Françoise Hardy
French edition
EP by Françoise Hardy
Released	1968
Recorded	Studio Pye, London, England
Genre	Pop music
Length	9:46
Label	Disques Vogue
Producer	Production Asparagus

"Comment te dire adieu"

Single by Jimmy Somerville featuring June Miles-Kingston

from the album Read My Lips

B-side

"Tell the World"

Released

October 1989

Format

7" single

Genre

Pop

Length

3:35

Label

London

Writer(s)

Serge Gainsbourg
Arnold Goland
Jack Gold

Producer(s)

Pascal Gabriel

Jimmy Somerville featuring June Miles-Kingston singles chronology

"Comment te dire adieu"
(1989)

"You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"
(1990)

"Comment te dire adieu" (English: "How to Say Goodbye to You") is a French adaptation of the song "It Hurts to Say Goodbye". It was recorded by Françoise Hardy in 1968 and remains one of Hardy's most popular songs.

The song, originally called "It Hurts to Say Goodbye", was written by Arnold Goland and Jack Gold and was recorded by Margaret Whiting on her album The Wheel of Hurt (1966). It was also recorded by Vera Lynn in 1967; this version reached #7 in Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. Hardy heard an American instrumental version of the song and her manager asked Serge Gainsbourg to provide suitable lyrics for it. Gainsbourg's French adaptation of the original lyrics, "Comment te dire adieu", was included on Hardy's 1968 album. Hardy also recorded the song in Italian ("Il pretesto", 1968) and German ("Was mach' ich ohne dich", 1970; collected in the album Träume, 1970.) The lyrics are notable for their uncommon rhymes in "ex", within the subject of the song having a sense of "ex" as in "ex-boyfriend".

In 1989 it was covered by former Bronski Beat and Communards singer Jimmy Somerville, as a duet with June Miles-Kingston. The song was a hit in the UK, reaching #14 on the UK singles chart, helping Somerville's solo career take off.

Apart from Jimmy Somerville, a number of artists have covered the song:

...
Wikipedia