If You Go Away

Words & Music by Jacques Brel (English translation by Rod McKuen)
Recorded by Frank Sinatra, 1969


   Am
If you go away on this summer day 

         Dm
Then you might as well take the sun away;

         G7       
All the birds that flew in the summer sky 

         C9        C            C9         C
When our love was new and our hearts were high;

                  Dm6                     E7
When the day was young and the night was long

        Am
And the moon stood still for the nightbird's song,

          Dm7               E7  Dm6    Am
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

           Am7                   Am6
But if you stay, I'll make you a day 

                E7-9              Am
Like no day has been or will be again;

                  Am7                 Am6   
We'll sail on the sun, we'll ride on the rain, 

                   G7                    C
We'll talk to the trees and worship the wind.

     E7     Am             Bb
Then if you go, I'll understand, 

                     Dm6      E7         Am
Leave me just enough love to fill up my hand,

            C          Dm   Dm6             E7  D6  E7
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.



       Am
If you go away, as I know you will, 

          Dm                     Dm+7
You must tell the world to stop turning til

      G7
You return again, if you ever do, 

          C
For what good is love without loving you?

       Dm6                         E7
Can I tell you now, as you turn to go, 

         Am
I'll be dying slow til your next hello,

           Dm7             E7   Dm6    Am
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.

             Am7                 Am6
But if you stay, I'll make you a night 

                  E7-9              Am
Like no night has been, or will be again;

                   Am7                      Am6
I'll sail on your smile, I'll ride on your touch, 

                   G7                 C
I'll talk to your eyes that I love so much.

    E7     Am               Bb
But if you go, no, I won't cry, 

           Dm6                   E7         Am
Though the good is gone from the word good-bye.

            C          Dm  Dm6              E7   D6   E7
If you go away, if you go away, if you go away.


         Am
If you go away, as I know you must, 

            Dm
There'll be nothing left in the world to trust,

              G7
Just an empty room, full of empty space, 

          C
Like the empty look I see on your face;

        Dm6                               E7
I'd have been your shadow if I thought it might 

      Am
Have kept me here, by your side;

            C              Dm        E7-9         Am
If you go away, if you go away . . . please don't go away.



 
The lyric and guitar chord transcriptions on this site are the work of The Guitarguy and are intended for private study, research, or educational purposes only. Individual transcriptions are inspired by and and based upon the recorded versions cited, but are not necessarily exact replications of those recorded versions.