El… Read Full Bio ↴Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz vocalist.
Elling graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota in 1989. He then enrolled in The University of Chicago's Divinity School and remained a student there until January 1992, when he left school one credit short of graduation.
In the last decade, Elling has released seven albums for the Blue Note label. He has also performed and recorded with many musicians, including David Amram, Bob Belden, Joanne Brackeen, Oscar Brown, Jr., Billy Corgan, Orbert Davis, George Freeman, Buddy Guy, Jon Hendricks, Charlie Hunter and Rex Richardson.
As of late 2005, Elling's current band includes Rob Amster on bass, Laurence Hobgood on piano, and Kobe Watkins on drums. He is regularly featured at the Green Mill Cocktail Lounge at 4802 N. Broadway in Chicago.
Elling has won the Down Beat and JazzTimes critics’ polls three years in a row in the Best Male Singer category. He is also Vice Chair of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the 17,000-member service organization that produces the annual Grammy Awards.
Time to Say Goodbye
Kurt Elling Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
the day you came to meet me in Curie Park.
You came to tell me the sky was so blue.
That it was big and round - and it was calling to you.
You never knew a sky as blue as this could be - be so frightening.
And I knew it then - you would fly.
Light played upon your face - like lace -
it was time to kiss and say goodbye.
Birds would alight from flight - singing, to light the opening skies of life
and make a sound like lovers crying.
And when you kissed me, you let a single tear
say the very thing you knew I couldn't hear:
The truest love resigns itself to everything.
No matter how life pulls it apart, love makes another start again
Now when I think of that broken-hearted fall -
I'd give my all to have that moment to speak again
to thank you for chasing a bluer sky - and to kiss again - and say goodbye.
Moments live in forever once they live. So we can give away our forever day.
And it's no regret to say, "That was yesterday"
when we give away our forever day.
Time to say "goodbye" - and find what time can bring to love.
It's time for me to try - to see what life is really of.
It's time to say "goodbye".
In the beginning of the song "Time To Say Goodbye", the singer is visually describing the moment when they received life-changing news, while at Curie Park. The atmosphere was tense, with "Something in the air was stinging" indicating that something unknown was being signalled. Later, the singer reveals it was a notification that the person who mattered so much to them would be leaving and embarking on a new journey. As the person spoke of their excitement about the wide blue sky, the singer knew their beloved would leave, but understood that they had to let them go. The person's face was radiant with hope, and the singer knew it was time to part and say goodbye, as much as it hurt. They knew that the person had to fly and seek their bliss, no matter how hard it was for them to accept.
The second part of the song describes the aftermath and the singer's understanding of what love really means. The separation was painful, with both their hearts breaking, but they were also filled with the joy of having cherished memories. The singer depicts the beautiful imagery of birds singing, taking flight to signify the opening of a new chapter of the beloved's life. The person had cried while kissing the singer, acknowledging their feelings while also letting go, as "The truest love resigns itself to everything". The singer also understands that love can endure and make a fresh start despite the challenges, and that the moments that they had shared would live on forever. They expressed their gratitude for having loved and cherished the person, thanked them for chasing their dream, and bid a final farewell. The song's ultimate message is that there is a time to say goodbye and move forward, even though it's hard, and that letting go is an essential part of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Something in the air was stinging
The air felt different on the day when you came to meet me in Curie Park.
You came to tell me the sky was so blue.
You arrived to share your discovery of an exquisitely blue sky with me.
That it was big and round - and it was calling to you.
The sky was colossal, spherical and seemed to have a tone that invited you.
You never knew a sky as blue as this could be - be so frightening.
This blue sky was so new and intense, you felt uneasy about it.
And I knew it then - you would fly.
At that moment, I realized that you would leave me behind and pursue your dreams.
Light played upon your face - like lace -
The sunbeams graced your face delicately, creating a lace-like pattern on it.
it was time to kiss and say goodbye.
It was now the moment to share a farewell kiss and depart from each other.
Our hearts would break - be folded in the ache of an early autumn.
With this separation, our hearts would be crushed and enveloped in the sorrow akin to that of early autumn.
Birds would alight from flight - singing, to light the opening skies of life and make a sound like lovers crying.
As the birds flew past, they started to sing, creating a sound resembling the cries of lovers, symbolizing the beauty and pain of parting.
And when you kissed me, you let a single tear say the very thing you knew I couldn't hear: The truest love resigns itself to everything.
When you finally kissed me goodbye, your single tear conveyed the sentiment you knew I wouldn't comprehend - that real love accepts and embraces all things, even parting.
No matter how life pulls it apart, love makes another start again.
Although life may repeatedly separate us, love would still have the power to rekindle again and again.
Now when I think of that broken-hearted fall - I'd give my all to have that moment to speak again to thank you for chasing a bluer sky - and to kiss again - and say goodbye.
Recalling that moment of emotional fall, I would give anything to be able to turn back time, thank you for following your dreams, and share another goodbye kiss.
Moments live in forever once they live. So we can give away our forever day. And it's no regret to say, "That was yesterday" when we give away our forever day.
The moments that we experience continue to reside in eternity once they have passed. Hence, we shouldn't worry about giving away even our finest day, and with time passing, we wouldn't feel remorse for what was once our present.
Time to say "goodbye" - and find what time can bring to love.
It's an unforgettable moment to utter the word "goodbye" and find out how time would shape love and relationships over time.
It's time for me to try - to see what life is really of.
It's time for me to attempt to experience life in its truest sense.
It's time to say "goodbye".
The time has come to say the word "goodbye" and go on separate paths.
Writer(s): Kurt Elling, Josef Erich Zawinul Copyright: Mulatto Music, Songs Of Universal Inc.
Contributed by Zachary P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.