Coffey learned to play guitar when he was 13 in Ontonagon County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. At 15 he played on his first record session backing Vic Gallon on "I'm Gone" on the Gondola label. In the early 1960s he joined The Royaltones who had had hits with "Poor Boy" in 1958 and "Flamingo Express" in 1961. The Royaltones played sessions with other artists including Del Shannon.
As a member of the Funk Brothers studio band, Coffey played on dozens of recordings for Motown Records, and introduced the wah-wah guitar sound to Motown producer Norman Whitfield's recordings. He also played on Edwin Starr's "S.O.S. (Stop Her on Sight)," The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing", and Freda Payne's "Band of Gold". In addition, Coffey scored the blaxploitation film Black Belt Jones.
In 1971, Coffey recorded Scorpio which was a million selling single and in 1972 Taurus, both with The Detroit Guitar Band. Since then, he has recorded several solo albums, most of them for the Sussex and Westbound labels. In 2004, he published a memoir, Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars.
never can say goodbye
Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Never can say goodbye
Even though the pain and heartache
Seem to follow me wherever I go
Though I try and try to hide my feelings
They always seem to show,
And I always have to say no
Tell me why is it so
That I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
Never can say goodbye
Every time I think I've had enough
And start heading for the door
There's a very strange vibration
Piercing me right through the core
It says, turn around, you fool
You know you love him more and more
Tell me why is it so
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (don't wanna let you go girl)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh ooh (don't wanna let you go girl)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no, ooh
Never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
Never can say goodbye
I keep thinking that our problems
Soon are all gonna work out
But there's that same unhappy feeling
There's that anguish, there's that doubt
It's the same old dizzy hangup
Can't do with you or without
Tell me why is it so
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (hey baby)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh oh (hey baby)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no, ooh
I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (hey baby)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh oh (hey baby)
The lyrics of Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band's "Never Can Say Goodbye" express the difficulty of letting go of a loved one, despite the pain and heartache that come with the relationship. The singer tries to hide their feelings, but they always seem to show, and when their partner tries to leave, they always plead for them to stay. The singer's love for their partner is so strong that even when they try to leave, the singer cannot bring themselves to say goodbye.
The song's chorus of "never can say goodbye" emphasizes the theme of the lyrics, driving home the message that the singer cannot bear to part from their lover. The verses highlight the internal struggle of the singer, who knows that their relationship is troubled but cannot bring themselves to move on. The lyrics suggest that sometimes, even when we know that a relationship is not healthy, it can be difficult to let go and move on.
Overall, "Never Can Say Goodbye" is a powerful song about the difficulty of letting go of someone we love. Its message is timeless, and it has remained a classic in popular music for decades.
Line by Line Meaning
I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
I can't seem to bring myself to say goodbye, even though it might be necessary.
Every time I think I've had enough
And start heading for the door
There's a very strange vibration
Piercing me right through the core
It says, turn around, you fool
You know you love him more and more
Tell me why is it so
Whenever I try to leave, I get this strange feeling that I can't ignore. It tells me that I actually still love the person I'm trying to leave, even more than before. I don't understand why it's happening.
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh baby (don't wanna let you go girl)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
Ooh ooh ooh (don't wanna let you go girl)
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no, ooh
I don't want to say goodbye to you, and it seems like I never will.
I keep thinking that our problems
Soon are all gonna work out
But there's that same unhappy feeling
There's that anguish, there's that doubt
It's the same old dizzy hangup
Can't do with you or without
Tell me why is it so
I keep hoping that things will get better between us, but I'm still feeling unhappy and uncertain. Our relationship feels stuck and I don't know what to do. Why is it always like this?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DAVIS, CLIFTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind