimed books...

 of Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly

Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

said that the song was "the frankest treatment of lust on country radio", "a colossal embarrassment" and "a memorable romantic declaration."

Chart performance

"I'll Go On Loving You" debuted at number 35 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

country singles charts in late 1998, representing Jackson's highest chart debut at the time.

Chart (1998)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	3
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	2