A power ballad,[1] it is the sixth track on the album A Kind of Magic, which was released in June 1986, and was written by lead guitarist Brian May for the soundtrack to the film Highlander.

Brian May wrote the song in the backseat of his car after seeing a 20-minute first cut of the scene of Heather's death.

[6] It was later used in the Highlander television series episodes "The Gathering", "Revenge is Sweet", "The Hunters", "Line of Fire", and "Leader of the Pack".

[2] The video was directed by David Mallet and filmed in a (now demolished) warehouse at Tobacco Wharf at London's East End on 16 September 1986.

[7] It featured the National Philharmonic Orchestra with forty choirboys and several hundreds of candles which remain lit throughout filming as well as Mercury wearing a tuxedo suit.

[8][9] Also, the live versions feature Freddie Mercury singing the entirety of lead vocals, and John Deacon playing bass guitar (starting at the second verse)—with the song ending after the final lyrics (“Who waits forever anyway?”) without the orchestra-and-guitar flourish of the studio version.

It is sung by German singer Verena von Strenge and sold more than 500,000 copies in Germany alone, after reaching number two there.

By a river, he stops for drinking some water, and again sees von Strenge standing in front of a waterfall, singing to him.

Soprano Sarah Brightman released her cover of "Who Wants to Live Forever", from her album Timeless/Time to Say Goodbye, as a single in 1997 (See 1997 in music).