If You Go Away

For the New Kids on the Block song, see If You Go Away (New Kids on the Block song).

"If You Go Away" is a song in English based upon the French song "Ne me quitte pas" (1959), written by Jacques Brel. The English lyrics were written by Rod McKuen as part of a larger project to translate Brel's work. "If You Go Away" is considered a pop standard and has been recorded by many artists, including Greta Keller, for whom some say McKuen wrote the lyrics. Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Brenda Lee, Violetta Villas, Shirley Bassey, Daliah Lavi, Marc Almond, Emilíana Torrini, Neil Diamond, Scott Walker, Farhad Mehrad, Dusty Springfield, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Patricia Kaas, Terry Jacks have also recorded versions of it, with several of the numerous versions becoming hits and achieving success on the charts.

The complex melody is partly derivative of classical music - the poignant "But if you stay..." passage comes from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6.

Lyrics

A sad but hopeful song, the lyrics are told from the perspective of someone telling their lover how much they'd be missed if they left. This is described in vivid, hyperbolic terms, such as "there'll be nothing left in the world to trust". If the lover stays, the narrator promises them both devotion and good times ("I'll make you a day / Like no day has been, or will be again"). Some lines show that the narrator is speaking to the lover as they already are leaving, or considering doing so ("Can I tell you now, as you turn to go..."). The lines "If you go, as I know you will" and later "...as I know you must" make clear that despite the narrator's protests, the lover's leaving is inevitable.

Nick Currie, better known as Momus, returned to the original song and translated it as "Don't Leave" in 1986, released initially on the Jacques EP and then on an expanded reissue of the album Circus Maximus.

Comparison of English and French lyrics

McKuen lyrics

This translation is significantly different to the original lyric. The English version is based around contrasting what would happen "if you go away" and what could happen "if you stay".

In the original French version, the singer begs for his lover not to leave him and is more supplicant and almost self-humiliating (the title "Ne me quitte pas" translates "Do not leave me"). Significant is the last image of the French version; although the McKuen version has lyrics that come close to the original sentiment, the French lyrics are far bleaker (as is the song in general):"Let me become the shadow of your shadow, the shadow of your hand, the shadow of your dog" (lit. translation of the original) as opposed to "I'd have been the shadow of your shadow if I thought it might have kept me by your side" (English lyrics).

The English version omits an interesting section of the original version in which the singer begs his lover to give their relationship a second chance, using examples derived from the natural world: "I will tell you of those lovers who saw their hearts catch fire twice"; "Fire has often been seen gushing out of an ancient volcano we thought too old"; "There are, people say, burnt lands that produce more wheat than the best of Aprils".

Momus lyrics

The lyrics of this version are closer to what Brel originally wrote.

Don't go away

Cover versions

• In 1960, French chanteuse Barbara, a close friend of Brel, was the first to cover the song on her Barbara chante Brel album, for which she was awarded Le Grand Prix du Disque.

• In 1964, Marlene Dietrich recorded the first non-French cover version, "Bitte geh' nicht fort", which she performed at the Paris Olympia that year, when Brel was her support act.

• In 1965, singer Nina Simone recorded a French version on her album, I Put a Spell On You.

• Sexy Swede Lill Lindfors recorded the song as “Om du går din väg” in 1968 for her Polydor album “Kom i min värld” (Come To My World).

• In 1967, The Seekers recorded a version for their album, Seen in Green.

• In 1966, singer Damita Jo had a Billboard Hot 100 hit with her version of this song.

• Brenda Lee covered the song with her version closely resembling Damita Jo's with only a slight "country & western" interperation separating it from Jo's.

• Shirley Bassey released a version as a single in 1967, which also appeared on her album And We Were Lovers. Bassey also recorded an alternative version in Italy in 1968, this version was only issued in Italy as a single. McKuen was very fond of Bassey's version and wrote to her saying he enjoyed it and thanking her. In 2002, her version of the song featured in the movie Merci Docteur Rey.

• Jack Jones recorded the song for his album, Lady, in 1967.

• Lana Cantrell did a version in 1967 for her album And Then There Was Lana. While mainly in English, this version retains one line of the original French: "Ne me quitte pas."

• In 1967, singer Dusty Springfield included a version on her album The Look of Love. When Dusty's life story was turned into a musical in 2000, "If You Go Away" was chosen for the climax of the show. The stage Dusty was portrayed by singer/actress Mari Wilson.

• Tom Jones sang a version for his 1968 Decca hit album Help Yourself. Jones' version was not a single.

• Country singer Glen Campbell recorded a version on his 1968 album Wichita Lineman.

• Country/pop singer Brenda Lee recorded a version in Nashville in 1968. It appears on her album Johnny One Time.

• Frank Sinatra performed a version on his 1969 album My Way.

• Neil Diamond included a version on his 1971 album Stones. In 2002, it was also included on Diamond's compilation album Love Songs.

• Scott Walker, who covered many Brel songs in his solo career, recorded a version on his 1969 album Scott 3. It was also included on the compilation album Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel (1981).

• The Chopsticks recorded a version on their fourth and final album, If You Go Away, released on Crown in Hong Kong around 1972.

• Sugiman Jahuri, a Singapore Malay Crooner recorded a version in the early 1970s.

• In 1974, Canadian musician Terry Jacks, after a suggestion by Brel, recorded a version of "If You Go Away" which was released as a single. Jacks had his biggest hit with another Brel cover, "Seasons in the Sun". It reached a peak of number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 - the same peak Damita Jo reached with her version.

• Ray Charles included a rendition of "If You Go Away" in his 1974 album Come Live with Me.

• Nana Mouskouri included a rendition of "If You Go Away" in her 1974 album Nana's Book of Songs.

• The jazz singer Helen Merrill recorded a nice version of "If You Go Away" in her 1989 album Collaboration, accompanied by tenor-saxophonist Stan Getz and pianist Joachim Kühn.

• Julio Iglesias recorded a version for his 1990 album Starry Night. It was also included on Iglesias' 2004 Love Songs compilation.

• Former Soft Cell singer Marc Almond covered the song during his solo career, on Jacques, an album of Jaques Brel covers. He also performed the track live several times, perhaps most memorably at a Royal Albert Hall performance on the live album Twelve Years of Tears in a very emotional rendition, with Almond sounding close to tears himself by the climax of the song. Also on Untitled, an album of Marc and the Mambas released 1982.

• Eartha Kitt recorded a live version of "If You Go Away" and included this song as part of her set when touring.

• In 1999, Polish singer Violetta Villas performed the song live at a special concert making it the most popular version ever in Poland. She sang this song at her Violetta Villas show in Warsaw Operetta in 1993 too.

• In 2000, English group Moloko remixed and reworked Shirley Bassey's version. The new track was released on Bassey's The Remix Album... Diamonds Are Forever and was properly titled the "DJ Skymoo mix". DJ Skymoo is a pseudonym for Moloko's Mark Brydon.

• In 2002, One-man German music project Wave in Head teamed up with Empire State Human to cover the song, featured on the album "Synthetic Broadway".

• Patricia Kaas's 2002 "Piano Bar by Patricia Kaas" concept album, that grew out of her performance in the film And Now... Ladies and Gentlemen with Jeremy Irons, contains her interpretation of the song, pushing the album to the Top Ten list in France and Germany.

• Cyndi Lauper's 2003 standards album At Last includes her version of the song. It was not released as one of the album's singles. The album, however, was a hit, with more than 4 million copies sold.

• Madonna’s cover was recorded in 2004 as one of the songs of Hello Suckers – Madonna’s musical that never saw the light of day. Producers of the musical were Patrick Leonard and Mirwais Ahmadzaï.

• Emilíana Torrini has covered "If You Go Away".

• Vietnamese singer Tran Thai Hoa sang the English version of the song in the 81st Paris by Night program.

• On 21 March 2006, Maura Davis-fronted indie rock band Ambulette released a cover of "If You Go Away" on their first EP, The Lottery.

• Barbra Streisand recorded the song with both English and French lyrics for her 2009 album "Love Is the Answer".

• Lesley Garrett performed a version on her 2007 album When I Fall in Love. In her performance Garrett sang both in English and French (exception).

• Dax Riggs has been performing this song on his recent U.S. tour.

• Kim Weston, recorded the English version for her 1967 MGM album For The First Time

• Julie Christmas from the bands Battle of Mice and Made Out of Babies has recorded a demo version of the song later to be released on her solo album The Bad Wife.

• Belinda Carlisle also recorded a version both in French and English on her album "Voilà"

• Jazz singer/pianist Shirley Horn recorded the English version for her 2003 album May the Music Never End

References

• (English) See the article "List of Jacques Brel cover versions".