Speak Low
Anita O'Day Lyrics


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Speak low when you speak, love,
Our summer day withers away
Too soon, too soon.
Speak low when you speak, love,

Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
We're swept apart too soon.
Speak low, darling speak low,
Love is a spark lost in the dark,

Too soon, too soon,
I feel wherever I go
That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
And always too soon.

Time is so old and love so brief,
Love is pure gold and time a thief.
We're late darling, we're late,
The curtain descends, everything ends

Too soon, too soon,
I wait darling, I wait




Will you speak low to me,
Speak love to me and soon.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics are a plea for two lovers to speak in gentle whispers of love, as time is fleeting and their moments together are all too brief. The singer compares love to a pure gold which is stolen by the thief of time. The duo is running out of time, and the singer fears that tomorrow is already here. The curtain is descending, suggesting a farewell, and everything is ending too soon. The singer is hoping for the lover to speak low (softly), love to her, securing the glimpse of the fleeting moments.


Line by Line Meaning

Speak low when you speak, love,
Lower your voice when you speak of love, as if it is a secret too precious to be shouted out loud.


Our summer day withers away
Time is fleeting, and our summer day is quickly disappearing.


Too soon, too soon.
Our time together is passing too quickly, and we wish that it could last longer.


Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
Just like ships tossed about on the waves, our moment is brief and unpredictable.


We're swept apart too soon.
We are being pulled away from each other too soon, before we've had a chance to really experience our love.


Speak low, darling speak low,
Again, lower your voice when you speak, as if the words you are saying are too sacred to be heard by anyone else.


Love is a spark lost in the dark,
Love can be fleeting and easily extinguished, like a spark that disappears in the darkness.


Too soon, too soon,
Once again, our time together is fleeting, and we wish it could last longer.


I feel wherever I go
No matter where I am or what I'm doing, I have a sense that time is running out.


That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
The future is always quickly approaching, and tomorrow will soon be today.


And always too soon.
No matter how much we try to hold onto time or make it slow down, it always seems to fly by too fast.


Time is so old and love so brief,
Time has been around for ages, but love is fleeting and temporary.


Love is pure gold and time a thief.
While love is precious and valuable like gold, time seems to steal it away from us too quickly.


We're late darling, we're late,
We've waited too long to express our love, and now time is running out.


The curtain descends, everything ends
Like the curtain closing on a play, everything eventually comes to an end.


Too soon, too soon,
Once again, our time is fleeting and passing too quickly.


I wait darling, I wait
Even though time might be running out, I'm still waiting for you to express your love to me before it's too late.


Will you speak low to me, Speak love to me and soon.
Will you speak of your love to me in a quiet, tender way? I hope you'll do it soon, before it's too late.




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Aceiseverywhere


on Who Cares?

Let it rain and thunder
Let a million firms go under
I am not concerned with, stocks and bombs that I've been burned with
I love you and you love me
And that's how it will always be
And nothing else can ever mean a thing
Who cares what the public chatters?
Love's the only thing that matters
Who cares if the sky, cares to fall
in the sea
Who cares how history rates me?
As long as your kiss intoxicates me
Oh why should I care?
Life is one long jubilee
As long as I care for you
And you care for me!

Who cares if the sky, cares to fall
in the sea
Who cares what banks fail in Yonkers?
As long as you've got a kiss that conquers!
Oh why should I care?
Life is one long jubilee
So long as I care for you
and you care for me!

(These lyrics might be wrong, sorry)