When She Loved Me is a song from Toy Story 2 written by Randy Newman and sung by Sarah McLachlan from the perspective of Jessie about how she was once loved, but eventually forgotten.
When the song begins, Jessie is first shown sitting on a bed that belongs to a girl named Emily, her former owner, who was presumably a fan of Woody's Roundup. Emily, first seen as a young girl, puts on her cowgirl hat and takes Jessie on a ride on her toy horse, then takes her out on a drive to a tire hanging from a tree on top of a hill, where Emily swings Jessie around in the tire. Emily then spins around with Jessie some more, falling into a pile of leaves. Then the scene cuts to Jessie back on Emily's bed, leaning against a pillow. Emily takes the pillow, causing Jessie to fall under the bed, and Jessie watches in despair as Emily, throughout the years, finds more grown-up activities to do (hinted by make-up and music replacing horses and cowgirl-themed toys, as well as Emily talking with her friends in person or over the telephone). At the same time, it is easy to tell that Emily is growing up as well. The scenes also suggest the 1950s, when westerns were popular, then progresses into the 1960s as colorful acid rock posters adorn Emily's room. Another reference to the 60s is seen when a teenage Emily is seen wearing flare-legged trousers.
As the years pass, the bottom of Emily's bed becomes littered with her old, childhood toys. Just as Jessie feels like she has been forgotten, Emily reaches into the bottom of the bed to find Jessie. Jessie then spends one last ride in a car with Emily, but as Emily (now seen to be older as she can operate a vehicle) steps out of her car, she dumps her old toys, including Jessie, into a charity box, and Jessie watches in shock through a hole in the box to see Emily's car drive away as the song ends.
This song was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song in 2000, where McLachlan performed it at the awards ceremony, but the award went to Phil Collins for another Disney song You'll Be in My Heart from Tarzan, which was released on the same year as Toy Story 2. It is listed as Track 2 on the Toy Story 2 Soundtrack.
Lyrics
<poem> When somebody loved me Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together Lives within my heart And when she was sad I was there to dry her tears And when she was happy so was I When she loved me
Through the summer and the fall We had each other that was all Just she and I together Like it was meant to be And when she was lonely I was there to comfort her And I knew that she loved me
So the years went by I stayed the same But she began to drift away I was left alone Still I waited for the day When she'd say I will always love you
Lonely and forgotten I'd never thought she'd look my way And she smiled at me and held me Just like she used to do Like she loved me When she loved me
When somebody loved me Everything was beautiful Every hour we spent together Lives within my heart When she loved me <poem>
Trivia
- The tree on top of a hill with a tire swing where Emily takes Jessie to is the same tree from Ant Island in A Bug's Life.
- The car Emily is driving or riding in is the same car that Jessie uses to help Buster "relieve himself" at the end of the movie.
- Emily's name is mentioned once again in Toy Story 3 when Jessie faces her fear of being thrown away again by Andy.
- This is the first Toy Story and Pixar song not to be performed by Randy Newman.
- It is possible Emily remembered about Jessie all along (but had other things to do). It should be noted that, if Emily really did drop all those Jessie accessories, she would and should have remembered Jessie.
