Yesterday Once More

21 Mar 2017

Forever Never And Ever

Hi Listeners,

Three words that figure prominently in song titles: Forever, Never And Ever. The romantic ideal that love can last forever is captured in many pop song lyrics. Rod Stewart’s ‘Forever Young’ depicts the universal desire to remain young, while Cold Chisel wishes that the status quo would last forever in their hugely popular hit ‘Forever Now’ with its catchy riff. Similarly, the Beatles express the desire for the present to continue in ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’. But, it’s Michael Martin Murphey who questions the demise of ‘forever’in human relationships in his plea ‘What’s Forever For’ echoing a common sentiment of many listeners. Petula Clark’s version of ‘Eternally’ from the Charles Chaplin film ‘Limelight’ and Aussie group Town Crier’s ‘Everlasting Love’ add to the romantic notion of unending love.

‘Never’ is used as an expression of regret or determination not to do something. From Gloria Gaynor’s anthemic ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ and Joan Baez’ rendition of the Stevie Wonder song ‘I Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer’ both express the surprise of a broken relationship. On the other hand, Gerry And The Pacemaker’s iconic ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ and Elvis Presley’s ‘It’s Now Or Never’ use ‘never’ in different contexts. Split Enz’ soulful ballad ‘I Hope I Never’ expresses the negative meaning of the word while Olivia Newton-John simply poses a question ‘Have You Never been Mellow?’

Playlist

* Never Can Say Goodbye – Gloria Gaynor
* What’s Forever For – Michael Murphey
* Forever Young – Rod Stewart
* Forever Now – Cold Chisel
* Everlasting Love – Town Criers
* I Hope I Never – Split Enz
* Have You Never Been Mellpw? – Olivia Newton-John
* It’s Now Or Never – Elvis Presley
* You’ll Never Walk Alone – Gerry And The Pacemakers
* I Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer – Joan Baez
* Strawberry Fields Forever – Beatles
* Eternally – Petula Clark