Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and song… Read Full Bio ↴Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had one of the longest careers of any British entertainer, spanning more than eight decades. Clark's professional career began during the Second World War as a child entertainer on BBC Radio. In 1954 she charted with "The Little Shoemaker", the first of her big UK hits, and within two years she began recording in French. Her international successes have included "Prends mon cœur", "Sailor" (a UK number one), "Romeo", and "Chariot". Hits in German, Italian, and Spanish followed. In late 1964 Clark's success extended to the United States with a four-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. These include her signature song "Downtown" (US number one), "I Know a Place", "My Love" (US number one), "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Who Am I", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" (by Charlie Chaplin) (a UK number one), "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". Between January 1965 and April 1968 Clark charted with nine US Top 20 hits in the US, where she was sometimes called "the First Lady of the British Invasion".

Clark has sold more than 68 million records. She has also enjoyed success in the musical film Finian's Rainbow and in the stage musicals The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard, and Mary Poppins.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petula_Clark

Discography
Petula Clark Sings (1956)
A Date with Pet (1956)
You Are My Lucky Star (1957)
À Musicorama (1958)
Petula Clark in Hollywood / Pet Clark (1959)
Prends mon coeur (1959)
Tête à tête avec Petula Clark (1961)
Rendez-vous avec Petula Clark (1962)
In Other Words (1962)
Petula (1962)
Le soleil dans les yeux (1963)
Ceux qui ont un coeur (1964)
Hello Paris (1964)
Petula au Canada (1964)
Downtown (1965)
I Know a Place (1965)
The World's Greatest International Hits (1965)
Petula '65 (1965)
My Love (1966)
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love (1966)
Petula Clark '66 (1966)
Colour My World (1967)
These Are My Songs (1967)
C'est ma chanson (1967)
Petula Italiana (1967)
The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (1968)
Petula (1968)
Portrait of Petula (1969)
Just Pet (1969)
Memphis (1970)
Warm and Tender / The Song of My Life (1971)
Comme une prière (1972)
La chanson de Marie-Madeleine (1972)
Now (1972)
Come On Home (1974)
I'm The Woman You Need (1975)
Je reviens (1977)
Destiny (1978)
Where The Heart Is (1998)
Here For You (1998)
Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs of Rod McKuen (2007)
Lost in You (2013)
From Now On (2016)
Living For Today (2017)
Vu d'ici (2018)

There Goes My Love There Goes My Life
Petula Clark Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Petula Clark, Hubert Ballay, Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent)

How could you forget the taste of love
When I can still remember?
All the words we said are wasted
Now, it's just a dying ember
Every thought we shared together
Disappeared without a warning

As the book is closed forever,
So the truth is slowly dawning
There goes my love
There goes my life

In your arms, such sweet seclusion
Only fate knew it was leading
To a heart full of confusion
Was it just a false illusion?
Maybe even you believed it
Victim of my own creation
There you were and I conceived it
So much for imagination
There goes my love
There goes my life

Echoes of your voice surround me
Sympathetic smile's still taunting
Memories of you around me
Shadows of the parsed light haunting
Guilty of complete devotion
Sentenced to a life of longing
Prisoner of my own emotion
Wanting you but not belonging

There goes my love
There goes my life

Overall Meaning

The song "There Goes My Love, There Goes My Life" by Petula Clark is a sad reflection of a love that has faded away. The lyrics depict a love that was once passionate, but that has now turned into a dying ember of memory. The singer is plagued with thoughts of the love she once shared with her partner, but all those thoughts have now disappeared into the ether. As she reflects on what went wrong in the relationship, she realizes that it was just an illusion she created in her own mind. The love that she believed in so strongly was never meant to last, and she now feels the pain of its loss.

The singer of the song is filled with regret for the love she has lost. The sweet seclusion that she once found in her partner's arms has now given way to confusion and heartache. The memory of her love taunts her, and she is left to wonder if it was all just a false illusion. The guilt and longing she feels for her lost love is palpable, and the pain of the realization that she no longer belongs to that love is a sentence that will be with her for a lifetime. The lyrics of the song speak to the all-consuming nature of love, and how the end of it can be devastating and soul-crushing.

Line by Line Meaning

How could you forget the taste of love
I still remember the sensation of love, and it's surprising you don't.

When I can still remember?
I hold onto the memories of us while you seem to have let go.

All the words we said are wasted
The promises and sweet nothings we exchanged have lost their meaning.

Now, it's just a dying ember
The flame of our love dwindled and is barely visible.

Every thought we shared together
We used to have deep conversations, but now they're gone.

Disappeared without a warning
Our relationship ended abruptly, and I didn't see it coming.

As the book is closed forever,
Our love story has come to an abrupt end, and there's no turning back.

So the truth is slowly dawning
I'm coming to terms with the fact that our love is over.

There goes my love
My love for you is gone now.

There goes my life
Our love was my life, and it's all gone now.

In your arms, such sweet seclusion
Being with you was comforting and peaceful.

Only fate knew it was leading
Our relationship was destined to end this way.

To a heart full of confusion
My heart is still confused about what went wrong.

Was it just a false illusion?
Our love could have been just a mistaken perception of something real.

Maybe even you believed it
You might have thought our love was real, but now it's gone.

Victim of my own creation
I created this love story in my mind, and now I'm a victim of my own imagination.

There you were and I conceived it
You were there, and I created this idea of a perfect love.

So much for imagination
My imagination failed me, and our love didn't last.

Echoes of your voice surround me
I still hear your voice in my head.

Sympathetic smile's still taunting
Even when you smile at me now, it reminds me of how you sympathize with my pain.

Memories of you around me
Everything around me reminds me of you, and it's painful.

Shadows of the parsed light haunting
Even the shadows remind me of moments we shared together.

Guilty of complete devotion
I gave you my all, and I feel guilty for not being able to make it work.

Sentenced to a life of longing
I'm bound to a life of longing for a love that was never meant to be.

Prisoner of my own emotion
I'm trapped in this emotional state, unable to move on.

Wanting you but not belonging
I still want to be with you, but I know we're not meant to be together.

Contributed by Maya R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

Solitaire001

12y↑3

Thank you for posting this. One of my favorite Petula Clark songs, and one I'd not heard a long time. The images work well with the lyrics and thanks for providing an excellent video.

David Walsh

8y↑4

Petula Clark in a class of her own on a lovely song what more could one wish for

denise lefeuvre

10y↑3

wonderful stunning song !!!!

Lookout Mountain

Incredible- she is penultimate song stylist. Pure emotion screams through every note. As though her love just left

petclark1

14y↑1

Petula has seen me through puppy-love, boyhood crushes, painful adolescence, marriage and now, apparently, divorce. Thanks Petula, with you I can face just about anything.

NeckNoddin'

11y↑1

the lyric of this song is simply beautiful..thanx for uploading this

RCPoems

How beautiful , thank you she such an under rated songwriter

SpiralBlue Andromeda

How so heartwarming song!
How so very romantic clip!
Thank you so very much my dear friend for sharing all this tenderness with us!

MYRNYE

12y↑2

There Goes My Love, There Goes My Life ... Petula Clark -- REMINDS ME OF MANY YEARS AGO -- YES, & THE GUY I LOVED & MARRIED -- LEFT ME -- AFTER 17-YEARS OF MARRIAGE & 5-KIDS - HE DIDN'T WANT :9