Clooney's first recordings, in May 1946, were for Columbia Records. She sang with Tony Pastor's big band. Clooney continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia.
She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit Come On-a My House written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (better known as David Seville, the father figure of Alvin and the Chipmunks), which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" (a cover version of the Italian song Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina by Alberto Rabagliati), "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There" and "This Ole House", although she had success as a jazz vocalist. Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly due to problems related to depression and drug addiction, but revived in 1977, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002. She was the aunt of Academy Award winning actor George Clooney; mother-in-law of singer Debby Boone; and sister to former television personality Nick Clooney. She was the ex-wife of Jose Ferrer; mother of actor Miguel Ferrer
Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001. Around this time, she gave her last concert, in Hawaii, backed by the Honolulu Symphony Pops; her last song was "God Bless America".
Goodbye Blues
Rosemary Clooney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But what care I?
Such pride inside me has woken,
I'll try my best not to cry,
By and by,
When the final farewells must be spoken.
I'll join the Legion,
That's what I'll do.
Where human hearts are staunch and true,
I shall start my life anew.
Good-bye, it's time
I sought a foreign clime,
Where I may find
there are hearts more kind
Than I leave behind.
And so, I go,
To fight a savage foe,
Although I know that
I'll be sometimes missed by the girls I've kissed.
In some Abyssinian French Dominion
I shall do my bit,
And fall for the flag if I must.
Where the desert sand is nice and handy,
I'll be full of grit
You won't see my heels for the dust.
I'll do or die
You'll know the reason why
When told of bold Leopold's last stand
For the Fatherland.
Good-bye, it's time,
I sought a foreign clime,
Where I may find
There are hearts more kind
Than I leave behind.
And so, I go
To fight a savage foe,
Although I know that
I'll be sometimes misses by the girls I've kissed.
In some Abyssinian French Dominion
I shall do my bit,
And fall for the flag if I must.
Where the desert sand is nice and handy,
I'll be full of grit
You won't see my heels for the dust.
I'll do or die,
You'll know the reason why
When told of bold Leopold's last stand
For the Fatherland.
Good-bye. Good-bye
I wish you all a last Good-bye.
Good-bye. Good-bye.
I wish you all a last Good-bye.
In "Goodbye," Rosemary Clooney sings of a broken heart, but with a sense of pride that has woken up from within her. She talks of leaving her previous life behind and joining the Legion to start anew in a far-off land where human hearts are more staunch and true, promising not to cry when the final farewell must be spoken. The singer envisions herself fighting a savage foe in some Abyssinian French Dominion, where the desert sand is nice and handy, and she is full of grit. She speaks of doing or dying and cites the example of bold Leopold's last stand for the Fatherland as the reason why she will put her life on the line. Although she knows that she will be missed by the girls she's kissed, she promises a final Goodbye before departing to find hearts more kind than she is leaving behind.
The lyrics to "Goodbye" tell the story of a woman who chooses to leave behind everything and everyone she knows to seek a new life. In times of heartbreak and disillusionment, young men and women used to enter the military as a means of escape. Even after enlistment, a soldier could feel trapped, either by boredom or, worse, by death. The Abyssinian French Dominion mentioned in the song was a French protectorate that existed in modern-day Ethiopia between 1896 and 1945.
Line by Line Meaning
My heart is broken,
I'm feeling deeply sad and hurt
But what care I?
I don't really care about the pain because I have pride
Such pride inside me has woken,
My sense of self and dignity has been activated
I'll try my best not to cry,
I'll put my utmost effort into holding back my tears
By and by,
At some point in the future
When the final farewells must be spoken.
When it's time for the last goodbyes
I'll join the Legion,
I'll enlist in the military
That's what I'll do.
That's my decision
And in some far distant region,
In a remote and unknown place
Where human hearts are staunch and true,
Where people have unwavering loyalty
I shall start my life anew.
I'll begin again with a fresh start
Good-bye, it's time
It's time for me to say goodbye
I sought a foreign clime,
I'm seeking a new and different environment
Where I may find
Where I hope to discover
there are hearts more kind
People who have more compassion and empathy
Than I leave behind.
Than the people I'm leaving behind
And so, I go,
So I'm departing
To fight a savage foe,
To battle against a fierce opponent
Although I know that
Even though I understand that
I'll be sometimes missed by the girls I've kissed.
The women I've been close to may miss me
In some Abyssinian French Dominion
In a region that is controlled by France in Ethiopia
I shall do my bit,
I will do my part or fulfill my role
And fall for the flag if I must.
And even die for my country's flag if necessary
Where the desert sand is nice and handy,
In a place where the sand is easily accessible
I'll be full of grit
I'll have plenty of courage and determination
You won't see my heels for the dust.
You won't see me running away from danger
I'll do or die
I'll either succeed or die trying
You'll know the reason why
You'll understand the motivation behind my actions
When told of bold Leopold's last stand
When you hear about the brave and defiant last action of Leopold
For the Fatherland.
In defense of our country
Good-bye. Good-bye
A final farewell
I wish you all a last Good-bye.
I'm sending you off with a final goodbye
Good-bye. Good-bye.
Another farewell
I wish you all a last Good-bye.
Again, I'm saying goodbye one last time
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALFRED GOODMAN, CYRUS D. WOOD, D WOOD CYRUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Donn Sunderland
Love the Buddy Cole strong organ sound. He lived in Van Nuys Calif. And had a special soundproof room built on to his house for his organ. He also composed and recorded the beautiful theme song for the television show "Mr. Lucky." You also might not know that he is the Father of Tina Cole who played Katie on the "My three sons" television program. His wife was Yvonne King of the famous singing group The King Sisters.