Bette Midler

Songwriter: Bette Midler Bruce Roberts Carole Bayer Sager

Producer: Tom Dowd

I stayed out late one night and you moved in
I didn't mind 'cause of the state you were in
May I remind you that it's been a year since then?
Today the landlady, she said to me
"Your lonely friend just made a pass at me"
Perhaps you might enjoy a cottage by the sea
So pack your toys away
Your pretty boys away
Your forty-fives away
Your alibis away
Your silly lies away
Your old tie-dyes away
Your one more tries away
You're moving out today
Your nasty habits aren't confined to bed
The grocer told me what you do with bread
Why don't you take up with the
Baker's wife instead of me?
Pack up your rubber duck
I'd like to wish you luck
Your funny cigarettes
Your sixty-one cassettes
Pack all your clothes away
Your rubber hose away
Your old day glows away
You're movin' out today
I hate to do it
You gotta
I hate to do it
You gotta
Hate to do it
You gotta
Hate to do it
You gotta
You gotta
You gotta
Pack up you dirty looks
Your songs that have no hooks
Your stacks of Modern Screen
Your portrait of the queen
Your mangy cat away
Your baby fat away
You're headed that away
You're moving out today
Pack up your fork and spoon
But leave my Lorna Doones
Your map of Mozambique
Your water bed that leaks
La la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la
The reason I'm singing la la is
Because I'm so happy you're going
Gosh, you've made me miserable
I don't think I've ever been so unhappy
As I've been this last year with you
You are really a dirty, dirty guy
Did anyone ever tell you that?
Oh, uh, by the way, would you
Uh, take off that coat you're wearing?
That's my coat you're wearing
Ah, yes, thank you, oh, goodbye
Parting is such sweet sorrow

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

Live at Last

From the album

Live at Last (1977)

Bette Midler popular songs

Intermission: You’re Moving Out TodayBette Midler

Bette Midler

Live at Last