Softly, as I Leave You (song)
Softly, as I Leave You is a popular Italian song that was originally titled Piano. It was written by Tony De Vita with Italian lyrics by Giorgio Calabrese. An English version with lyrics by Hal Shaper was published in 1961 as Softly, as I Leave You.
In Italy, the tune first became famous as Mina’s song Piano in 1960, later appearing on EPs and LPs.
The song has been recorded in English by several artists. Matt Monro released it as a single in 1962 (B-side: Is There Anything I Can Do). Frank Sinatra released an English version in 1964 on the album Softly, as I Leave You (B-side: Then Suddenly Love).
There is a well-known but likely apocryphal Elvis Presley story about the song’s origin. Presley supposedly told fans that the words came from a dying man whose wife was by his bedside. He did not sing the song; he spoke the words on stage while backing singer Sherrill Nielsen sang the vocal. The most famous live rendition was recorded at the Las Vegas Hilton on December 13, 1975 and released posthumously in 1978 on Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential 70’s Masters.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:40 (CET).