Here I Go Again" is a song by the British rock band Whitesnake. It was originally released on their 1982 album, Saints & Sinners through Liberty in October 1982. The song was written by David Coverdale and Bernie Marsden, and produced by Martin Birch. The song was written for Coverdale's troubled marriage with his first wife, Julia
Whitesnake leader David Coverdale wrote the lyric in Portugal
Notably made as a power ballad, the song was re-recorded for their 1987 self-titled album. Around that same time, the song was re-recorded again for a single "radio-mix" version released in June 1987 in the United States and 19 October in their native UK the re-recording eventually reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as a sleeper hit and remained there for one week, being the band's only number-one single of that chart in their discography to date The re-recording also peaked at number nine in the UK. "Here I Go Again" is certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It also reached number one in Canada, and the top ten in the Netherlands and Ireland, while it charted in several other countries
In 2018 at the BMI London Awards, it received the "5 Million Performances Award", while in 2024 it garnered the "9 Million-Air Award
In an interview, Coverdale explained that initially the lyrics had "drifter" but as that was already used in different songs he decided to use "hobo" instead. However, the lyric was changed back to "drifter" in the re-recorded '87 version, reportedly to ensure that it would not be misheard as "homo
The '82 music video features the band performing the song onstage. The music video for the '87 re-recorded version was directed by Marty Callner. The video includes, besides the band's stage performance, appearances by model Julie E. "Tawny" Kitaen, who was married to Whitesnake's David Coverdale from 1989 to 1991. Her notable sex-appeal was immediately recognized; she filmed memorable unchoreographed scenes dressed "in a white negligee, writhing and cartwheeling across the hoods of two Jaguars XJ" which belonged to Coverdale (white) and Callner (black) Kitaen, who was in the 1984 movie Bachelor Party, also appeared in the Whitesnake videos for "Still Of The Night," "Is This Love?," and "The Deeper The Love
The song's 1987 music video was listed as one of the 15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos by The New York Times
In 2003, Martin Popoff listed the song at number 274 in The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time, while Q magazine ranked it at 962 on their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever". In 2006, the 1987 version was ranked number 17 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the '80s". In 2008, The Times included it in their top 11 "heavy metal at its best" list. In the 2012 Reader's Poll of Rolling Stone, it ranked 9th among the top 10 "Best Hair Metal Songs of All Time". In 2017, The Daily Telegraph included it among the top 21 best power ballads
