The first verse suggests that the singer's courage and inner beauty are not visible to her partner, who judges her based on external appearances. The pre-chorus implies that the singer has a deeper, more nuanced understanding of her own emotions and experiences than her partner does.
The chorus reinforces the idea that true understanding is impossible, even though the partner may insist that they "understand" or will "never give up seeing eye to eye". The second verse describes the singer's emotional life as something that is deeply internal and cannot be accessed by her partner, despite their intimacy.
In the third verse, the singer acknowledges that her partner will never truly live the same life or hear the same message that she does. The pre-chorus repeats, emphasizing the singer's shifting perspective and growing sense of self-awareness. The final chorus emphasizes the rift between the singer and her partner, with the final line "never is a promise and I'll never need a lie" indicating that the singer will not pretend to be someone she's not in order to salvage the relationship. Essentially, "Never Is a Promise" is about the limits of empathy and understanding in a relationship and the importance of accepting those limits.
Never Is a Promise
Fiona Apple Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The courage I know
Its colors' richness
Won't appear within your view
I'll never glow
The way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgments made on you
I see in different lights
The shades and shadows
Undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch
I see from greater heights
I understand what I am still too proud to mention
To you
You'll say you understand
But you don't understand
You'll say you'd never give up
Seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise
And you can't afford to lie
You'll never touch
These things that I hold
The skin of my emotions
Lies beneath my own
You'll never feel
The heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown
To you
You'll say don't fear your dreams
It's easier than it seems
You'll say you'd never let me fall
From hopes so high
But never is a promise
And you can't afford to lie
You'll never live this life that I live
I'll never live the life
That wakes me in the night
You'll never hear the message I give
You'll say it looks as though I might
Give up this fight
But as the scenery grows
I see in different lights
The shades and shadows
Undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch
I see from greater heights
I realize what I am now too smart to mention
To you
You'll say you understand
You'll never understand
I'll say I'll never wake up
Knowing how or why
I don't know what to believe in
You don't know who I am
You'll say I need appeasing
When I start to cry
But never is a promise
And I'll never need a lie
The song "Never Is A Promise" by Fiona Apple is a poignant reflection on the impossibility of truly understanding another person’s emotions and experiences. The first verse speaks to the different ways in which people are perceived, with the singer highlighting her own courage and emotional depth, which are unrecognized by others. The second verse delves deeper into the complexities of perception, with the singer realizing that her own views of the world are shaped by her emotions and experiences. In the chorus, the singer speaks to the futility of promises, challenging the idea that anyone can truly promise never to hurt someone else.
The idea that no one can ever truly understand another person’s emotions is a recurrent theme throughout the song. The singer speaks to the fact that her own emotional experiences are unique and unattainable for others to grasp. Towards the end of the song, she notes that she doesn’t know what to believe in and that others, even those who are trying to help her, cannot possibly know her innermost self. In this way, the song speaks to the loneliness and isolation that can come with being a deeply emotional person who struggles to communicate their feelings to others.
Line by Line Meaning
You'll never see
You will never truly understand me
The courage I know
My strength is not visible to you
Its colors' richness
My bravery is more complex than the eye can perceive
Won't appear within your view
You won't be able to appreciate my courage
I'll never glow
I cannot shine like you
The way that you glow
You have qualities that elevate you
Your presence dominates the judgments made on you
People judge you based on who they perceive you to be
But as the scenery grows
With time and experience, my perspective changes
I see in different lights
My view of the world changes
The shades and shadows
I see the subtleties and complexities of things
Undulate in my perception
My understanding shifts and changes
My feelings swell and stretch
My emotions intensify
I see from greater heights
I gain a broader understanding
I understand what I am still too proud to mention
I know the truth but won't admit it to you
To you
To the person I am addressing
You'll say you understand
You think you understand me
But you don't understand
You don't truly comprehend my experiences
You'll say you'd never give up
You vow to always support and understand me
Seeing eye to eye
Fully understanding each other
But never is a promise
But you may not be able to keep that promise
And you can't afford to lie
It's important to be honest
You'll never touch
You won't be able to connect with
These things that I hold
My emotions and experiences
The skin of my emotions
The surface of my feelings
Lies beneath my own
Is hidden even from me
You'll never feel
You won't be able to empathize with
The heat of this soul
The intensity of my passion
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown
The depth of my feelings is not apparent
You'll say don't fear your dreams
You try to encourage me
It's easier than it seems
Pursuing my dreams is not as difficult as I believe
You'll say you'd never let me fall
You promise to support me
From hopes so high
From ambition and aspiration
But never is a promise
But that promise may be difficult to keep
And you can't afford to lie
It's important to keep your word
You'll never live this life that I live
You can't completely understand my experiences
I'll never live the life
I have struggles and experiences unique to me
That wakes me in the night
That keep me up at night
You'll never hear the message I give
You don't fully understand my perspective
You'll say it looks as though I might
You believe I may give up
Give up this fight
Stop pursuing my goals
But as the scenery grows
My perspective continues to evolve
I see in different lights
My worldview changes and becomes more nuanced
The shades and shadows
I begin to see things in more detail
Undulate in my perception
My understanding shifts and changes
My feelings swell and stretch
My emotions intensify
I see from greater heights
I gain a broader perspective
I realize what I am now too smart to mention
I understand the truth but won't admit it
To you
To the person I am addressing
You'll say you understand
You think you comprehend me
You'll never understand
You can never truly experience my life
I'll say I'll never wake up
I don't think my situation will change
Knowing how or why
Knowing the explanation behind my struggles
I don't know what to believe in
I am unsure of what I can rely on
You don't know who I am
You don't fully comprehend my identity
You'll say I need appeasing
You believe I need to be comforted
When I start to cry
In moments of emotional distress
But never is a promise
It's difficult to promise anything with certainty
And I'll never need a lie
I won't want false comfort, I need honesty
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Fiona Apple Maggart
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mamaziha79
"Never Is A Promise"
You'll never see the courage I know
Its colors' richness won't appear within your view
I'll never glow the way that you glow
Your presence dominates the judgements made on you
But as the scenery grows
I see in different lights
The shades and shadows
Undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch
I see from greater heights
I understand what I am
Still too proud to mention
To you
You'll say you understand
But you don't understand
You'll say you'd never give up
Seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise
And you can't afford to lie
You'll never touch these things that I hold
The skin of my emotions lies beneath my own
You'll never feel the heat of this soul
My fever burns me deeper than I've ever shown
But as the scenery grows
I see in different lights
The shades and shadows
Undulate in my perception
My feelings swell and stretch
I see from greater heights
I realise what I am now
Too smart to mention
To you
You'll say you understand
You'll never understand
I'll say I'll never wake up
Knowing how or why
I don't know what to believe in
You don't know who I am
You'll say I need appeasing
When I start to cry
But never is a promise
And I'll never need a lie...
@RandMiller325
This song is pure beauty. I relate to it in a way -- where I feel like no one understands me. I've had a lot pain, and seen a lot of terrible things. Which makes my day to day life sometimes very hard -- even harder when the one you love (and legit loves you back) buts its like every time you get closer to someone with all your dark sides and pain that's buried there that someone says "I promise baby, I'll never leave you no matter what."/"I promise you won't give up on you even though you have that hard shell from hurting so bad" then the minute you let go and give yourself to them.... its too much. And as they say 'never say never'.
"You'll say you understand
But you don't understand
You'll say you'd never
Give up seeing eye to eye
But never is a promise
And you can't afford to lie"
Man.... Ouch.
@junglejimmedia
She wrote this at 14 years old! Crazy talent
@karenhammerling1528
Wait—really? Where did you hear that?
@isla5480
In an interview for Apple Music (I think) she says she wrote a lot of these songs at 14, but only put together and released the studio album (Tidal) when she was 17!
@chenlo18
Really? 14? So Talented and in so much pain. I felt that pain at 14 as well. Still do. It never goes away.
@jenniferkirkland2535
@Colleen McFadden She had been through some painful things at a really young age.
@lucienoon7262
@@chenlo18 I think a lot of her anguish stems from the unfortunate event (rape) in her life...anyways, she's such an incredible talent so underrated
@Missjunebugfreak
Fiona Apple is one of the most gifted songwriters of her generation. Such an authentic artist.
@horaciogonzalez3734
Fiona Apple, Toria Amos my soundtrack daily.
@melaniep6964
She's just wonderful!
@sunnydforfree7145
Stop following me, you have an amazing taste in music tho.