About The Song
“Bye Bye Love” was written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant. The Everly Brothers recorded it on March 1, 1957, at RCA Victor Studio in Nashville for Cadence Records, with Archie Bleyer producing. Released in March of that year as Cadence 1315, the single featured “I Wonder If I Care as Much” as the B-side. The track marked the duo’s breakthrough after earlier efforts had not found major success.
The record became a major crossover hit. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and held the top position for several weeks. On the pop side it peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, kept from the top by Elvis Presley’s “Teddy Bear,” while topping the Cash Box chart. It also reached number five on the R&B chart and number six in the United Kingdom. The single spent twenty-seven weeks on the pop chart, confirming its broad appeal.
The song had been rejected by roughly thirty other artists before the Everlys agreed to record it. Don Everly contributed a distinctive acoustic guitar introduction that was not part of the original composition, and the session included Chet Atkins on electric guitar along with a tight rhythm section. The brothers’ close harmonies, already refined from years of performing together, gave the recording its signature sound.
The lyric is a straightforward farewell to a lost relationship. The singer says goodbye to love and happiness now that his partner has found someone new, greeting loneliness in their place. The upbeat tempo and bright arrangement create a contrast with the melancholy subject matter, a combination that helped the song stand out on both country and pop radio.
The success of “Bye Bye Love” established Don and Phil Everly as major stars and opened the door to a string of further hits, including “Wake Up Little Susie.” The recording appeared on their 1958 debut album for Cadence and later earned induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Its influence extended to later generations of harmony-based groups who cited the Everlys as a model.
Within the history of late-1950s popular music, the Everly Brothers’ version of “Bye Bye Love” remains a landmark. Its commercial performance, distinctive sound, and role in launching one of the era’s most successful acts have secured its place among the essential recordings of the period.
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Lyric
Bye-bye love
Bye-bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I’m gonna cry
Bye-bye love
Bye-bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like I could die
Bye-bye my love, goodbye
There goes my baby with someone new
She sure looks happy, I sure am blue
She was my baby ’til he stepped in
Goodbye to romance that might’ve been
Bye-bye love
Bye-bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I’m gonna cry
Bye-bye love
Bye-bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like I could die
Bye-bye my love, goodbye
I’m through with romance, I’m through with love
I’m through with countin’ the stars above
And here’s the reason that I’m so free
My lovin’ baby is through with me
Bye-bye love
Bye-bye happiness
Hello loneliness
I think I’m gonna cry
Bye-bye love
Bye-bye sweet caress
Hello emptiness
I feel like I could die
Bye-bye my love, goodbye
Bye-bye my love, goodbye
Bye-bye my love, goodbye
Bye-bye my love, goodbye