Rod McKuen on Jacques Brel

"If You Go Away" is a song in English based upon the French song "Ne Me Quitte Pas", 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, Shirley Bassey, Emilíana Torrini, Neil Diamond, Scott Walker and Dusty Springfield have also recorded versions of it, with several of the numerous versions becoming hits and achieving success on the charts.

Here are the lyrics for "If You Go Away"

If you go away on this summer day,
Then you might as well take the sun away;
All the birds that flew in the summer sky,
When our love was new and our hearts were high;
When the day was young and the night was long,
And the moon stood still for the night birds song.
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

But if you stay, I'll make you a day
Like no day has been, or will be again;
We'll sail the sun, we'll ride on the rain,
We'll talk to the trees and worship the wind.
Then if you go, I'll understand,
Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand,
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

If you go away, as I know you will,
you must tell the world to stop turning
Till you return again, if you ever do,
for what good is love without loving you,
Can I tell you now, as you turn to go,
I'll be dying slowly till the next hello,
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

But if you stay, I'll make you a night
Like no night has been, or will be again.
I'll sail on your smile, I'll ride on your touch,
I'll talk to your eyes that I love so much.
But if you go, I won't cry,
Though the good is gone from the word goodbye,
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

If you go away, as I know you must,
There'll be nothing left in the world to trust,
Just an empty room, full of empty space,
Like the empty look I see on your face.
I'd have been the shadow of your shadow
If I thought it might have kept me by your side.
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.