"The Greatest Gift I'd Give You Would Be to Stand By Your Side"

Listen, kids, I'm about to say something that might shock some of you. Don't freak out, okay? Here it is: I really like to listen to Celine Dion's "Miles to Go (Before I Sleep)."

Don't hate. This song really doesn't suck. It's even what you might call understated, at least for Celine Dion. (This is made doubly surprising when you learn that the song was written by Corey Hart, he of "Sunglasses at Night" fame.) All joking aside, I really mean that. The very nature of Dion's voice--it is quite powerful, actually--lends itself to a certain amount of drama, and while this song is not entirely devoid of drama, for the most part, it is just a sweet tune sung by a woman who is clearly dedicated to the one she loves.

And in terms of the album from whence it came, "Miles to Go (Before I Sleep" is actually quite refreshing. You see, Dion chose to include it on Let's Talk About Love, her 1997 follow-up to 1996's Falling Into You (which opened with the absolutely epic "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"). Let's Talk About Love might have been just another Dion album, with its touching title track, a less-than-stellar cover of "When I Need You" (which Rod Stewart treated much better, if you ask me), and the just-barely-on-the-right-side-of-the-ridiculous-line "The Reason." But Let's Talk About Love became a monster because it featured "My Heart Will Go On." You remember that song, right? Of course you do. And you probably know all of the words, just like everyone else who lived through the 1990s. Don't even try to lie about it. 

The upshot of all this is that "Miles to Go (Before I Sleep)" wasn't entirely a throwaway track--it surely did not go unnoticed by the 31 million people who bought Let's Talk About Love on the strength of "My Heart Will Go On." And thank God. Because it should go down as one of the better things Celine Dion ever did. Unfortunately, the song is not available for download on Amazon; it is, however, available on iTunes, but as iTunes is unlinkable, you'll have to settle with listening to the song on YouTube. Let me know what you think of it, because I'd love to see if anyone out there agrees with me.

-Cate-