10 Best Songs That Feature The Word 'Never' In The Title

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The word “never” can sound final, defiant, heartbreaking, or strangely hopeful, which is probably why songwriters have returned to it so many times. The songs on this list move from INXS and Heart to Chuck Berry, Dionne Warwick, Three Dog Night, The Association, and The Beatles, covering everything from romance and regret to psychedelic experimentation. Some are quiet and personal, while others swing hard or reach for something much bigger. Here are ten great songs that feature the word “never” in the title.

# 10 – Never Tear Us Apart – INXS

INXS delivered one of their most emotional recordings with “Never Tear Us Apart,” released from the band’s 1987 album Kick. Andrew Farriss wrote the music while Michael Hutchence supplied the lyrics, and Chris Thomas produced the recording. The sweeping arrangement, Hutchence’s vocal, and Kirk Pengilly’s saxophone give the song a dramatic weight without burying its simple message of devotion. It became a major American hit, reaching number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. This is one of those records that sounds huge while still feeling deeply personal.

Read More: Top 10 INXS Songs

# 9 – Can’t Lose What You Never Had – The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band opened their 1975 album Win, Lose or Draw with a tough reading of “Can’t Lose What You Never Had.” The song was written by McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, and the Allman Brothers push it straight into their own Southern rock and blues world. Gregg Allman’s vocal gives the song plenty of grit, while the band leaves room for the guitars and keyboards to breathe. Johnny Sandlin and the Allman Brothers Band produced the recording. It is a great example of the group honoring the blues without simply copying it.

# 8 – Never Gonna Fall in Love Again – Eric Carmen

Eric Carmen’s “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” came from his 1975 self-titled debut solo album and followed “All by Myself” as another huge emotional ballad. Released as a single in 1976, it reached number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Easy Listening chart. Carmen based the melody on the third movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, bringing classical music directly into the center of a pop song. Jimmy Ienner produced the recording, but Carmen’s voice and melody carry the heartbreak. The title says exactly where the singer’s head is after love has gone wrong.

Read More: Top 10 Eric Carmen Songs

# 7 – You Never Can Tell – Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” is one of his great storytelling songs, following a young married couple as they build a life together with very little money and plenty of style. Released in 1964 on St. Louis to Liverpool, the single reached number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Berry’s lyrics move like a little movie, and the rolling piano helps give the record its irresistible bounce. Decades later, the song found another generation when Quentin Tarantino used it for the famous dance scene in Pulp Fiction. The record was already a classic long before that movie reminded everybody how much fun it was.

Read More: Top 10 Chuck Berry Songs

# 6 – I Never Cry – Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper showed a completely different side of himself with “I Never Cry” from the 1976 album Alice Cooper Goes to Hell. Written by Cooper and Dick Wagner and produced by Bob Ezrin, the song pulls away from the horror-show theatrics and goes straight into something far more personal. Cooper later called it an “alcoholic confession,” and that description explains why the performance feels so exposed. The single reached number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100. Behind all the makeup and shock-rock imagery was a singer admitting that things were not nearly as funny as they looked.

# 5 – I’ll Never Fall in Love Again – Dionne Warwick

Burt Bacharach and Hal David wrote “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” for the 1968 musical Promises, Promises, but Dionne Warwick made the song one of her signature recordings. Her version was released as a single in late 1969 and later became the title track of her 1970 album. The record reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart. Warwick handles the song’s mixture of heartbreak and dry humor perfectly, never pushing harder than the melody needs. Bacharach and David could make romantic disappointment sound elegant, and Warwick knew exactly how to deliver it.

Read More: Top 10 Dionne Warwick Songs

# 4 – Never – Heart

Heart came roaring back in 1985, and “Never” was a big part of that comeback. Released as the second single from the band’s self-titled album, the song was written by Holly Knight, Gene Bloch, and “Connie,” a shared pseudonym used by Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, and Sue Ennis. Ron Nevison produced the polished recording, but Ann Wilson’s massive voice keeps it from ever sounding too slick. “Never” reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave Heart consecutive Top Ten singles from the album. It is pure mid-1980s Heart: huge hooks, huge vocals, and no apologies.

# 3 – Never Been to Spain – Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night turned Hoyt Axton’s “Never Been to Spain” into one of their biggest early-1970s hits. The song appeared on the 1971 album Harmony, with Richard Podolor producing and Cory Wells delivering the lead vocal. Axton’s lyric is wonderfully strange, moving through places the narrator has never visited while somehow making each one feel familiar. The single reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972. Three Dog Night had a gift for finding great outside songs and making them sound completely like their own, and this is one of the best examples.

# 2 – Never My Love – The Association

The Association’s “Never My Love” is one of the most beautiful pop ballads to come out of the 1960s. Written by brothers Don and Dick Addrisi, the song appeared on the group’s 1967 album Insight Out and was produced by Bones Howe. The recording used members of the Wrecking Crew, but the Association’s harmonies are what make the song soar. “Never My Love” reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Cash Box chart. More than half a century later, it still sounds impossibly warm and romantic.

Read More: Top 10 Songs From The Association

# 1 – Tomorrow Never Knows – The Beatles

“Tomorrow Never Knows” closed The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver, but it was actually the first song the band recorded for the album. John Lennon wrote the song, credited to Lennon-McCartney, and the first session took place at EMI Studios on April 6, 1966, with additional work on April 7 and 22. George Martin and the band built the recording from tape loops, a hypnotic Ringo Starr drum pattern, Indian-influenced drones, backwards sounds, and Lennon’s voice pushed through a Leslie speaker. Nothing else on mainstream rock records sounded quite like this at the time. Putting it at number one feels right because “Tomorrow Never Knows” did not just sound different, it helped change what a rock recording could be.