The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
[Tick Tocks]
Time don?t wait for no one
Leaving you broken
Especially when you?re under the gun
Makes things complicated
Leaving you jaded toward
Everything that's under the sun
Tick Tock Tick Tock, Goes the clock
Tick Tock Tick Tock, Till I drop
But time don?t phase me, Not a bit
'cause I give mine to you, All of it
Death can't shake me, From ya hand
Me minus you equals, Not a chance
It?s good to know that, When I go
You?ll never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me go
[Chorus]
I want some Face to Face
Just Gimme that Full Embrace
What did I Hear you Say?
That you will Never Ever Let me Go
I'll never Know
When It?s my Time to Go
One Thing I know fo? sho?
That you Will Never Ever Let me Go
Never ever let me go
The mind is a ticking time bomb
Itching to go off
Impatiently it waits in the calm
Bang, Bang, it might be over
In one little moment
Before you know it
It?s all gone
Tick Tock Tick Tock, Goes the clock
Tick Tock Tick Tock, gonna pop
It?s good to know that, When it goes
You?ll never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me go
[Chorus]
One thing I?ll never know
The time and place that I'll go
Death can't shake me from your hand
You Never let me go
I know you'll never ever never ever let me go
You Never let me go
I know you'll Never ever never ever let me go
I want some Face to Face
Just Gimme that Full Embrace
What did I Hear you Say?
That you will Never Ever Let me Go
I'll never Know
When It?s my Time to Go
One thing I know fo? sho?
That you Will Never Ever Let me-
I want some Face to Face
Just Gimme that Full Embrace
What did I Hear you Say?
That you will Never Ever Let me Go
I'll never Know
When It?s my Time to Go
One thing I know fo? sho?
That you Will Never Ever Let me-
Time don?t wait for no one
Leaving you broken
Especially when you?re under the gun
Makes things complicated
Leaving you jaded toward
Everything that's under the sun
Tick Tock Tick Tock, Goes the clock
Tick Tock Tick Tock, Till I drop
But time don?t phase me, Not a bit
'cause I give mine to you, All of it
Death can't shake me, From ya hand
Me minus you equals, Not a chance
It?s good to know that, When I go
You?ll never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me go
[Chorus]
I want some Face to Face
Just Gimme that Full Embrace
What did I Hear you Say?
That you will Never Ever Let me Go
I'll never Know
When It?s my Time to Go
One Thing I know fo? sho?
That you Will Never Ever Let me Go
Never ever let me go
The mind is a ticking time bomb
Itching to go off
Impatiently it waits in the calm
Bang, Bang, it might be over
In one little moment
Before you know it
It?s all gone
Tick Tock Tick Tock, Goes the clock
Tick Tock Tick Tock, gonna pop
It?s good to know that, When it goes
You?ll never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me
Never ever let me go
[Chorus]
One thing I?ll never know
The time and place that I'll go
Death can't shake me from your hand
You Never let me go
I know you'll never ever never ever let me go
You Never let me go
I know you'll Never ever never ever let me go
I want some Face to Face
Just Gimme that Full Embrace
What did I Hear you Say?
That you will Never Ever Let me Go
I'll never Know
When It?s my Time to Go
One thing I know fo? sho?
That you Will Never Ever Let me-
I want some Face to Face
Just Gimme that Full Embrace
What did I Hear you Say?
That you will Never Ever Let me Go
I'll never Know
When It?s my Time to Go
One thing I know fo? sho?
That you Will Never Ever Let me-
Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes
Never Let Me Go Lyrics as written by Jay Livingston Ray Evans
Lyrics © O/B/O DistroKid, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Spirit Music Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Exploration Group LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
i love this song. about a relationship? obv.? idk. haha
nvm now i think that its about that after they pass away, they want someone, idk who, to never let them go! haha
i'm pretty sure its about his relationship with god.
this song is def about God. ilike vickytu93's second comment. but she must not have known that these guys are a Christian band.
yeah i think it is...that is y it says death cant shake me from your hand
its Christian band like this is a song about god unfailing love and thats it awsome song
Yeah, this song is pretty much about how God will never let you go and he'll always be with you.