Someday Never Comes

This came straight from John Fogerty himself on what the song is about:

Fogerty has stated that the song is about being left and not being able to learn much as a child.

"Someday Never Comes" is simply a song about my parents undergoing a divorce when I was a child and me not knowing many things. When my dad left me, he told me to be a man and someday I would understand everything. Now, I'm here basically repeating the same thing really. I had a son in 1966 and I went away when he was five years old or so and again told him "someday" he would understand everything. Really, all kids ask questions like "Daddy, when are we going fishing?" and parents always answer with "someday", but in reality someday never comes and kids never learn what they're supposed to learn. -John Fogerty 1973

bradburyesqu is correct. This song was written about a personal experience of Fogerty's, particularly having to deal with his own divorce. He never understood why his own father had to leave yet history was repeating itself. Really strong and powerful song, but much more when you understand the history behind it.

I believe this song talks about ignorance, how our grandfathers didnt know how to teach our fathers many things... so they couldnt teach us those things... things thatcant be teached caue of moral integrity or religious believes, anywy the mother knows that, and tells his song he will understand, he will not beable to tach his song some things about life

my meaning behind the song... "When daddy went away, he said, try to be a man, And someday you'll understand...." -his dad was sent away to war but didn't know how to explain it to his son so he said try to be a man and someday you will understand why he has to leave for war.
Then later in the song- "Think it was September, the year I went away, For there were many things I didn't know. And still I see him standing tryin' to be a man, I said, someday you'll understand. -the "many things he didn't know" in this verse was why he had to, himself, go away to war...and so he told his son what best he could..."someday you'll understand." This is why it is called "someday will never come" because nobody understands the meaning behind war and why people are sent off to war..."someday we will understand" why, but yet "someday will never come".

It's a man remembering growing up without his dad and having to do it fast. then as an adult he fathered a child he didn't know about and did the same thing to him

The ultimate "like father, like son" song. Things his dad did made him want to no be like his dad but he ended up repeating the same stuff and he had to tell his son that he'd understand once he's a father in his shoes

the painful truth is that in spite of education, age, or anything else, there are things we will never know.

Wow good interpretation Tbone. Is that true or your opnion?

Makes alot of sense.

i never understood this song until now, wow. so much deeper meaning

I never interpreted this song to be specific to war; just simply that his dad had to leave. Sometimes people just have to do things, even if they don't partiularly like it. The event then repeats in the third verse with him and his son. The reason I don't think it is about war is because he descibes the birth of his son, saying that he wasn't there. I think the overall theme of the song is simply growing up without a father, or without enough love from a father. The whole bit about "someday you'll understand... someday never comes" is simply meant to say that sometimes people have to do things and you (or they) may not understand why.