Discussion and explanation of the song

Lyrics can be found at:
http://josvg.home.xs4all.nl/cits/sb/sb412.html

In a nutshell
The song is about love, life and sharing experiences. The two lovers in the song have experienced an important and/or dramatic event that has changed the way that they experience the world around them. The lovers have to accept this, so that they can start a next phase in their lives and make new memories together.

Original version
The original name for the song was ‘con te partiro’ (I’ll go with you). Some lines were changed to ‘time to say goodbye’ in the duet with Sarah Brightman. Let’s start with the original chorus:

Con te partiro. Paesi che non ho mai veduto e vissuto con te, adesso si li vivro (I'll go with you to countries I never saw and shared with you, now, yes, I shall experience them).

At its core, this is a song between lovers who want to share travel (life) and experiences. They are talking about countries that they have never shared before. Maybe they have been there before, but not together.

Dramatic event
The drama in the music increases in the second part of the chorus:
Con te partiro; su navi per mari, che, io lo so, no, no, non esistono piu, con te io li vivro (I'll go with you on ships across seas which, I know, no, no, exist no longer; with you I shall experience them). In the last chorus con te io li vivro (with you I shall experience them) is replaced by: con te io li rivivro (with you I shall experience them again).

The world as they experienced it before and as they keep in their memories doesn’t exist anymore, it has changed. Possibly they have grown old, maybe there was a tragedy (like the loss of a partner), maybe their previous relationship ended, or maybe there was a more cheerful occasion (engagement, marriage, children), that has changed the way that the world feels to them.

The last line (rivivrò) indicates that they have been there before (possibly even together) and have accepted that it is not the same as it was before. However, now they can make new memories and experiences together.

Time to say goodbye
In the duet version, ‘Con te partiro’ at the start of the chorus is replaced by ‘Time to say goodbye’. However, ‘time to say goodbye’ is not intended to be interpreted literally.

The lovers in the song have to accept that the world is different. They have to come to terms with what happened that made it so. The meaning of ‘time to say goodbye’ as it is intended in this song is to accept this and move on. They have to say goodbye to their past so that they can enjoy the world as it is now.

First verse
Quando sono sola; sogno all'orizzonte; e mancan le parole,
When I'm alone; I dream of the horizon; and words fail;

si lo so che non c'e luce; in una stanza quando manca il sole, se non ci sei tu con me, con me.
yes, I know there is no light; in a room where the sun is absent, if you are not here with me.

The lovers are each other’s sun and moon (also see second verse). When they are not together (sun is absent) there is no light (they feel less happy).

Su le finestre; mostra a tutti il mio cuore; che hai accesso, chiudi dentro me; la luce che; hai incontrato per strada.
At the windows; show everyone my heart; which you set alight; enclose within me the light you
encountered on the street.

Even when they are not together, she always carries his light in her heart (making her happy, energetic, he is her sunshine) wherever she is and she shows it to the world.

Second verse
Quando sei lontana; sogno all'orizzonte; e mancan le parole,
When you are far away; I dream of the horizon; and words fail,

e io si lo so; che sei con me, con me,
and, yes, I know; that you are with me;

tu mia luna tu sei qui con me, mio sole tu sei qui con me, con me, con me, con me.
you, my moon, are here with me, my sun, you are here with me; with me, with me, with me.

The lovers are each other’s sun and moon, they are always together in their hearts.

Discussion
It could be argued that the first and second verses are about past lovers, who are here no longer but are always carried with them in their hearts. In this explanation, it is likely that the dramatic event in their lives is the death of their past lover. They have found a new love in their life and have to accept that the memories that they make together are different than the memories that they made before (with their former lover).

However, the verses start with ‘when I’m alone’ and ‘when you are far away’, which implies that this is a temporary event (he or she will return).

Cheers,
Edwin