What Now My Love
Frank & Aretha Lyrics

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What now my love, now that you've left me
How can I live through another day
Watching my dreams turn to ashes
And my hopes turn to bits of clay?

Once I could see, once I could feel
Now I am numb, I've become unreal
I walk the night, without a goal

Stripped of my heart and my soul

What now my love, now that it's over?
I feel the world falling all around me
Here come the stars, tumbling around me
There's the sky, where that sea should be

What now my love, now that you're gone?
I'd be a fool to go on and on
No one would care, no one would cry
If I should live if I should live or die

What now my love, now there is nothing?
Only my last, my last good-bye

Overall Meaning

"What now my love, now that you've left me" is a melancholic and reflective song that speaks to the feeling of heartbreak and loss. The song opens with questions that the songwriter asks themselves now that their love has abandoned them. They are struggling to find a reason to go on living and have been left with nothing but their shattered dreams and broken hopes.

The following lines speak of the songwriter's despair and how they have now become a shell of themselves. They used to be able to see and feel but now are numb and unreal, walking aimlessly through the night without any purpose or direction. The chorus repeats the question of what to do now that the love is gone, accompanied by an image of the world crumbling around them.

The final verse of the song describes the songwriter's hopelessness and the realization that there is nothing left for them now that their love has departed. They feel alone and abandoned, with no one to turn to or care about their existence. The song ends with a final goodbye to the love that is no longer there.

Line by Line Meaning

What now my love, now that you've left me
What is to become of me, now that I have been abandoned by you?

How can I live through another day
How can I continue to exist and face the future without you?

Watching my dreams turn to ashes
Seeing all my long-cherished aspirations crumble and fade away.

And my hopes turn to bits of clay?
And my optimistic expectations shatter like brittle pieces of pottery?

Once I could see, once I could feel
In the past, I possessed the ability to see and deeply feel emotions.

Now I am numb, I've become unreal
However, now my emotions are numbed and I feel as if I am not living in reality.

I walk the night, without a goal
I wander aimlessly through the darkness, lacking any sense of direction or purpose.

Stripped of my heart and my soul
I have been deprived of my core being, my humanity and spirit.

What now my love, now that it's over?
What am I supposed to do now that our love has come to an end?

I feel the world falling all around me
I am overwhelmed by the sensation of the world crumbling and giving way beneath me.

Here come the stars, tumbling around me
The celestial bodies themselves seem to be collapsing and careening towards me.

There's the sky, where that sea should be
Instead of calm, vast waters, the sky appears in its place, further showing the confusion and disorder I feel.

What now my love, now that you're gone?
Without you, what is there left for me to do or say?

I'd be a fool to go on and on
It would be foolish to continue living in despair and agony indefinitely.

No one would care, no one would cry
No one else would feel particularly emotional, hurt or bothered by my demise or continued existence.

If I should live if I should live or die
It doesn't even matter whether I continue living or not.

What now my love, now there is nothing?
In the absence or dissolution of our love, what is left for me?

Only my last, my last good-bye
All that remains is to bid a final farewell to what was once our love.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Carl Sigman, Gilbert Becaud, Pierre Delanoe

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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