"If Love Were All" is a song by Noël Coward

Noël Coward

Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...

, published in 1929 and written for the operetta

Operetta

Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...

 Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet is an operetta in three acts written by Noël Coward and first produced in 1929 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. It ran for a very successful 967 performances....

. The song is considered autobiographical, and has been described as "self-deprecating" as well as "one of the loneliest pop songs ever written".

Ivy St. Helier

Ivy St. Helier

Ivy St. Helier was a British stage actress, composer and lyricist.On the stage, St. Helier played Manon la Crevette in the original production of Noel Coward's operetta Bitter Sweet , a role she reprised in the 1933 film version...

 performed the song in the 1933 film version

Bitter Sweet (1933 film)

Bitter Sweet is a musical romance film directed by Herbert Wilcox and released by United Artists in 1933. It was the first film adaptation of Noel Coward's 1929 operetta Bitter Sweet. It starred Anna Neagle and Fernand Gravey, with Ivy St. Helier reviving her stage role as Manon.It tells the story...

 of Bitter Sweet.

In June 2009, an Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 play

Play (theatre)

A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...

 of the same name about Coward's relationship with Gertrude Lawrence

Gertrude Lawrence

Gertrude Lawrence was an English actress, singer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End theatre district of London and on Broadway.-Early life:...

 premiered at Lucille Lortel Theatre

Lucille Lortel Theatre

The Lucille Lortel Theatre is an off-Broadway playhouse located at 121 Christopher Street in New York City's Greenwich Village.The venue was built in 1926 as a 590-seat movie theater called the New Hudson, later known as Hudson Playhouse...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

.

Reception

"If Love Were All" has been described as "self-deprecating" as well as "one of the loneliest pop songs ever written". Rod McKuen

Rod McKuen

Rod McKuen is an American poet, songwriter, composer, and singer. He was one of the best-selling poets in the United States during the late 1960s. Throughout his career, McKuen produced a wide range of recordings, which included popular music, spoken word poetry, film soundtracks, and classical music...

 considers the song to be among the "truly great" songs about "entertaining from the entertainment point of view".

Cover versions

Cover version

Cover version

In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

s appear on Judy Garland

Judy Garland

Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

's Judy at Carnegie Hall

Judy at Carnegie Hall

Judy at Carnegie Hall is a two-record live recording of a concert by Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall in New York.This concert appearance, on the night of April 23, 1961, has been called "the greatest night in show business history". Garland's live performances were big successes at the time and her...

(1961), Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

' Alternative

Alternative (album)

Alternative is the ninth album by UK electronic music duo Pet Shop Boys. It was first released in 1995.Alternative is a 2-disc set, consisting of 30 B-sides in chronological order...

(1995), and Rufus Wainwright

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...

's Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall

Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall

Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall is the sixth album by the Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released through Geffen Records in December 2007. The album consists of live recordings from his sold-out June 14–15, 2006 tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall to the legendary American...

(2007) and Milwaukee at Last!!!

Milwaukee at Last!!!

Milwaukee at Last!!! is the seventh album by the Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, released in the United States on September 22, 2009. The album consists of live recordings from his August 27, 2007 performance at Pabst Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in support of his previous...

(2009). In the latter part of her life, Garland often included "If Love Were All" in her concert and television repertoire.