RC's video: Ray Charles If You Go Away

"If You Go Away" is a song in English based upon the French song "Ne me quitte pas" (1959), 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.[1] Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Brenda Lee, Violetta Villas, Shirley Bassey, Daliah Lavi, Marc Almond, Emilíana Torrini, Neil Diamond, Scott Walker, Farhad Mehrad, Dusty Springfield, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Patricia Kaas, Terry Jacks have also recorded versions of it, with several of the numerous versions becoming hits and achieving success on the charts. The complex melody is partly derivative of classical music - the poignant "But if you stay..." passage comes from Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6.