Darin, Bobby - Softly, As I Leave You Lyrics

Bobby's version stands out above all for me because not only is it beautiful, but because of the meaning. I heard the song was about a man who knew he was going to die soon.....and sadly, Bobby knew. :(

We have bean blest to hear many singers who have left us from the 50s60s 70s could not name them all ! Thank you God to given us this beautiful memories and we have recordings I so happy my grand children listen to the old great singers and ask why we don't sing like this kind of songs Anymore I say to my grand children , in the old days people use to love everyone and care of the each other not now it is a pity .

I prefer the Sinatra version.

This song was originally written in Italian. First performed by Mina a female singer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Softly,_as_I_Leave_You_(song)

A good version, but I am glad many of you love the Matt Monro version, my favourite too

Credit is also due to the arranger, but damn, he had a pretty voice!  I've always loved this song and Matt Monro's version, but just like his, "Once Upon A Time", for such a young man to be able to express such a natural depth of emotion in understanding a song, no wonder we still speak of him as one of the true greats.

I just sing one octave higher.

Lv this

In this song Bobby is better than FranK or Elivis or Andy

I don't think anyone cannot do justice to this song! So melodramatic!

Matt Monro's is by far the most beautiful.

I gotta say I agree. Definitely beats Sinatra on this one. God, what a loss.

Matt Monro for the win.

Elvis did a lovely talking version. of this song B U T Bobby,s is better ! ! !

The unforgettable Bobby Darin.

Elvis did a talking version of this but I think Bobby sings it far better than anyone else EVER! ! !

Bobby Darin una voz maravillosa..prodigiosa!!!😍😍😙

Elvis had this one covered. We have one Royalty in America. The King did it his way.

Wonderful.........
Many Thanks......

The best one out there! So sad he left us to young!😭😭😔

I agree. Bobby Darin sings this better than anyone ever has. He died young because of heart disease. He left a mark, however. Who could forget, “Mac the Knife”!

Sorry, but he's slightly flat. Badly done.

conrad?

How do you compare giants like Bobby, Elvis & Frank on a classic like this? I never heard Frank's or Bobby's until just now. The song leaves anyone with a heart with goose bumps. I'll next listen to Matt Monro's and expect to have the same reaction. All dead and erveyone left a legacy in our culture and our hearts. Oh, for the rest of us to have done that.

Listen to the We Fie version and melt away in the glorious voice of Beverly Bivens. Incredible piece of music, as much as I love Bobby Darin, the We Five version is magic.

He does this better than the rest.

Guess I first came to appreciate this song in the '60's, I think Matt Monro had the hit recording. As I scan the list of A-listers who covered it, I can only wish I'd written it.

He had the ability to imbue his songs with great emotion. You feel what he's feeling. It's such a shame that we lost him at such a young age. Who knows what he would have accomplished not only in music, but on film and TV as well.

how does a queque happen? costs?

pay $5,000 .

Beautiful rendition. Interesting that they slowed it a bit and converted it to 6/8 time.

+MrTrashcan1 It works.

Listen to Matt Munro's version. It's the best ! Joe

Yep, Joe, Matt's is the primo. Bobby never sang a bad note, and was a superb interpreter/performer.,always, even here.. Matt, though, owns Softly....and many others. Matt's "Who Can I Turn To" is the Best. I much prefer his "You Don't Have to Say YOu Love Me" to Dusty's. And Matt's "The Shadow of Your Smile", much better than Tony Bennet's. As for "Walk Away", Matt's was so great, nobody else even tried, did they? And "From Russia with Love"...and "Born Free"...again, nobody dared. "Laura", that's another beauty of Matt's. "On Days Like These". When Matt recorded (or performed a song), he wrecked anybody else's chances!

Just beautiful..

hes good but prefer michael buble singing this

Michael WHO ?

What year was this song recorded? Terrific

RICK,-DON,T,-!

No one compare with John Gary!

There was a time when I thought Frank Sinatra and Matt Monro shared the vocal honours for this utterly gorgeous song. Then I heard this version by Bobby Darin and realised that I knew absolutely nothing about the art of male singing,and I changed my mind. This version simply blows the competition out of the water. It gets right inside me,in a way the others don't. As I listen to Darin,my heart begins to break,and soon I am crying uncontrollably. I am with him emotionally in a way I don't usually experience when listening to music. I can't listen to it once,it goes on repeat,and I cannot help myself.
Darin was a remarkable talent,and Edith Symmans wrote very eloquently about him in her post of four months ago.
I love and miss him too,Edith.

+brian morgan BOBBY Darin is one of my fav singers.. hE CAN sing any genre of music...love his showmanship too

I know your heart. I sing this song with my partner and we both loose weight. Tears weight 8.5 pounds per gallon.

he beat Sinatra on this one

@Ruben Pages Listen to Matt Monro singing it, He blows every other singer who have tried this song out of the water, GOODNIGHT and GOODBYE.

@ณภัทร สุขแสง HEAR HEAR, WELL SAID, GOOD FOR YOU.

Frank acknowledged just that. "after him I couldn`t touch it" That is respect.

@cwinowich I take it you mean Matt Monro, good choice.

@ณภัทร สุขแสง You are so right, no one does it like Matt

... the tears to fall so softly as I leave you there ...

revenge brought me here. Sad i didnt know this song earlier. 

 This is a beautiful song and of all others who sing this Bobby's version is the better…..  Bobby has this rich warm emotional and soulful vocals that just hit deep within your own soul….. every time I hear Bobby's version it is as though he is right in the room with me and it brings me to tears every time…..  No other singing artist has every been able to touch me the way only Bobby Darin can in his songs…..  Such a God gifted talent that Bobby shared with the world…..  What Bobby set out to do in his life time he achieved and then some, he left others in his wake and far out shone many so called big guns in the business…..  Sammy Davis Jr. said he would never follow Bobby Darin, he was the greatest and his presence was so overwhelming……  This young man was a genius far ahead of his time and he kept running right till the end of his life…..  
Bobby left a huge body of work and not only in the music business for he was a wonderful actor and actors he worked with respected his dedication to work ethic and always giving 1,000 percent in every detail no matter how small…… 
REST IN PEACE BOBBY DARIN  YOU HAVE LEFT US WITH PRECIOUS MEMORIES FOR THE WORLD TO CONTINUE ENJOYING…..  LOVE & MISS YOU !!

Not a patch on Vic Damone not in that class.

Thank Edith.....👍❤

@Lewis Sanders And nobody is a patch on Matt Monro. Vic who??????

Nobody was better singing any song than MATT MONRO, I think a duet with KAREN CARPENTER would have been fantastic. Just my opinion.

@Norman Curragh PERRY COMO.

How beautifully Bobby Darin does this song! 

RIP Conrad Grayson.
You were a great evil man :(

finally someone who's here from "revenge"

finally someone who's here from "revenge"

This song always brings tears to my eyes.  When he sings he can touch your heart and soul.  He had so many more songs to sing before he left us.  Missing him ever so much lately.

I like elvis,sinatra,matt monro's versions of this song but for me this is the best I ain't no expert but I've read bobby's autobiography he lived on borrowed time in his words everyday alive was and is a blessing and you can hear this in the song, life's a gift make the most of it you only get one chance

davehop, excellent point and now that I am older, I feel as if I am living on borrowed time as anyone is at a certain age...

His life story deeply touching. His life his voice, hopefully will not be forgotten.

@Karen Robinson couldn't agree more.

Revenge , what else 

elvis cant sing this only matt monro sings this real

I beg to differ! John Gary sings it best!

@clarence fender I'm still trying to find a clip of John Gary singing it without Elvis's narration. So far, I've had no luck. The clip with Elvis is amazingly emotional.

@graydon blower Get your gun!

Revenge finale, this song was so perfect <3

AND OF COURSE   ELVIS  SINGS THIS SONG  SO MUCH  BETTER....U HAVE 2 HEAR    ELVIS SING THIS SONG.

ELVIS Sings this song 2, but with A story that would make U  cry....

@Elvis Presely A bullshit story, but a story.

One of Bobby Darin's best songs!

hauntily beautiful he gave this some every ounce james l

its a good effort but listen to the man matt monroe the best ever

Bobby Darin had something Sinatra never had & if God had given him more time he would not only break every record Sinatra held at the Copa...but every other milestone there was to be broken in a body of work that, in his short lifetime, had already spanned an array of musical & acting talent the world will not forget. Only in retrospect were we first given the time to uncover the depth of this young man & realize the incredible genius who hurried through life...as if each day would be his last.

condivido

what a great artist love & miss

I lost my father a year ago, this was one of his favourite songs. As Ileft my dad for the last time, knowing that I'd never see him again this song was going through my mind. This is a beautiful version; I know Dad wuold have loved it. Thanks for the post he would have apreciated it.

il migliore cantante del secolo scorso oltre tutto italiano,grande artista a 360 gradi,anche un oscar come miglior attore non protagonista in film .sconosciuto in italia ,ma noi italiani viviamo in una bolla mediatica ,poco ci arriva da altri stati se non gli scarti.tornando a bobby,voce interpretazione ,se ben badate basta solo a volte la sua voce che è già uno strumento una sinfonia altrochè i partecipanti di amici ,hanno così da correre solo x eguagliare tale maestria viva il grande .bobby

love this song................

oh and my heart would break...

as you say it's not about the singing it's what is put in to the voice and sounds and sadnes of the song

Bobby could sing anything put in front of him. I bet that if he'd had a healthy heart he could have made a fantastic Broadway star as well as night club singer. He makes every song sound as if he's singing it to just you. Wow.

Elvis did a great version of this. ,but it was a talking version! Bobby's is the best sung version EVER! ! !

@Janet Coombes Except Matt Monro.

The best orchestration of this song. Darin is really good, I've never heard him sing this style before.

love this song, melts your heart x

Lovely version by a great artist

Oh my gosh....if anyone needs a reason to cry....Bobby's voice is velvet and he was an absolute genius in so many ways taken far too soon. Thanks for posting.

@mrwsd88 I tend to disagree... I think Bobby Darin gives Ol' Blue Eyes a run for his money...
I have had this single ever since it's release. This was the b-side to 'In A World Without You'..

a great song it i think the frank sinatra edition is the best

@BlueEyedMermaid52 You are right!!

This so beautiful, tears literally filled my eyes to overflowing!
Bobby had such emotion in his songs, they just pull at your heart strings.
I love and miss you Bobby

Darin died when he was only 37, was he a better singer then Munro or a better live performer then Sinatra, I dont know I never saw any of them in their prime, although I did see Sinatra in London, when he was quite old, but I found this quote from Sammy Davis Jr often spoken of as the greatest live performer ever,
"Bobby was the only person I never wanted to follow"
Davis would have known them all. Speaks volumes does it not.

Matt Monroe 1962 was the first to record this with English lyrics written by Hal Shaper a friend. I believe it was originally recorded in Italian but i'm not sure.

@BlueEyedMermaid52 You know something, I wish I had said all that you have. I liked the comparison with Matt and I am not about to change my view of Matt's version but heavens this version is as beautiful. I am an Indian, live in Calcutta and listen a lot to Tagore songs. Although I do not speak Bengali too cleverly and understand it even less...Tagore had this amazing way to 'evoke emotion' with words I don't understand and music that haunts.... thanks poster.

@BlueEyedMermaid52 You know something, I wish I had said all that you have. I liked the comparison with Matt and I am not about to change my view of Matt's version but heavens this version is as beautiful. I am an Indian, live in Calcutta and listen a lot to Tagore songs. Although I do not speak Bengali too cleverly and understand it even less...Tagore had this amazing way to 'evoke emotion' with words I don't understand and music that haunts....

So much emotion, so much... makes me think about life

Who was the original artist of this song?
All the while, I thought it was Matt Monroe.

bella, bella, bella!!!!!

This song is "to die for"......

very nice job on the clip ... got an artsy feel to it and the song is beautiful anyway ...

I hope you Bobby and Sandy are now together in Heaven, together. philillie

I'm a long-time Darin fan, and usually like how he swings things, but he really brings out the loneliness in this song, it's from his "Venice Blue" album. THANKS for posting.

@wonderfulBlueEyedMermaid52

I agree his is the best interpretation, but any good singer can do this wonderful song justice.

Like the Michael Buble version, but still prefer Bobby Darin's. It's just such a nice song that several performers have sung very well, each in their own way.

This is a great version, but if you people love this song, you have to hear Michael Buble's version of this. It's one of the most beautiful songs I ever heard, and to hear Elvis explain the meaning behind the song, made it that much better...hope you can find it....

I'd say Matt Munroe's IS definitely the best version.

This song reminds me of when my best friends died. RIP msgr. demski and msgr. bogdan.

Nice imagery and colors to go with a brilliant Bobby Darin classic. Thanks for the post.

Bobby Darin was awesome! I think you will also enjoy the cover of this song by John Gary- Check it out!

WOW! that was a fantastic version. I think its
right on par with Sinatra's.

first half of Sinatra's version is better, and the last half of Darin's is better. They are equal which is hard to do when up against Sinatra or Elvis.

Bobby Darin died at age 38. Just think what Sinatra accomplished AFTER age 38. Darin would have been just as great if not better. And any comparisons to Matt Monro...please. Let's not insult Darin's memory. There are no comparisons.

Michael Buble' did a wonderful job too.

This version has something others lack... EMOTION.

Sinatra is GOD, but this song belongs to Darin.

Talented Crooner! his music will live on.

Nice rendition from the great B.D.
My vote goes to Sinatra for the best
version;his range,clearity,vocal strength,
phrasing,etc. left most singers awestruck..

get a life loser

God, that's beautiful.

and Monro of course...Monro is one of the experts in scating