About the song
“What Now My Love” as interpreted by Elvis Presley is a dramatic and emotionally charged ballad that showcases his powerful vocal range and his ability to convey profound despair and longing. Originally a French song titled “Et maintenant,” popularized in English by Shirley Bassey, Presley’s 1973 rendition brought a raw intensity and a personal depth to this already powerful lament of lost love. It’s more than just a song about a breakup; it’s an operatic outpouring of grief and bewilderment in the face of sudden abandonment.
The song’s lyrics express the utter devastation and confusion of someone whose world has been shattered by the unexpected departure of their beloved. The repeated question “What now my love” is a desperate plea for understanding and a stark acknowledgment of the emptiness that now pervades the narrator’s existence. The lyrics paint a picture of a life irrevocably altered, with familiar joys now turned to ashes in the wake of this sudden loss. Presley’s vocal delivery is nothing short of breathtaking in its emotional intensity. His powerful tenor soars with anguish, conveying the narrator’s disbelief, his profound sadness, and his desperate search for meaning in a world suddenly devoid of love. He approaches the song with a dramatic flair, building in intensity to a powerful and heart-wrenching climax.
Elvis Presley’s vocal style in “What Now My Love” demonstrates his remarkable ability to inhabit a song completely, conveying its emotional core with unwavering conviction. He embraces the operatic nature of the melody while grounding it in a palpable sense of personal pain. The instrumentation is grand and sweeping, often featuring a prominent orchestra with lush strings, powerful brass, and a dramatic piano accompaniment. The arrangement builds in intensity alongside Presley’s vocal performance, creating a sonic landscape that mirrors the narrator’s escalating despair. The sheer scale of the arrangement amplifies the feeling of overwhelming loss.
The enduring appeal of “What Now My Love” in Presley’s hands lies in its raw and unfiltered expression of grief and the universal experience of being utterly lost after the end of a significant love. It’s a song that resonates with anyone who has felt the sharp sting of unexpected heartbreak and the subsequent struggle to find meaning in the void left behind. Presley’s powerful and emotionally charged delivery, combined with the song’s dramatic melody and poignant lyrics, creates a truly unforgettable and cathartic listening experience.
“What Now My Love” as performed by Elvis Presley is more than just a cover song; it’s a tour de force of vocal emotion, a dramatic and unforgettable portrayal of the devastation of lost love, delivered with the King’s unparalleled power and sincerity. His rendition remains a testament to his ability to connect with the deepest human emotions and to deliver performances of breathtaking intensity.
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Lyrics
What now, my love, now that you left me?
How can I live through another day
Watching my dreams turn into ashes
And all my hopes into bits of clay?
Once I could see, once I could feel
Now I’m numb, I’ve become unreal
I walk the night, oh, without a goal
Stripped of my heart, my soul
What now, my love, now that it’s over?
I feel the world closing in on me
Here comes the stars tumbling around me
And there’s the sky where the 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 or die
What now, my love, now there is nothing?
Only my last goodbye
Only my last goodbye
