John Hiatt (born on August 20, 1952 in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an A… Read Full Bio ↴John Hiatt (born on August 20, 1952 in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.) is an American blues and rock guitarist, pianist, and singer-songwriter. He has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards. Hiatt's sales have never quite matched his reputation. His songs have been covered by a wide variety of artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson, Iggy Pop, Three Dog Night, and The Neville Brothers, yet it took him thirteen years to reach the charts himself.

As well, it nearly took him that long to find his own style. Hiatt began his solo career in 1974, and over the next decade he ran through a number of different styles from rock & roll to new wave-esque pop before he finally settled on a rootsy fusion of rock, country, blues, and folk with his 1987 album 'Bring the Family'. Though the album didn't set the charts on fire, it became his first album to gain some major commercial success, and several of the songs on the record became hits for other artists, including the aforementioned Raitt and Milsap. Following its success, Hiatt became a reliable hit songwriter for other artists, and he developed a strong cult following that continued to gain strength into the mid-90s.

While he was growing up in his hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana, Hiatt played in a number of garage bands. Initially, he was inspired by the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, and the music of those two artists would echo strongly throughout his work. Out of all the bar bands he played with in the late 60s, a group called The White Ducks was the one that received the most attention. Following his high-school graduation, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 18, where he landed a job as a songwriter for Tree Publishing.

For the next several years, he wrote and performed at local clubs and hotels. Within a few years, his songs were being recorded by several different artists, including Conway Twitty, Tracy Nelson, and Three Dog Night, who took Hiatt's "Sure as I'm Sittin' Here" to number 16 in the summer of 1974. Eventually, his manager secured him an audition at Epic Records, and the label signed him in 1974, releasing his debut album, Hangin' Around the Observatory, later that year. Despite their critical acclaim, neither Hangin' Around the Observatory nor its 1975 follow-up Overcoats sold many copies, and he was dropped by the label. By the end of the year, Tree Publishing had let him go as well.

Following his failure in Nashville, Hiatt moved out to California. By the summer of 1978 he had settled in Los Angeles, where began playing in clubs, opening for folk musicians including Leo Kottke. With Kottke's assistance, Hiatt hired a new manager, Denny Bruce, who helped him secure a record contract with MCA Records. Slug Line, his first record for MCA, was released in the summer of 1979. Where his first two records were straight-ahead rock & roll and folk-rock, Slug Line was in the new wave vein of angry English singer/songwriters like Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and Joe Jackson, as if Hiatt was vying for the role of the American angry young man. The new approach earned some strong reviews, yet it failed to generate any sales. Two Bit Monsters, his second MCA album, faced the same situation. Although it was well-received critically upon its 1980 release, it made no impression on the charts, and the label dropped him.

Apart from working on Two Bit Monsters, Hiatt spent most of 1980 as a member of Ry Cooder's backing band, playing rhythm guitar on the Borderline album and touring with the guitarist. Hiatt stayed with Cooder throughout 1981, signing a new contract with Geffen Records by the end of the year. Produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), his Geffen debut All of A Sudden was released in 1982, followed by the Nick Lowe/Scott Matthews & Ron Nagel-produced Riding With the King in 1983. As with his previous records for Epic and MCA, neither of his first two Geffen releases sold well. By this time, Hiatt's personal life was beginning to spin out of control as he was sinking deep into alcoholism. Around the time he completed 1985's Warming Up to the Ice Age, his second wife committed suicide. Following the release of Warming Up to the Ice Age, Hiatt was dropped by Geffen. By the end of 1985, he had entered a rehabilitation program. During 1986, he remarried and signed a new deal with A&M Records.

For his A&M debut, Hiatt assembled a small band comprising his former associates Ry Cooder (guitar), Nick Lowe (bass), and Jim Keltner (drums). Recorded over the course of a handful of days, the resulting album, Bring the Family, had a direct, stripped-down rootsy sound that differed greatly from his earlier albums. Upon its summer 1987 release, Bring the Family received the best reviews of his career and, for once, the reviews began to pay off, as the album turned into a cult hit, peaking at 107 on the U.S. charts; it was his first charting album. Hiatt attempted to record a follow-up with Cooder, Lowe, and Keltner, but the musicians failed to agree on the financial terms for the sessions. Undaunted, he recorded an album with John Doe, David Lindley, and Dave Mattacks, but he scrapped the completed project, deciding that the result was too forced. Hiatt's final attempt at recording the follow-up to Bring the Family was orchestrated by veteran producer Glyn Johns, who had him record with his touring band, the Goners. Despite all of the behind-the-scenes troubles behind its recording, the follow-up album, Slow Turning, actually appeared rather quickly, appearing in the summer of 1988.

Slow Turning, like Bring the Family before it, received nearly unanimous positive reviews and it was fairly well-received commercially, spending 31 weeks on the U.S. charts and peaking at 98. Within the next year, Hiatt successfully toured throughout America and Europe, strengthening his fan base along the way. Inspired by the success of Hiatt's two A&M albums, Geffen released the compilation Y' All Caught? The Ones That Got Away 1979-85 in 1989. That same year, other artists began digging through Hiatt's catalog of songs, most notably Bonnie Raitt, who covered "Thing Called Love" for her multi-platinum comeback album, Nick of Time.

In 1990, Hiatt returned with Stolen Moments, which was nearly as successful as Slow Turning, both critically and commercially. "Bring Back Your Love to Me," an album track from Stolen Moments that was also recorded by Earl Thomas Conley, won BMI's 1991 Country Music Award. By the time "Bring Back Your Love to Me" won that award, it had become a standard practice for artists to cover Hiatt's songs, as artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Ronnie Milsap, Suzy Bogguss, and Iggy Pop all covered his songs in the early '90s. In 1993, Rhino Records released Love Gets Strange: The Songs of John Hiatt, which collected many of the cover versions that were recorded during the '80s and '90s.

During 1991, the group that recorded Bring the Family — Hiatt, Cooder, Lowe, and Keltner — re-formed as a band called Little Village, releasing their eponymous debut in early 1992. Based on the success of Bring the Family and Hiatt's A&M albums, expectations for Little Village were quite high, yet the record and its supporting tour were considered a major disappointment. Later, the individual members would agree that the band was a failure, mainly due to conflicting egos.

Hiatt decided to back away from the superstar nature of Little Village for his next album, 1993's Perfectly Good Guitar. Recorded in just two weeks with a backing band comprised of members of alternative rock bands School of Fish and Wire Train, the album was looser than any record since Bring the Family, but it didn't quite have the staying power of its two predecessors, spending only 11 weeks on the charts and peaking at number 47. The following year, he released his first live album, Hiatt Comes Alive at Budokan? Hiatt left A&M Records after the release of the record, signing with Capitol Records the following year.

Walk On, Hiatt's first Capitol album, was recorded during his supporting tour for Perfectly Good Guitar and featured guest appearances by the Jayhawks and Bonnie Raitt. Walk On entered the charts at 48, but slipped off the charts in nine weeks, indicating that his audience had settled into a dedicated cult following. Fittingly, after 1997's Little Head quickly came and went in the marketplace, Hiatt parted ways with Capitol, and his next album, 2000's Crossing Muddy Waters was released on the established independent imprint Vanguard Records. After a second album with Vanguard, The Tiki Bar Is Open, Hiatt alligned himself with another independent label, New West, for the release of his 2003 set Beneath This Gruff Exterior. Master of Disaster, along with CD and DVD versions of Live from Austin, TX followed in 2005.

Same Old Man followed in 2008; then The Open Road in 2010.

Ain't Ever Goin' Back
John Hiatt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Come out of a fireball
Notes burning and the letters scrawled
I ain't ever goin' back no more

Bare light, bulb and a hotplate
Was there that I finally met my fate
And I ain't ever goin' back no more

She danced the room and she made it fine
I sang a song about a crooked line
I ain't ever goin' back no more

And she's my first love and she's my last
Don't ask me how it ever came to pass
'Cause I ain't ever goin' back no more

I ain't ever going back no more
Wouldn't even try to find that door
I ain't ever goin' back no more

I don't care what the past has in store
I ain't ever goin' back no more
I ain't ever goin' back no more

A pint of gin and a long bus trip
Somebody said, "You just get over it"
And I ain't ever goin' back no more

I see her face at every shitty bar
That I have to play to pay for this guitar
And I ain't ever goin' back no more

I'm singing every song for her tonight
So bartender, would you hit the lights?
'Cause I ain't ever goin' back no more

A little something to remember me
It's been so long, Lord, she mustn't see
I ain't ever goin' back no more
And I ain't ever goin' back

I ain't ever goin' back no more
Wouldn't even try to find that door
I ain't ever goin' back no more

I don't care what the past has in store
I ain't ever goin' back no more
I ain't ever goin' back no more

Dust settles in a darkened room
Whiskey steals away the sense of doom
And I ain't ever goin' back no more

We made love and we made hate
Never could seem to get it straight
I ain't ever goin' back no more, baby

You're branded on my soul and in my mind
I keep running up and down this old fence line
I ain't ever goin' back no more

Only one thing in my life is true
Honey, I will remember you
And I ain't ever goin' back no more

I ain't ever goin' back no more
Wouldn't even try to find that door
I ain't ever goin' back no more

Don't care what the past has in store
I ain't ever goin' back no more
I ain't ever goin' back no more

I ain't ever goin' back no more
Wouldn't even try to find that door
I ain't ever goin' back no more

I don't care what the past has in store
I ain't ever goin' back no more
I ain't ever goin' back no more

I ever goin' back no more

Ever goin' back no more
Ever goin' back no more

Overall Meaning

The song Ain't Ever Goin' Back by John Hiatt expresses an unwavering confidence in moving forward and not looking back. Hiatt appears to be intentionally vague about the specific past situations that drove him to such a firm resolve, allowing the listener to fill in the blanks with their own experiences.

The song opens with Hiatt emerging "out of a fireball," rising like a phoenix from the ashes of whatever drama had unfolded. He declares that he won't ever return to that place, rejecting it as a place of pain and uncertainty. He proceeds to paint a picture of the dingy environment where he met his first love - a place he wouldn't ever return to.

Throughout the song, Hiatt seems to be battling against some kind of inner demon, often turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism. But despite these struggles, he remains steadfast in his determination to move forward and never revisit the past - this includes distancing himself from his former love, who continues to haunt him in various ways.

Ultimately, Ain't Ever Goin' Back is a defiant statement of independence, a rejection of anything that may hold you back from progressing in life. The lyrics are delivered with a twangy, bluesy tone that perfectly expresses the idea of leaving behind difficult circumstances and forging ahead into a brighter future.

Line by Line Meaning

Come out of a fireball Notes burning and the letters scrawled I ain't ever goin' back no more
I have emerged alive and stronger from a catastrophic event that left nothing behind but charred pages and my resolve to never revisit my past.

Bare light, bulb and a hotplate Was there that I finally met my fate And I ain't ever goin' back no more
It was in the meager accommodations of a single bulb, a hotplate and solitude that I discovered my destiny, and one that pledges to never return to my old ways.

She danced the room and she made it fine I sang a song about a crooked line I ain't ever goin' back no more
She gyrated effortlessly in the room and set the rhythm for my song. But she was never meant to be mine, and now that she's gone, I vow to never return to that moment in time.

And she's my first love and she's my last Don't ask me how it ever came to pass 'Cause I ain't ever goin' back no more
Her love was my first and last, and a miracle in its own right, but I'd rather not dwell on the details. At this point, my resolve to not revisit that moment anymore is stronger than ever.

I ain't ever going back no more Wouldn't even try to find that door I ain't ever goin' back no more
My firm decision to not retrace my steps is final, so much so that I wouldn't even attempt to locate the door that leads to my past.

I don't care what the past has in store I ain't ever goin' back no more I ain't ever goin' back no more
I have reached a level of detachment from my past that nothing it might contain would tempt me to go back. The past is the past, and I will remain in the present.

A pint of gin and a long bus trip Somebody said, "You just get over it" And I ain't ever goin' back no more
A train ride and a bottle of gin is all it took for me to make peace with the fact that it's time to move on, and I could hear someone whispering the same advice in my ear. I will never let myself relapse to that dark place from where I started.

I see her face at every shitty bar That I have to play to pay for this guitar And I ain't ever goin' back no more
Her memory lingers in every rundown bar where I play to make ends meet. But now that I'm resolute to not revisit my past, I will not let any such memories unsettle me anymore.

I'm singing every song for her tonight So bartender, would you hit the lights? 'Cause I ain't ever goin' back no more
I will sing every song as if it is meant for her, but it does not mean I will recall her against my better judgment. The honky-tonk music and the dimming lights of the bar is all I need to leave my past behind forever.

A little something to remember me It's been so long, Lord, she mustn't see I ain't ever goin' back no more And I ain't ever goin' back
Here's a small token for her to remember me by, but it's been so long that there's no point in trying to rekindle the flames. I know, and I vow to never look back anymore.

Dust settles in a darkened room Whiskey steals away the sense of doom And I ain't ever goin' back no more
Perhaps the dust in this place and the whiskey that clouds my judgment might tempt me to revisit my past, but I know better than to let my guard down, and I will never revisit the past anymore.

We made love and we made hate Never could seem to get it straight I ain't ever goin' back no more, baby
The love-hate relationship between us was never meant to be, and it's too late to make amends. Now that I have made peace with my past, I am not going back to that phase anymore.

You're branded on my soul and in my mind I keep running up and down this old fence line I ain't ever goin' back no more
Your memory is forever branded on my soul and my mind, and now that I have learned to live with it, I will not run around in circles, but I have resolved to never tread the old path again.

Only one thing in my life is true Honey, I will remember you And I ain't ever goin' back no more
Only one thing is constant in my ever-changing life, and that's the fact that I will never forget you. But it does not mean that I will dwell on the past, as I have decided to never visit it anymore.

I ain't ever goin' back no more Wouldn't even try to find that door I ain't ever goin' back no more
I am not going to that place again, even if it takes every ounce of my willpower to disassociate myself from it. I will not try to locate a door that I never want to open again.

Don't care what the past has in store I ain't ever goin' back no more I ain't ever goin' back no more
I have reached a point in life where I do not care what the past might have in store for me. I am resolved to never give into my past habits and temptations, and will live in the present.

I ain't ever goin' back no more Wouldn't even try to find that door I ain't ever goin' back no more
I have decided to cut all ties with my past and to not revisit it at any cost, even if it means not searching for a way to unlock the door that leads to it.

I don't care what the past has in store I ain't ever goin' back no more I ain't ever goin' back no more
I am not interested in exploring what the past might have in store for me. I am not going back to where I started, and I will only look forward to the good things that the future has in store.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN HIATT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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