“Someday Never Comes” was the last Top 40 hit by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Taken from their last album, Mardi Gras, it has stood the test of time as one of John Fogerty’s finest compositions. CCR existed in a unique space. They weren’t a country band, but they certainly pulled from those influences. They attracted hippies and rednecks alike. They had moved at a furious pace, releasing albums, touring, making television appearances, and doing interviews without a break for several years.
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The gap between their first six albums averaged six months. The 16-month break between albums six and seven was the exception. Mardi Gras became known as “Fogerty’s Revenge.” In the past, Fogerty was the main singer and songwriter. On this one, the other band members each contributed singing and songwriting. The result was an uneven album that sold less than any others in their catalog. Let’s take a closer look at the meaning behind the lyrics to “Someday Never Comes.”
[RELATED: The 5 John Fogerty Songs You Didn’t Know Were Covered by Other Artists]
Child of Divorce
John Fogerty has shared that the song was about his parents’ divorce. A child is full of questions, and a parent wants to provide answers. There are certain questions that can’t be answered. Fogerty was also experiencing marital troubles himself. Add in the situation his band was going through, and you get a heavy, introspective song.
First thing I remember
Was asking Papa, “Why?”
For there were many things I didn’t know
And Daddy always smiled
Took me by the hand
Saying, “Someday you will understand”
As children grow, they still search for answers. We all want things to be black or white. We want to learn from the people around us. It’s hard to accept when someone tells you, “You’ll understand when you’re older.”
Well, I’m here to tell you now, each and every mother’s son
You better learn it fast, you better learn it young
‘Cause someday never comes
Wake-Up Call
The chorus is the warning. You have to figure it out for yourself. You can’t wait for someone else to give you the answers. The chorus addresses each verse in a different context.
The time and tears went by
And I collected dust
For there were many things I didn’t know
When Daddy went away
He said, “Try to be a man
And someday you will understand”
Nothing Changes
This is a song about time passing, yet things staying the same. The child wants to know what the answers are. The father assures him yet again he will understand.
And then one day in April
I wasn’t even there
For there were many things I didn’t know
A son was born to me
Mama held his hand
Saying, “Someday you will understand”
History Repeats
The third verse reveals that the child has grown and is now the one who has abandoned his own son. The mother has to pass on the message.
Think it was September
The year I went away
For there were many things I didn’t know
And I still see him standin’
Tryin’ to be a man
I said, “Someday, you will understand”
Ambiguous Ending
The final verse can be interpreted as a self-evaluation. When he says, “I still see him standin’,” it could be about himself, it could be about his father, it could even be about his son. The line is effective either way.
Understanding Doesn’t Equal Knowing
Suggested main takeaway: as you grow, you learn to understand there are very few black-and-white answers. The “understanding” is that you’ll never know all of the answers. As we age, we discover the questions never go away. We still tell ourselves, “Someday.” We still hope our loved ones will understand. But, sometimes, someday never comes.
Other Versions
Drummer Sandy Nelson released an instrumental version of this tune in 1972. The Good Sons recorded the song as part of a tribute to the songs of John Fogerty in 2002. Billy Valentine and The Rangers cut it for the soundtrack to the television show Sons of Anarchy in 2009. In 2013, Fogerty himself rerecorded the song with Dawes and included it on his Wrote a Song for Everyone album. They performed it live on The Late Show with David Letterman. The Directive contributed their interpretation of the song to An Indie Tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival in 2014.
Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
