Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye

By Cole Porter
1944

A classic Porter tune, this ode to parting lovers was written for the unsuccessful Broadway revue The Seven Lively Arts, in which it was introduced by popular big band singer Nan Wynn (best known as the dubbed singing voice of Rita Hayworth in several films.) The earliest hit record of it came from the Benny Goodman Quintet, which also appeared in the original show. In a classic bit of Porter wittiness, when the lyrics mention a change "from major to minor," the chord shifts accordingly.

Lyrics:

Ev'ry time we say goodbye,
I die a little.
Ev'ry time we say goodbye,
I wonder why a little.
Why the gods above me,
Who must be in the know,
Think so little of me,
They allow you to go.

When you're near, theres such an air
Of spring about it.
I can hear a lark somewhere,
Begin to sing about it.
There's no love song finer,
But how strange the change,
From major to minor,
Ev'ry time we say goodbye.

Recorded By:

John Coltrane
Sarah Vaughan
Nina Simone
Annie Lennox
Ella Fitzgerald