I Never Cry

one of the best mellow songs i've ever heard... makes you do exactly the opposite of what the title tells you... it really might make you cry

I believe that he's being sarcastic. When you really don't want people to think that you can feel a lot of pain, you try to put on a front. He's telling her that he never cries - because he doesn't want her to know he actually has felt a lot of pain. All the imagery in this song can suggest that he actually has quite a few things to cry about. The lines here I think is the core of the song: "If there is a tear on my face It makes me shiver to the bones It shakes me, Babe It's just a heartache that got in my eye And you know I never cry, I never cry" Like when you say you have something in your eye if your eye starts to tear up from feeling sad. It's a guy wanting to put on a strong front, but he's actually sad. He's saying he has a heart of stone, but he actually doesn't. He says the opposite of what he's feeling this entire song. I think we can all relate to not wanting to seem vulnerable.

I had heard (I don't know if it's true) that this song was released because no one thought Alice was capable of a ballad.

well you know vince was an alcoholic and his marriage suffered a great deal from it. fortunately he quit alcohol and saved his marriage and kept his family together.

not sure if thats what this song is about. maybe he just randomly wrote it like the person above me said, but it does kind of tie into his life.

spacepirate is right. it was about his alcoholism and how he had become so desensitised by it that he never showed emotions... thats one of the reasons it was screwing up his marriage.

At the time of "Alice's big bad ballads", disco was the big thing, and mainstream radio stations weren't exactly eager to play the heavier stuff. So, the ballads (Only Women Bleed, How You Gonna See Me Now, I Never Cry, You and Me, etc.) made it out instead. Looks like it worked out well.

this song is can probably apply to 2 things recovering from alcoholism or the pain of long term loniness a lot of people have expeirenced both

Doesn't Alice sound vulnerable here? A lovely voice for a ballad. I always reckon that at his very best he had one of the most versatile voices in rock. Yup - this one's a heartbreaker.

for me this song is acctualy true,i was in a bad car accident and since my car wreck i can't cry,haven't cried a single tear and my god,it's amazing the things in life we take for granted

This is one of Alice's best ballads. The lyrics are just so honest and so vulnerable. He's asking for forgiveness for being "Hard Hearted Alice" who sometimes drinks more than he needs. He's saying it's OK to break his heart, just don't leave it. I think modern audiences may not understand the "until the TV's dead and gone reference." There was a time, not so long ago, when TV wasn't 24/7. They actually stopped broadcasting TV late at night. So if you fell asleep in front of the TV, you might wake up at 3 or 4am to black and white snowy vision on the television screen. LOL