Barbra Streisand (born Barbara Joan Streisand; April 24, 1942 Brooklyn, Ne… Read Full Bio ↴Barbra Streisand (born Barbara Joan Streisand; April 24, 1942 Brooklyn, New York), is an Academy Award-winning American singer, theater and film actress, composer, film producer, and director. She has won Oscars for Best Actress and Best Original Song as well as multiple Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and an honorary Tony Award. She received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor on December 7, 2008. She is the most successful female recording artist according to the Recording Industry Assoc. of America (RIAA).

Barbra Streisand has recorded more than 60 albums, almost all with Columbia Records. Her early works in the 1960s (her debut The Barbra Streisand Album which won two Grammy Awards in 1963, followed by The Second Barbra Streisand Album, The Third Album, My Name Is Barbra, etc.) are considered classic renditions of theater and nightclub standards, including her version of Happy Days Are Here Again. Beginning with My Name Is Barbra, her albums were often medley-filled keepsakes of her television specials.

Starting in 1969, Streisand tackled contemporary songwriters; like many talented singers of the day, she found herself a fish out of water in attempts to tackle rock, but her vocal talents prevailed and she gained newfound success with the pop and ballad-oriented Richard Perry-produced album Stoney End in 1971. The title track, written by Laura Nyro, was a big hit for Streisand.

Streisand's 1980 album, Guilty featured the songwriting, production and vocal talents of Barry Gibb and was the best-selling album of her recording career. During the 1970s, she was also highly prominent in the pop charts, with number-one records like The Way We Were, Evergreen, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) (her duet with Donna Summer), and Woman In Love; some of these came from soundtracks of her films. She recently took part in supporting Haiti in singing "We are the World 25th anniversary.

When the 1970s ended, Streisand was named the most successful female singer in the U.S. - only Elvis Presley and The Beatles having sold more albums. [1]

[1] In 1982, New York Times music critic Stephen Holden wrote that Streisand was "the most influential mainstream American pop singer since Frank Sinatra."

Goodbye For Now
Barbra Streisand Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Yes I know, goodbye for now,
How long? A year, a day?
Yes I love you, yes you're with me,
Here now, next to me, and worlds away!
See I free you, and I'll see you when I see you,
fine, OK?
Goodbye for now, again
Goodbye until whenever then

We're free, that's what we said we'd be,
At leave to come an' go, you as well as I,

Somehow each "hello" makes it worth "goodbye"
For now.

Overall Meaning

In the song Goodbye For Now by Barbra Streisand, the lyrics depict a story of a couple who are parting ways temporarily. The first verse "Yes I know, goodbye for now, How long? A year, a day?" captures the uncertainty and anticipation of when the couple will reunite again. The second verse "Yes I love you, yes you're with me, Here now, next to me, and worlds away!" shows that even though the couple is physically separated, they are still close in their hearts. Streisand's powerful vocals and emotive delivery of the lyrics convey the intense emotions associated with saying goodbye.

The chorus "See I free you, and I'll see you when I see you, fine, OK? Goodbye for now, again Goodbye until whenever then" highlights the theme of freedom and the couple's agreement to come and go as they please. The final lines "Somehow each 'hello' makes it worth 'goodbye' For now" suggest that the couple's reunions are cherished and make the temporary separations easier to bear.

Line by Line Meaning

Yes I know, goodbye for now,
I am aware that we have to say goodbye for now

How long? A year, a day?
I am wondering how long this goodbye will last

Yes I love you, yes you're with me,
I love you and you will always be with me

Here now, next to me, and worlds away!
Even though you are physically here, I know we are distant and separate in other ways

See I free you, and I'll see you when I see you,
I am setting you free to come and go as you please and we will see each other again when we do

fine, OK?
Do you agree with and understand what I am saying?

Goodbye for now, again
We are saying goodbye again, but only for now

Goodbye until whenever then
We don't know when we will see each other again, but we are saying goodbye until then

We're free, that's what we said we'd be,
We agreed to be free to live our own separate lives

At leave to come an' go, you as well as I,
We are free to come and go as we please, both of us

Somehow each "hello" makes it worth "goodbye"
Although it's hard to say goodbye, every time we say hello again, it makes the goodbye worth it