never can say goodbye
Diana Ross and Michael Jackson 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 song "Never Can Say Goodbye" is about the struggle of letting go of a relationship that has ended but still holds a strong emotional attachment. The lyrics describe the confusion and pain that come with trying to move on but feeling drawn back to the relationship. The opening lines, "I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now / Never can say goodbye," sets the tone for the whole song that the singer is unable to let go of their love.
Line by Line Meaning
I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
I cannot let go of you, even though it would be better for me to do so.
Never can say goodbye
I cannot bring myself to say goodbye to you, no matter how hard I try.
Even though the pain and heartache seem to follow me wherever I go
The pain and heartache of our relationship ending never leave me, even when I try to move on.
Though I try and try to hide my feelings, they always seem to show
Even though I try to conceal my emotions for you, they always surface.
Then you try to say you're leaving me, and I always have to say no
When you tell me you want to leave, I cannot bear the thought of it and beg you to stay.
Tell me why is it so
I cannot understand why I cannot let go of our relationship.
Every time I think I've had enough and start heading for the door
When I feel like I cannot take this relationship anymore, I try to leave.
There's a very strange vibration piercing me right through the core
There is a strong feeling deep inside of me that pulls me back to you.
It says, turn around, you fool, you know you love him more and more
My emotions tell me to go back to you because I love you more and more each day.
I keep thinking that our problems soon are all gonna work out
Despite our issues, I hold onto hope that our relationship will improve.
But there's that same unhappy feeling, there's that anguish, there's that doubt
However, that unhappy feeling, anguish, and doubt never go away.
It's the same old dizzy hangup, can't do with you or without
I am stuck in a cycle where I cannot decide whether to stay with you or leave.
Don't wanna let you go
I cannot bear the thought of losing you from my life.
I never can say goodbye girl
I cannot bring myself to say farewell to you, even though it would be better for me.
Ooh ooh baby (don't wanna let you go girl)
I love you deeply and cannot imagine my life without you in it.
Ooh, oh I never can say goodbye girl
I will never be able to say goodbye to you, no matter how much it might be the right choice.
Hey baby
My affectionate nickname for you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Clifton Davis
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
curse
Never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
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,
Then you try to say you're leaving me
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
Denise
I never can say goodbye, no, no, no, no, now
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,
Then you try to say you're leaving me
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)
Jae-Migel Allen
No, no, no, never say
Never say, say goodbye
No no no no I
I never can say goodbye
No no no no I
I never can say goodbye
Every time I think I've had enough
I 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 her more and more"
Tell me why (tell me why)
Is it so?
Don't want to let you go
No never can say goodbye boy, ooh
No, no I never can say goodbye
No no no, no no no, no no no ooh, ooh
Ay, I never can say goodbye boy, ooh baby
I never can say goodbye, no no no, no no no, ooh
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no I
I never can say goodbye (never say goodbye boy)
I keep thinkin' that our problems soon are all gonna work out
But there's that same unhappy feelin', there's that anguish, there's that doubt
It's that same ol' dizzy hang up
I can't get by without you
Tell me why (tell me why)
Is it so?
Don't want to let you go
No, I never can say goodbye boy, ooh
No, no
I never can say goodbye
No no no, no no no, no no no ooh, ooh
Hey I never can say goodbye boy
Ooh, no baby
I never can say goodbye
No no no, no no no, no no no ooh, ooh
Never say goodbye boy
Never say goodbye boy (ooh)
Every time I think I've had enough
I start heading for the door
It's that same ol' dizzy feeling
Piercing me right through the core
It says "turn around you fool, you know you love her more and more"
Tell me why (tell me why)
Is it so?
I don't want to let you go, no no
Let you go, no no
Let you go, go
Don't ever let you go
No no no, no no no, no no no ooh, ooh (no no no baby)
I never can say goodbye
Ooh, no baby
I never can say goodbye
No no no, no no no, no no no ooh, ooh
Hey
I never can say goodbye boy
Say goodbye boy, say goodbye boy
No never can say goodbye
No no no, no no no, no no no ooh, ooh
Hey, I never can say goodbye boy
Christopher Telesford
Michael’s voice during the Thriller era was at its peak, nobody past or present could out sing my brother.
Keezie27
@R.S. Spence They have more "church" voices. Luther and Whitney are two of the best to ever do it. I just think Michael had such a unique voice. Michael is my all time favorite male singer. Yes even over Luther (who is obviously amazing). Whitney is my fave female singer. She's known as "the voice" for a reason. She's amazing. All three are legendary.
Keezie27
@Jay's Gaming It's a matter of preference. Stevie has a great voice but is a bit nasally and not as versatile as Michael imo. Michael could sing anything. I prefer MJ's voice overall because I like his tone better but again personal preference. Stevie is obviously one of the best to ever do it.
KV K
@Christopher Telesford spot on
Christopher Telesford
@Tye Artisik Honestly, I do prefer little Mike over adult Mike. If I had to pick to 5 of my favorite MJ songs it'll be records he made with Motown. Got To Be There, Happy, Doggin Around, Music & Me, Don't Take Your Love and a lot more.
Tye Artisik
I think his voice was at it's peak when he was a little kid
MJJacksonizer
You really should get hired to restore footage and you definitely do a full "Bad Tour Yokohama" render. The one you did with Rock With You looked gorgeous.
Bad Tour Source
Totally agreed, man!
This one also deserves a full render.
In case you do, please, let me know :)
Brand. Math
THIS IS THE BEST VERSION OF THIS SONG. It's crazy how mj could perfect his songs live
mrm6464
@Ziggerath Well...I mean you're right but it had to be rushed of course since it's a medley. I think we're more so impressed at how smooth he sang it despite it being rushed lol. Mike was a genius. Fun fact but I think this is the last time the Jacksons ever sang this song live. It was only mentioned by Mike during the 30th Ann. concert but they didn't sing it. He sand a small verse of it during one of the two shows but (jokingly) they ended it lol.