Cole Porter was a master at creating bittersweet love songs. "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" is one of those. It was particularly touching in the mid-1940s when so many couples had experienced war-time partings.
The song was created for Billy Rose's Broadway revue, "The Seven Lively Arts." It has since become a popular jazz standard and dramatic ballad in modern films to signal "here's the sad part of the movie." Porter's creative musical genius shows in his integration of lyrics and music including the shift in chords when the lyrics mention a shift from major to minor.
This recording is by Natialie Cole (daughter of Nat King Cole) with stills from the musical DeLovely, the story of Cole Porter's life. Kevin Klein plays Cole and Ashley Judd, his wife.
Here are the beautiful 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 me to go.
When you're near there's such a joy ob 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
Every time we say goodbye.
Every single time we say goodbye.
