If I Never Sing Another Song

Music by Udo Jürgens. Original German lyrics written by Alexandra. English lyrics penned by Don Black.

Released on the 1976 album Love, Life And Feelings. Available on CD digitally remastered on the collection Bassey - The EMI/UA Years 1959 - 1979.

In English first sung by Connie Francis. Also sung by Matt Monro and it's a popular song for Joe Longthorne.

This song has originally been sung about 1967 in German by Alexandra (born: Doris Treitz) who had penned the lyrics herself. Her German title was "Illusionen" (Illusions). Beside of "Zigeunerjunge", this song was one of her greatest successes in her short career. 1967 she had been choosen as the best German new-generation singer, but she died very early on July 31st, 1969, when she caused a car accident completely overworked. Here's a German page about Alexandra and here are the original German lyrics.

Alexandra has also sometimes written lyrics for Udo Jürgens (born: Udo Jürgen Bockelmann) an Austrian singer and composer.
He's one of the most successful and popular pop musician in Germany since decades. 1950 with the age of 16 he won an Austrian composer competition with his song "Je t'aime". His first record had been released 1954, but his first successes came in the 1960's. 1960 Germany with Udo Jürgens's song "Jenny" won at a pop festival in Knokke, Belgium, and this song became a number one hit in Belgium. He got a press-price as the best single artist of the festival. And in 1960 he has written the hit-song "Reach For The Stars" especially for Shirley Bassey. Later he also recorded this song, but not with the same success like Shirley.

1964 Udo Jürgens participated in the "Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson" for Germany (an annual European song contest), with his song "Warum nur, warum?". Udo then performed this song live in Paris and it became No. 1 in the French charts. Matt Monroe picked up this song and sung it in English: "Walk Away", and he reached top-positions in the charts around the world (UK #1, USA #2). 1965 Matt Monroe had another worldwide hit with the Udo Jürgens composition "Without You". (The song which Shirley Bassey has recorded 1972 with the same title is not the same song.) And 1965 Quincy Jones produced with Sarah Vaughan the Jürgens title "Right Or Wrong". The songs of Udo Jürgens have been interpreted by many other well known artists around the world like for example Brenda Lee, Jean-Claude Pascal, Sammy Davis jr., Al Martino and Nancy Wilson.

Udo Jürgens has performed live together with Shirley Bassey 1974 in the huge Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro in front of 40000 people. Udo's "Alguien Canto", his Spanish version of his song "Was ich dir sagen will", then became a hit in whole South America for months.

1980 Udo Jürgens became the "Country Music Award" from ASCAP for "Buenos Dias, Argentina". He has got the award "Goldene Europa" (Golden Europe) eight times and what I've collected here is only a little part of all the awards, prices and accolades he has got. For more info take a look at Udo Jürgens' homepage. He's still touring and very successful and releasing new records. In 2000 he gave a concert from his home only to the Internet with a following one hour chat with the fans. It would be great if this would ever become true with Shirley Bassey.
 

Lyrics:

In my heyday
Young men wrote to me
Everybody seemed to have time to devote to me
Everyone I saw all swore they knew me
Once upon a song

Main attraction, couldn't buy a seat
The celebrity, celebrities were dying to meet
I've had every accolade bestowed on me
And so you see

If I never sing another song
It wouldn't bother me
I had my share of fame
You know my name

If I never sing another song
Or take another bow
I would get by, but I'm not sure how

Always posing, but you love it all
Though you have to learn to act like you're above it all
Everything I did the world applauded
Once upon a star

Framed citations, hung on every wall
Got a scrapbook full of quotes, I can recall them all
There were times I felt the world belonged to me
And so you see

If I never sing another song
It wouldn't bother me
I had my share of fame
You know my name

If I never sing another song
Or take another bow
I would get by, but I'm not sure how
But I'm not sure how
But I'm not sure how
(transcribed by Roman <scribbler@gmx.net>, supported by Bob <mraap@nl.packardbell.org>)