An electropop, dance-pop, and R&B ballad about romantic yearning between two ex-lovers, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" features finger snap beats and falsetto vocals from Swift and Zayn.

[2] Republic Records released "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" for download onto the iTunes Store and streaming onto Apple Music on December 9, 2016, as the soundtrack's lead single.

[14][18][19] The lyrics are about romantic yearning between two ex-lovers[20] and include self-interrogation about what the relationship means; Swift's narrator sings at one point: "Wonder if I dodged a bullet?/ or just lost the love of my life?

[22] Although Universal Pictures ran a campaign to push the song as an Academy Award contender,[23] it ultimately was not shortlisted, leading Variety to describe it as a "snub".

[12] Sampson thought that the single continued the trend of "soundtracks that are better than the actual film", highlighting Swift's vocals for reaching "notes she hardly ever attempts" and the finger snap production as "on-brand" for the Fifty Shades franchise.

[13] In June 2022, Business Insider ranked "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" as Swift's second-best soundtrack song, behind "Safe & Sound" (2012).

[27] Lucy Ford of British GQ also deemed "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" a lesser entry among Swift's singles, saying that its "harsh falsetto and whimper of a crescendo" made it fall flat.

[28] In the United States, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" debuted at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Zayn's second top-10 single as a solo artist and Swift's 20th top 10.

[61] Directed by Grant Singer,[62] the music video for "I Don't Wanna Live Former" was released on January 27, 2017, through both Zayn and Swift's official YouTube and Vevo accounts.

[71] On February 2 and 3, 2017, Swift and Zayn posted video recordings of them singing their acoustic version "I Don't Wanna Live Forever".

Swift's video, tweeted by AT&T,[72] shows her playing the guitar and singing the track for one minute, recorded during a break from her rehearsals for DirecTV's upcoming concert.

[81] On her Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift sang "I Don't Wanna Live Forever" as a "surprise song" at the June 9, 2018, concert in Manchester, England.

[87] Credits adapted from the liner notes of Fifty Shades Darker: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack[9] Recording Management Personnel