Bette Midler

Released: December 3, 1979

Songwriter: George David Weiss Jerry Ragovoy

Producer: Paul A. Rothchild

Where did you go when things went wrong, baby?
Who did you run to?
Find a shoulder to lay your head upon
Baby, wasn't I there?
Didn't I take good care of you?
But, oh, no. I can't believe you're leaving me, yeah

Stay with me, baby
I'm beggin' you to stay with me, baby
Yeah, stay with me, baby
I can't go on

Who did you touch when you needed tenderness, baby?
I gave you so much
And in return I found happiness
Baby, what could I do?
Maybe I was too good, too good to you
Ohh, I can't believe you're leavin' me
Oh, oh, oh

Oh, stay with me, baby
Why don't you, why don't you just stay with me, baby?
Yeah, stay with me, baby
Remember, you said you always gonna love me
Remember, you said you'd never ever leave me
Remember, remember, I'm asking you, begging you
Oh, oh, oh

Oh, stay with me, baby, baby, baby
Why don't you stay with me, baby?
Stay with me, baby
I can't, I can't go, oh, on

"Well, I'm a young woman, and I could get plenty of men. But honey, keepin' 'em's the hard part, ain't it? Yeah. Sometimes, sometimes I find I try so hard."

Maybe this time I should be the one to go away
'Cause honey, ain't it my turn to have somebody
Grab hold of me and say
"No! Don't go! You can't go!"

Oh! Stay, stay with me, baby
I'm begging you, stay with me
Stay with me, baby
I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, stay with me, baby
Why don't you stay with me, baby?
Stay with me, baby
I can't, I can't go on

Bette Midler is a Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, comedienne and actress. Named in honor of Bette Davis, Midler’s career began performing off-broadway until she developed the stage persona The Divine Miss M while singing at the world-famous Continental Baths gay bathhouse. A pre-fame Barry Manilow, the venue’s in-house piano player, produced her Grammy-nominated debut album which scored three US top 40 singles including the Grammy-nominated “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy”. Midler took home the Best New Artist Grammy that year, her first of three career wins.

Throughout the 1970s, Midler found further success with music, Broadway, television and film. The Rose, Midler’s 1979 acting debut, earned her both Oscar and Academy Award nominations, and its namesake song won her a Golden Globe and another Grammy – also giving Midler her first success overseas.

The early 1980s proved less successful for Midler with four under-performing singles and a box office flop with the film Jinxed. However, the second half of the decade would prove far more fruitful with a handful of very successful films including Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Ruthless People, Outrageous Fortune and Beaches, the latter featuring a chart-topping cover of “Wind Beneath My Wings” that won Midler her third Grammy and is considered one of the greatest songs in American film history.

more tracks from the album

Divine Madness

From the albums

The Rose - The Original Soundtrack Recording (1979)
Divine Madness (1980)
Diva Las Vegas (1997)

Bette Midler popular songs

Stay with MeBette Midler

Bette Midler

Divine Madness