Comment te dire adieu
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Comment te dire adieu" (English: "How to Say Goodbye to You") is a French adaptation of the song "It Hurts to Say Goodbye". It was originally recorded by Françoise Hardy in 1968.
"It Hurts to Say Goodbye" was written by Arnold Goland, probably best known for his co-operation with Phil Spector, and the American producer and songwriter Jacob "Jack" Gold (1921-1992). In 1966 it was recorded by Margaret Whiting on her album The Wheel of Hurt. In 1967 a release by Vera Lynn reached #7 in Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart.
These versions were interpreted in the style of a ballad, as was the first French version of the song with lyrics by Michèle Vendôme titled "Avant de dire adieu" which was released by Ginette Reno on her 1967 album Quelqu'un à aimer. More beat driven were the instrumental interpretations by Brazil's Walter Wanderley, dominated by the Hammond organ he is known for, and the Frenchman Caravelli, who focused more on strings, both published in the same year. Jack Gold Orchestra & Chorus peaked with their version, in style similar to the release of Caravelli, in mid-1969 on #28 of the Billboard Easy Listening charts.
Françoise Hardy heard an "American instrumental version" of the song and her manager asked Serge Gainsbourg to provide suitable lyrics for it. The resultant "Comment te dire adieu" was combined with an arrangement relatively closer to the Caravelli version and included on Hardy's 1968 album. Hardy also recorded the song in Italian ("Il pretesto", 1968) and German ("Was mach' ich ohne dich", 1970; collected in the album Träume, 1970.) The French lyrics are notable for their uncommon rhymes in "ex", within the subject of the song having a sense of "ex" as in "ex-boyfriend".
Amongst the more recent versions of the song is a German version with new lyrics, titled "Ich sage dir adieu", released by veteran Greek-German singer Vicky Leandros on her 2010 album Zeitlos.
