Song Lyric Sunday

I missed Song Lyric Sunday last week, but I’m back this weekend. The feature is hosted by Jim Adams and this week he has asked us to write on a “song that mentions abandoning, departing, deserting, exiting, leaving, resigning, or retiring.”

There are so many great songs that can fit into this week’s theme. I have chosen five songs, a couple of which you may know and a few others that are my favorites. So without any further ado, let’s begin.

“So Long” is a song written by Remus Harris, Russ Morgan and Irving Melsher in 1940 and later recorded by Russ Morgan and his orchestra. It was a song used as his closing theme song.

It was recorded by Sam Cooke, Sarah Vaughn, The Four Aces, Roy Hamilton and others. One of my favorite versions was done by Pat Benatar on her True Love album.

So long, hope we’ll meet again one day
I’m hopin’ maybe then you’ll say
Darlin’, I was wrong

So long, so long, so long
Gee, I hate to see you go, hmm
You’re really the world to me, you know
You, you just stay so long

All alone, with my memories of you
And I can see that you’re lonely too
You’re my own, even though we’re far apart
But I’ll keep you right here in my heart

So long, so long, so long, so long
Though you leave me here to cry, huh
Or could it, could it, could it, could it be goodbye
Don’t you know that you’ve been mine so long

Yes I’m alone, with my memories of you
Yes, I can dream, dream, dream, that you’re lonely too
You’re my own, even though we’re far apart
Well, I’ll keep you right here in my heart

So long, so long, so long
Though you leave me here to cry, huh
Well this could never, never, never mean goodbye
Darlin’ you, you just stay
So long

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Irving Melsher / Remus Harris / Russ Morgan

So Long lyrics © Shapiro Bernstein & Co Inc, Shapiro Bernstein & Co Limited

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Next is a song was written by the Philadelphia songwriting and production team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. It was released on their Philadelphia International Records and became the only #1 in the UK for the label. The song went to number 2 on the charts in the US for the Three Degrees.

From Songfacts.com:

Three Degree Sheila Ferguson recalls in 1000 UK #1 Hits by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, “The song was played to me by Kenny Gamble at the piano in 1973 and I threw a tantrum. I screamed and yelled and said I would never sing it. I thought it was ridiculously insulting to be given such a simple song and that it took no talent to sing it. We did do it and several million copies later, I realized that he knew more than me.”

One of my ex girlfriends used to laugh because of the “hoos” and “hahs”.

Hoo, hah

Hah, hoo
Precious moments

When will I see you again?
When will we share precious moments?
Will I have to wait forever?
Will I have to suffer? (Suffer)
And cry the whole night through?

When will I see you again?
When will our hearts beat together?
Are we in love or just friends?
Is this my beginning or is this the end?

When will I see you again?
When will I see you again?
When will I see you again?

Hah, hoo
(Precious moments)

Are we in love or just friends?
Is this my beginning or is this the end? (Is this the end?)

When will I see you again?
When will I see you again?
When will I see you again?
Sweet, sweet love of mine
(When will I see you again?) Come on, come on
(When will I see you again?) Tell me when
(When will I see you again?) My sweet love, oh, yes
(When will I see you again?) Ooh, yeah

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Leon Huff / Kenneth Gamble / Jia Yang Yi

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Next is a great song from Patty Smyth when she was with Scandal. It was written by Scandal guitarist Zack Smith. Smith wrote most of Scandal’s songs, while Smyth fronted the group. He wound up moving on to success as a solo artist and eventually married tennis star John McEnroe.

According to Songfacts.com, Patty Smyth credits MTV for this song’s success. The song didn’t get much radio airplay, but the video got a lot of spins on the network. The clip was a typical, low budget, performance video, but MTV was overloaded with Europop and male artists, so female-fronted rock bands like Blondie, Pretenders and Scandal were welcomed on the network.

Those times I waited for you seem so long ago
I wanted you far too much to ever let you go
You know you never got buy, I feel it too
And I guess I never could stand to lose
It’s just a pity to say goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh

Could I ever love someone
Like the one I see in you
I remember the good times baby now
And the bad times too
These last few weeks of holding on
The days are dull, the nights are long

Guess it’s better to say
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh

‘Cause baby it’s over now
No need talk about it
It’s not the same
My love for you’s just not the same
And my heart, and my heart
And my heart can’t stand the strain
And my love, and my love
And my love won’t stand the pain
And my heart, and my heart
And my heart can’t stand the strain
And my love, and my love
And my love

Goodbye to you-ooh
Goodbye to you-ooh
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh

Now, could I ever love someone
Like the one I see in you
Yeah, I remember the good times baby now
And the bad times too
These last few weeks of holdin’ on
The days are dull, the nights are long
Guess it’s better to say
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh, oh-ooh-oh-ooh-oh

Goodbye baby (Goodbye baby)
So long, darlin’
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to you-ooh, oh-ooh-oh-ooh-oh

Bye-bye, baby (Bye-bye, baby)
So long darlin’
Goodbye to you (Bye-bye, baby)
Goodbye to you-ooh

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Zachary Holt Smith

Goodbye To You lyrics © Emi Blackwood Music Inc., Just Friends Music

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How could the Nostalgic Italian NOT include a couple beautiful songs from two of the greatest Italian singers of all time?? First, we say goodbye to Rome with Dean Martin’s Arrivederci Roma.

Once again, from Songfacts.com:

This started off as an Italian song with music written by Renato Ranucci. In 1955, the English lyrics were written by Carl Sigman, who had a lot of success as an English lyric writer for foreign tunes. In The Carl Sigman Songbook, Sigman’s son Michael explains:

He’d fallen in love with the Italian language during the war, and always hoped he’d find a way to write a song featuring the word “Arrivederci.” He just loved the sound of that word, and this tune provided the perfect melodic opportunity. When he submitted the finished lyric, he wasn’t surprised that the publisher asked him to change one line. Just about all publishers asked for at least one change, if only to prove they were paying attention. Carl usually had a backup line at the ready, and in this case he substituted “City of a million moonlight places” for a line that has been forever lost. In 1957, Vic Damone (“Victor Moan” to my eight-year-old ears) started the wave of Italian-American singers who have since recorded this title. Many non-Italian-Americans have covered it as well, including Abbe Lane with Tito Puente & His Orchestra. But the definitive interpretation was rendered by Dean Martin in 1961.

Arrivederci, Roma
Goodbye, goodbye to Rome
City of a million moon lit faces
City of a million warm embraces
Where I found the one of all the faces
Far from home

Arrivederci, Roma
Save the wedding bells for my returning
Keep my lover’s arms outstretched and yearning
Please be sure the flame of love keeps burning
In her heart

Arrivederci, Roma
It’s time for us to part
Save the wedding bells for my returning
Keep my lover’s arms outstretched and yearning
Please be sure the flame of love keeps burning
In her heart

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Allessandro Giovannini / Carl Sigman / Pietro Garinei / Renato Ranucci

Arrivederci, Roma lyrics © Music Sales Corporation, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Finally, a song that a local DJ used to use as his final song every night, Softly, As I Leave You from Frank Sinatra.

“Softly, as I Leave You” is a popular Italian song, originally titled Piano, composed by Tony De Vita with Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese and English lyrics by Hal Shaper.

The song was covered by Matt Monroe, Bobby Darin, Doris Day, The Fleetwoods, Lena Horne, The Letterman, Robert Goulet, Michael Buble’ and Elvis Presley.

No one is sure if the story is true, but when he performed it in Las Vegas, Elvis prefaced with a story about the origins of the song. Presley said the song originated when a man was dying and his wife was sitting by his bedside. As she began to doze off, he felt himself beginning to die and he wrote the words to the song on a notepad. However, Presley insiders claim that his explanation for the song was merely an example of Presley’s flair for storytelling, so his explanation is most likely apocryphal. Presley said he heard the story “from some people in Florida.” Elvis doesn’t actually sing this song; he speaks the words while his backing tenor Sherrill Nielsen sings it. While several recordings were made of Presley’s interpretation of the song, the most famous was one recorded at the Las Vegas Hilton on 13 December 1975. RCA would release it posthumously in March of 1978

Softly I will leave you softly
For my heart would break if you should wake and see me go
So I leave you softly long before you miss me
Long before your arms can beg me to stay
For one more hour or one more day
After all the years I can’t bear the tears to fall so
Softly, as I leave you there

Softly I will leave you softly
For my heart would break if you should wake and see me go
So I leave you softly long before you miss me
Long before your arms can beg me to stay
For one more hour or one more day
After all the years I can’t bear the tears to fall so
Softly, as I leave you there

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Antonio De Vita / Giorgio Calabrese / Harold David Shaper

Softly As I Leave You lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

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Thanks again to Jim for hosting this great weekly feature!