Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman: Time To Say Goodbye (HD)
Live From Teatro Del Silenzio, Italy / 2007

“Con te partirò” (“I’ll leave with you”) is an Italian song written by Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics). It was first performed by Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival and recorded on his album of the same year, Bocelli. The single was first released as an A-side single with “Vivere” in 1995, topping the charts, first in France, where it became one of the best-selling singles of all-time, and then in Belgium, breaking the all-time record sales there.

A second version of the song, sung partly in English, released in 1996 as “Time to Say Goodbye”, paired Andrea Bocelli with British soprano Sarah Brightman, and achieved even greater success, topping charts all across Europe, including Germany, where it became the biggest-selling single in history. Brightman and Bocelli produced a version with Brightman singing in German and Bocelli in Italian, with this version being available on the CD Time to Say Goodbye. That version alone has now sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Bocelli also recorded a full Spanish version of the song in 1997, titled “Por ti volaré” (“For you I will fly”).

All through three versions, the song is considered Andrea Bocelli’s signature song.

Con te partirò • I’ll leave with you (Time to Say Goodbye)
Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman

Track 1 on single Time to Say Goodbye (1996)

This song sounds lovely when Andrea Bocelli sings it in Italian, but the song does not translate well when it is performed in English.

‘Time to Say Goodbye’ was originally released as a single for Andrea Bocelli in 1995, under the title ‘Con te partirò’ (literally ‘I’ll leave with you’).

One year later, soprano Sarah Brightman was added for a performance marking boxer Henry Maske’s final match. The duet version was recorded with an English title. It was a huge commercial success.

The slight catch is that when you translate the phrase ‘Con te partirò’ as ‘Time to Say Goodbye’, the song stops making sense.

Here’s the chorus in English . . .

Time to say goodbye
To countries I never
Saw and shared with you
Now, yes, I shall see them
I’ll go with you
Go on ships across seas
Which, I know,
No, no, don’t exist anymore
It’s time to say goodbye.

In summary, the singers are saying goodbye to countries they never saw or shared with each other, but now they are in fact going to go to those countrie . . . except they’re travelling there on ships which don’t exist anymore . . . so it’s time to say goodbye again.

Hmm. It seems the lyrics are better appreciated in Italian. Here’s the beginning of the song . . .

Quando sono solo
Sogno all’orizzonte
E mancan le parole
Sì lo so che non c’è luce
In una stanza quando manca il sole
Se non ci sei tu con me, con me
Su le finestre
Mostra a tutti il mio cuore
Che hai acceso
Chiudi dentro me
La luce che
Hai incontrato per strada

Time to say goodbye
Paesi che non ho mai
Veduto e vissuto con te
Adesso si li vivrò
Con te partirò
Su navi per mari
Che, io lo so
No, no, non esistono più
It’s time to say goodbye

Here’s the same section in English . . .

When I am alone I sit and dream
And when I dream the words are missing
Yes I know that in a room so full of light
That all the light is missing
But I don’t see you with me, with me
Close up the windows, bring the sun to my room
Through the door you’ve opened
Close inside of me the light you see
That you met in the darkness
Time to say goodbye
Horizons are never far
Would I have to find them alone
Without true light of my own with you
I will go on ships over seas
That I now know
No, they don’t exist anymore
It’s time to say goodbye

Songwriters: Francesco Sartori (music) and Lucio Quarantotto (lyrics)