I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

This refrain comes from Robert N. Munsch’s picture book *Love You Forever* (1986), illustrated by Sheila McGraw. In the story, a mother repeatedly sings these lines to her son as he grows from infancy through adulthood, and the refrain becomes a ritual expression of enduring parental attachment. Munsch has explained in interviews and public talks that he originally composed the “love you forever” song in response to personal grief after he and his wife experienced pregnancy losses; the book transforms that private lullaby into a narrative about love persisting across time and life stages. The quote is typically presented as the mother’s lullaby within the story.

The lines compress a parent’s promise into a simple, rhythmic vow: love is unconditional (“forever”), affection is daily and ongoing (“for always”), and the bond is framed as lasting for the parent’s lifetime (“as long as I’m living”). Calling the child “my baby” even as time passes underscores the way parental perception can remain tenderly fixed on the child’s vulnerability, regardless of age. In the book’s structure, the refrain functions like a chorus, marking transitions from one life stage to the next and suggesting continuity amid change. Its emotional power comes from pairing ordinary lullaby language with the stark limit of mortality.