{"id":1387,"date":"2014-07-06T19:49:17","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T02:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2020-10-18T11:55:59","modified_gmt":"2020-10-18T18:55:59","slug":"well-ride-on-the-rain-well-worship-the-wind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markrkelly.com\/Blog\/2014\/07\/06\/well-ride-on-the-rain-well-worship-the-wind\/","title":{"rendered":"We’ll ride on the rain… we’ll worship the wind"},"content":{"rendered":"

We watched Pedro Almodovar’s Law of Desire<\/i> the other night, a 1987 film possibly set earlier, since there is a scene in which a famous 1960s pop song, “If You Go Away”, is sung [in Spanish] to a stage performance. This triggered a memory: that song is one that imprinted deeply on me, at age 10 or 15, and hearing it again, now in several versions on the web, it doesn’t strike me as corny or dated, but still quite beautiful… yearning, hopeful at the same time, though ultimately heartbreaking.<\/p>\n

\nIf you go away, on this summer day
\nthen you might as well take the sun away
\nAll the birds that flew in the summer sky,
\nWhen our love was new and our hearts were high;
\nWhen the day was young and the night was long,
\nAnd the moon stood still for the night bird’s song.
\nIf you go away, if you go away, if you go away.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But which version did I hear? Which was the most famous? YouTube has dozens of recordings, and Wikipedia has this entry<\/a> about the song and some of its most notable cover versions. (It was written by French composer Jacques Brel, and translated into English by Rod McKuen.)<\/p>\n

\nBut if you stay, I’ll make you a day
\nLike no day has been, or will be again
\nWe’ll sail the sun, we’ll ride on the rain
\nWe’ll talk to the trees, we’ll worship the wind.<\/p>\n

Then if you go, I’ll understand,
\nLeave me just enough love to fill up my hand,
\nIf you go away, if you go away, if you go away.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of most popular according to Wikipedia was by Jack Jones — and this one has a nice video:<\/p>\n