"Never Say Goodbye" is a love ballad, featuring drawn out vocals and a slow tempo, in contrast to the other tracks on "Slippery When Wet", which are of a much more upbeat, hard rock pace. The song describes the relationship between two young lovers, and their desire to stay together.
The song is in the key of A major and progresses to C# minor G and D major.
"Never Say Goodbye" started a trend of one love/power ballad being included on all Bon Jovi's following albums (songs such as "I'll Be There for You", "Bed Of Roses" and "Always"). It is still occasionally performed during live Bon Jovi concerts. The song was featured on some pressings of the band's Cross Road greatest hits album.
A Mandarin cover of the song was recorded by Taiwanese rock group Power Station and released in 2009.
Never Say Goodbye
Bon Jovi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The night about to end
I pass my time with strangers
But this bottle's my only friend
Remember when we used to park
On Butler Street out in the dark
Remember when we lost the keys
Remember how we used to talk
About busting out, we'd break their hearts
Together, forever
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Say goodbye, never say goodbye
Holdin' on, we got to try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye
Remember days of skipping school
Racing cars and being cool
With a six pack and the radio
We didn't need no place to go
Remember at the prom that night
You and me we had a fight
But the band they played our favorite song
And I held you in my arms so strong
We danced so close
We danced so slow
And I swore I'd never let you go
Together, forever
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
Holdin' on, we got to try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye
I guess you'd say we used to talk
About busting out
We'd break their hearts
Together, forever
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Say goodbye, never say goodbye
Holdin' on, we got to try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye, yeah, yeah
The lyrics of "Never Say Goodbye" by Bon Jovi are a nostalgic reflection of the good times the singer shared with his friends in their youth. The opening lines set the scene in a smoky room at the end of the night, where the singer is passing time with strangers, but feels a closer connection with his bottle of alcohol. He then takes a trip down memory lane with his friends. He remembers parking on Butler Street and losing the keys during the wild days of their youth. He also recalls their dreams of breaking out of their small town and taking on the world together.
The song touches on a range of themes associated with youth, including teenage rebellion, the bonds of friendship, and the joy and pain of first love. The band played their favorite song at the prom and he held her close as they danced slowly. He swears that he will never let her go. The song ends with a sense of hope, that they will hold onto these memories forever and never say goodbye.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet reflection on the joys of youth and the passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
As I sit in this smokey room
The singer is in a place that is filled with cigarette smoke
The night about to end
It is late at night and the singer realizes that it will be over soon
I pass my time with strangers
The singer is spending time with unfamiliar people
But this bottle's my only friend
The only thing the singer can rely on at the moment is his drink
Remember when we used to park
The singer is reminiscing about a time when he and someone else used to park their car in a certain place
On Butler Street out in the dark
This is the specific location where they used to park
Remember when we lost the keys
The singer recalls a time when they lost their car keys
And you lost more than that in my backseat
In the past, the singer and someone else had engaged in sexual activity in the backseat of a car
Remember how we used to talk
The singer is thinking about the conversations he used to have with someone
About busting out, we'd break their hearts
The singer and someone else used to talk about leaving and making others feel bad for not going with them
Together, forever
The singer and someone else planned to do everything together forever
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
The singer wants to stay with someone forever
You and me and my old friends
The singer is addressing someone and recalling the past when they were both with their old friends
Hoping it would never end
The singer does not want their time together with their friends to end
Say goodbye, never say goodbye
The singer requests that they never part ways
Holdin' on, we got to try
The singer wants to hold on to the present moment and try to keep it from slipping away
Holdin' on to never say goodbye
The singer wants to keep holding on and never say goodbye
Remember days of skipping school
The singer is thinking about a time when he and others used to skip school
Racing cars and being cool
The singer recalls how they used to race cars and feel cool doing it
With a six-pack and the radio
They would drive around with some beers and listen to the radio
We didn't need no place to go
They did not need to have a destination in mind while driving around
Remember at the prom that night
The singer recalls a specific night at prom
You and me we had a fight
The singer and someone else had an argument at the prom
But the band they played our favorite song
Despite the fight, the band played their favorite song
And I held you in my arms so strong
The singer and someone else reconciled and held each other tightly
We danced so close
The two of them dance closely together
We danced so slow
They are dancing with a slow tempo
And I swore I'd never let you go
The singer promised never to let go of the other person
I guess you'd say we used to talk
The singer thinks about how they used to speak together
About busting out
They used to talk about breaking free of their current life
We'd break their hearts
They thought leaving would make others feel bad
Together, forever
The singer and someone else planned to stay together forever
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
The singer wants to avoid saying goodbye
Say goodbye, never say goodbye
The singer emphasizes that they should never say goodbye
Holdin' on, we got to try
The singer wants to hold on to the moment and try to keep it from ending
Holdin' on to never say goodbye, yeah, yeah
The singer wants to keep holding on and never say goodbye
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICHARD SAMBORA, JON BON JOVI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@haraaprilia9200
As I sit in this smokey room
The night about to end
I pass my time with strangers
But this bottle's my only friend
Rememberin' when we used to park
On Butler Street, out in the dark
Remember when we lost the keys and
You lost more than that in my backseat, baby
Remember how we used to talk
About busting out, we'd break their hearts
Together, forever
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Holdin' on, we've gotta try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye
Remember days of skipping school
Racing cars and being cool
With a six pack and the radio
We didn't need no place to go
Remember at the prom that night
You and me, we had a fight
But the band they played our favorite song
And I held you in my arms so strong
We danced so close
We danced so slow
And I swore I'd never let you go
Together, forever
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Holdin' on we've gotta try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye
Oh, and I guess you'd say
We used to talk about busting out
We'd break their hearts
Together, forever
Never say goodbye
Never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Say goodbye
Never say goodbye
Holdin' on, we gotta try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye, yeah yeah
@user-tj3hp4pv1i
2024 Anyone????
@ranygo4350
here from korea!!
@cyberlegion9058
Me
@leeshepherdtrading
Yep. Cruising through the past in March 2024.
@LarissaSouza-et8ec
Sim !!! Em 20/03
@lucassoaressaback6374
🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
@arquitectura1919
2024. Let's still enjoy these beautiful songs. Thank you "Bon Jovi".
@-BaladasRomanticas8090
Bon Jovi making history again. Who's here listening to this masterpiece in 2024?
@jennyramsey1000
This song was an icon!
@neliorosa6357
Eu 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷