The Carpenters' melodic pop charted a record-breaking score of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, becoming leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. The Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary Chart (see The Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, The Carpenters' album and single sales total more than 100 million units.
During their fourteen-year career, The Carpenters recorded eleven albums, five of which contained top 10 singles (Close to You, Carpenters, A Song for You, Now & Then and Horizon), thirty-one singles, five television specials, and one short-lived television series. They toured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium. Their recording career ended with Karen's death on February 4, 1983. Karen passed away after cardiac arrest due to complications of anorexia nervosa. Extensive news coverage of the circumstances surrounding her death increased public awareness of the consequences of eating disorders.
Their first recordings were not successful, and the recording studio that was recording them, dropped them. That's when their 'savior' came in. Herb Alpert of A&M records heard a couple of their songs and said that he felt that they had good potential. Thanks to him, and his ability to see/hear quality when it appears, we had the GREAT performers of The Carpenters.
The Parting Of Our Ways
The Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The love we shared?
The love I live for is no longer there
If God only planned it to last all our days
Love was so bright, then you went away
My days were sunny; now they are gray
If God only planned it to last all our days
There never would have been a parting of our ways
I hope and pray that he'll return to me
Forever since he's been gone, I've been in misery
I hope someday he'll come up to my door,
Saying he's sorry he'll leave no more
My love is gone now; it didn't last
Who was my future now is my past
If God only planned it to last all our days
There never would have been,
Never would have been now,
Never would have been a parting of our ways
The Carpenters' song "The Parting Of Our Ways" is a melancholy reflection on a past love that has ended. The opening lines of the song carry a sense of confusion and loss, as the singer wonders where their love has gone. The following line, "The love I live for is no longer there," suggests that the love they once shared was the central focus of their life. The next line, "If God only planned it to last all our days," implies that the singer feels that the love they shared was cut short too soon. The chorus repeats this idea, emphasizing that if their love was meant to be forever, there would never have been a parting of their ways.
The second verse continues the theme of loss and regret. The first line, "Love was so bright, then you went away," carries a sense of nostalgia for the past when things were good. The next line, "My days were sunny; now they are gray," conveys a sense of how the present has been affected by the loss of their love. The chorus is repeated once again, with the singer praying for the return of their former lover.
The final verse is a nostalgic look back at what was lost. The line, "Who was my future now is my past," sums up the idea that the love they shared was something they had hoped would last forever, but it has now become a memory. Once again, the chorus emphasizes that if their love was meant to be forever, there never would have been a parting of their ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Where has it gone?
I wonder where our love has gone.
The love we shared?
The love that we once shared between us.
The love I live for is no longer there
The love which was once everything to me, is not present anymore.
If God only planned it to last all our days
Had it been God's plan that our love would last forever,
There never would have been a parting of our ways
Then we would have never parted ways.
Love was so bright, then you went away
Our love was shining bright until you left.
My days were sunny; now they are gray
My life was full of happiness but now it's full of sadness.
I hope and pray that he'll return to me
I wish and pray every day that he would come back to me.
Forever since he's been gone, I've been in misery
I have been in great pain since the day he left.
I hope someday he'll come up to my door,
I hope one day he would knock on my door.
Saying he's sorry he'll leave no more
And will apologize for his actions and promise to never go away again.
My love is gone now; it didn't last
My love is no more and it was short-lived.
Who was my future now is my past
The person who I thought would be my future, is now a part of my past.
If God only planned it to last all our days
If only our love was meant to last for a lifetime,
There never would have been,
Then there would have never been,
Never would have been now,
No reason for it to happen now,
Never would have been a parting of our ways
And we would have never parted ways.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Ultra Tunes, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JRUTHER BELLING, LEWIS JOHNSON, ANTOINE PAIGE, KEITH PAIGE, ARTHUR ROSS, LEON WARE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ConsumerWarrior
Any teenage girl who is thinking about going into the music entertainment industry needs to listen to songs like these by Karen Carpenter from when she was 16 years old. If Miley Cyrus as a teenage girl had been teleported back in time to the 1960s or the 1970s, she could never have competed with someone as talented as Karen Carpenter. It's just as simple as that. We need this kind of music back on the radio.
WARDMAN3
Do people realize the Karen was only 16 when she sang this..... Talent like this is a one in a millenia.... The most beautiful voice in modern pop history and sorely missed
MeloLand
Fantastic song!!
gvalley07
If it's Karen, its all good!
Dastardly XK120
Damn right !!! 🌟 Superstar 🌟
Jorge Marcelo Baña
A great work of restoration of this historic recording thanks
Eli Foust
Richard would soon blend his own voice ,the real package.
Bananadiva1
Am I the only one who thinks this sounds like a Shangri Las song? I love it!
Peter Emmert
An original mint condition Magic Lamp Records 45 of this song would fetch a whopping $10,000.00 in 2020! Any other conditions would be less, but would still be in the mega-dollar category!
folgore1
Anyone know how many of their old Osborn recordings survive?