Lennox embarked on a solo career in 1992 with her debut album, Diva, which produced several hit singles including "Why" and "Walking on Broken Glass". The same year, she performed "Love Song for a Vampire" for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Her 1995 studio album, Medusa, includes cover versions of songs such as "No More "I Love You's"'" and "A Whiter Shade of Pale". To date, she has released six solo studio albums and a compilation album, The Annie Lennox Collection (2009). With eight Brit Awards, which includes being named Best British Female Artist a record six times, Lennox has been named the "Brits Champion of Champions". She has also collected four Grammy Awards and an MTV Video Music Award. In 2002, Lennox received a Billboard Century Award; the highest accolade from Billboard. In 2004, she received the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Into the West", written for the soundtrack to the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Lennox's vocal range is contralto. She has been named "The Greatest White Soul Singer Alive" by VH1 and one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time by Rolling Stone. In 2012, she was rated No. 22 on VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music. In June 2013 the Official Charts Company called her "the most successful female British artist in UK music history". As of June 2008, including her work with Eurythmics, Lennox had sold over 80 million records worldwide. As part of a one-hour symphony of British Music, Lennox performed "Little Bird" during the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London. At the 2015 Ivor Novello Awards, Lennox was made a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (The Ivors Academy), the first woman to receive the honour. Lennox and her Eurythmics partner Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, and the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
In addition to her career as a musician, Lennox is also a political and social activist, raising money and awareness for HIV/AIDS as it affects women and children in Africa. She founded the Sing campaign in 2007 and founded a women's empowerment charity called The Circle in 2008. In 2011, Lennox was appointed an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II for her "tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes". On 4 June 2012, she performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in front of Buckingham Palace. In 2017, Lennox was appointed Glasgow Caledonian University's first female chancellor.
Studio albums
Diva (1992)
Medusa (1995)
Bare (2003)
Songs of Mass Destruction (2007)
A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
Nostalgia (2014)
Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye
Annie Lennox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ev'ry time we say goodbye I wonder why a little
Why the gods above me who must be in the know
Think so little of me they allow you to go.
When you're near there's such an air of spring about it
I can hear a lark somewhere begin to sing about it
There's no love finer, but how strange the change from
- Ev'ry time we say goodbye.
Annie Lennox's rendition of Cole Porter's Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye is a lamentation on love lost. The lyrics are delivered with a piercing vulnerability that captures the deep regret and longing that comes with the end of a romantic relationship. The opening lines, "Ev'ry time we say goodbye I die a little / Ev'ry time we say goodbye I wonder why a little," describe the palpable pain that comes with saying goodbye to someone you love. The repetition of "a little" emphasizes the cumulative effect of multiple goodbyes, each one bringing you closer to a breaking point.
The next couplet, "Why the gods above me who must be in the know / Think so little of me they allow you to go," poses a heartbreaking question about the nature of fate and love. The singer seems to be questioning why they were never deemed worthy of someone they loved, and why the gods allowed them to lose that love. The final verse, "When you're near there's such an air of spring about it / I can hear a lark somewhere begin to sing about it / There's no love finer, but how strange the change from / Major to minor..." serves to illustrate the bittersweet nature of the relationship. When the two are together, everything feels alive and full of possibility, but when they are apart, everything turns melancholy and minor key.
Line by Line Meaning
Ev'ry time we say goodbye
Whenever we part ways, it causes me pain and sadness.
I die a little
My heart feels heavy and I can't help but feel a sense of loss.
I wonder why a little
I question why fate would allow us to be separated when we are clearly meant to be together.
Why the gods above me who must be in the know
I question the wisdom of the divine powers that be, who allow our love to be dashed with each goodbye.
Think so little of me they allow you to go
I feel unworthy and insignificant, as if the gods don't care about my feelings enough to keep you by my side.
When you're near there's such an air of spring about it
Being around you gives me a sense of warmth and new beginnings, like the blossoming of springtime after winter.
I can hear a lark somewhere begin to sing about it
The happiness of being around you is so infectious that even the birds can't help but sing with joy.
There's no love finer
Our love is the epitome of perfection and there's no greater love than what we share.
But how strange the change from Major to minor...
It's strange how quickly our happiness can be overshadowed by the pain of having to say goodbye, like going from a happy major key in music to a sad minor key.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: COLE PORTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind