THE JAPANESE SINGLES # 9

This is the 1974 Japanese single When You Smile/The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye.
Both songs are from the wonderful Nobody Does It Like Me album that was recorded in the USA.
One of Shirley Bassey’s finest albums in my opinion but one of her least favourites…
Below more about the wonderful The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye one of my all time favourites

Album review by Joe Viglione,  All Music Guide:
Nobody Does It Like Me is an appropriate album title for the queen diva, Shirley Bassey, this 1974 release being another in-the-pocket delight. Producer Martin Rushent, who would take the Human League to the top of the charts in 1982, is here in an engineering capacity and the sound is somewhat different from her ’60s albums and even the double-live disc from the year before. M. Randall’s “Leave a Little Room” starts things off, and the feel is more geared toward the ’70s adult contemporary audiophile than the cabaret circuit. Sure, it’s the same instrumentation and voice her fans adore, but the music is pulled back somewhat; “When You Smile” is ready for radio, the orchestration not in your face. “All That Love Went to Waste” from the motion picture A Touch of Class finds sweeping strings and dynamic horns playing off of Bassey’s intuitive phrasings. Bernard Ighner composes and duets with Bassey on “Davy,” the approach Melissa Manchester would take a few years later for her tune “Whenever I Call You Friend,” which Kenny Loggins hit with. Even the song selection seems positioned to get the artist a piece of that 1970s radio play that Helen Reddy, Anne Murray, and Barry Manilow were so successful conquering. Paul Anka’s “I’m Not Anyone” is a seemingly perfect vehicle for just that. But where the Anne Murrays and Helen Reddys weren’t known for belting tunes out, the pop music radio did embrace back then was not the operatic style Jane Olivor and others were issuing. Bassey pulls back nicely on “Morning in Your Eyes,” but it still has too much elegance for programmers to latch onto. “The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye” is traditional Bassey, subtle and overpowering all at once. The title track, “Nobody Does It Like Me,” is from the Broadway musical Seesaw, and it breaks out of the soft rock of most of the album, delivering a snazzy number that, truly, few can do like Bassey: “I got a big loud mouth/I’m always talking much too free/If you go for tacky manners/Better stay away from me.” The lower volume level is noticeable when “I’m Nothing Without You” follows that tour de force, its “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” strings and feel coming back to the mission of this record. And that mission is accomplished with the closing track. Just as Bassey recorded a superb version of Bobby Hebb’s “Sunny,” she re-interprets Stevie Wonder’s song with the same flavor, “You Are the Sunshine of My Life.” It oozes with classy adult pop majesty, understated vocals, and bubbling instrumentation. Totally wonderful. This rendition should have been a huge American radio hit and is the frosting on the cake.

Lyrics:

We wandered through the summertime
We drifted into fall
We never thought of winter at all
How foolishly we tossed away the buttercups, the time
Who’d have thought we’d have no more
Songs to sing? Hills to climb?

We summered in each other’s arms
And slumbered in the glow
We never heard the whisper of snow
But summer’s not forevermore
No matter how we-you tried
The trouble with ‘Hello’ is ‘Goodbye’

We never heard the whisper of snow
But summer’s not forevermore
No matter how you tried
The trouble with ‘Hello’ is ‘Goodbye’

The Meaning Behind The Song:

“The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye,” captures the bittersweet essence of love and heartbreak. Released in 1960, this timeless piece has resonated with listeners for its profound lyrics and touching melody. Let’s delve into the meaning of this beautiful song and uncover the emotions it evokes.
This heartfelt ballad reflects the pain and confusion that can arise when saying goodbye to someone we deeply care about. The lyrics paint a picture of a relationship that has reached its end, leaving both parties struggling with the conflicting emotions of longing and acceptance.
“The Trouble With Hello Is Goodbye” conveys a sense of vulnerability and yearning. The song highlights the inherent dichotomy of saying “hello” in hopes of reconnecting, while knowing deep down that it ultimately leads to the painful goodbye. It speaks to the inevitable reality that even though we may want someone back in our lives, letting go can be the only way to find closure and move forward.