What Now My Love?
Music written by Gilbert Bécaud and English lyrics penned by Carl Sigman.
(Original French lyrics by Pierre Delanoë.)

The song is available on CD on a digitally remastered album. A new studio recording with the London Symphony Orchestra was released in 1984 on the album I Am What I Am. A live recording is available for example on the 1997 The Birthday Concert and on the video Shirley Bassey Live In Cardiff.

This was originally the French song "Et Maintenant" by Gilbert Bécaud 1961.

Gilbert Bécaud was born as François Silly 1927 in France. He began to earn his money with music with the age of 20, playing piano and composing film music, alias Francois Bécaud. 1948 he met the lyricist Pierre Delanoë, who became his friend and they wrote many successes together. In the 1950's Bécaud also wrote  for Edith Piaf. From 1952 on he finally used the name Gilbert Bécaud and pea-cravats became his brand. Because of his temperament on his appearances, he became "Monsieur 100.000 Volt", "Monsieur Dynamite" and "Le champignon atomique". Bécaud wrote many successful chansons, sometimes mixed with jazz-elements. He has also had some success with cantatas, operas and music for film. Gilbert Bécaud published a new album 1999 and gave great concerts until he died 2001.

Other songs of Gilbert Bécaud recorded by Shirley Bassey are Love On The Rocks, and It Must Be Him.

"Et Maintenant" has been re-recorded more than 150 times. With the English lyrics by Carl Sigman as "What Now My Love" it became famous all around the world. For more information on the lyricist Carl Sigman look at (Where Do I Begin?) Love Story.
1966 Sonny and Cher reached position number 14 in the US Billboard with this song.

In the album sleeve note Kenneth Hume wrote:

 "One of the last arrangements being What Now My Love, was written by Nelson Riddle the morning of the recording session and parts of the orchestra score only arrived halfway through the session - the copying being done by an extraordinary organisation, appropriately called Panic Music..."

What Nelson Riddle obviously wrote in the morning was the great orchestral arrangement for the recording, because the composition itself was not by him.


Lyrics

What now my love?
Now that you've left me
How can I live Through another day?
Watching my dreams Turning to ashes
And 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
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 come the stars
Tumbling around me
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 Good-bye

(Transcribed by Roman)