Never Ever

Album

All Saints

Label

London Recordings

Genre

Soul

Entered Chart

Jul 25, 1998

Peak Date

Aug 22, 1998

Released

10 November 1997

Recorded

Metropolis (London, England)

Catalog #

London 570178

B-Side

I Remember"

The All Saints were a 4 piece girl group made up of Londoners Melanie Blatt and Shaznay Lewis and Canadian sisters Natalie and Nicole Appleton. During the late 1990s and early 21st century they enjoyed tremendous success in Britain achieving five #1s, this song being the first. They also became renowned for their celebrity boyfriends, Melanie with Stuart Zender from Jamiroquai, Natalie with Liam Howlett of the band The Prodigy (they married in 2002) and Nicole firstly with Robbie Williams, then with Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher, with whom she has had a son Gene. This was the biggest hit in the States for All Saints. It was also #1 in Australia for 7 weeks. In the UK this sold 770,000 copies after 9 weeks in the UK charts before hitting #1, the highest ever by any single on its way to the top in UK chart history. It sold 1,254,604 in total, making it the band's biggest seller in UK. Shaznay Lewis wrote this after splitting up with a boyfriend, but the music conveyed the impression that all would be well. Also credited is Rickidy Raw, the name of the company of 2 R&B, Pop and Hip-Hop producers Sean Mather and Robert "Esmail" Jazayeri. When the song became successful they issued a writ against All Saints, and they were granted 40% of the publishing rights to the track. Robert Jazayeri based his production of this on the hymn "Amazing Grace." He put it together two years prior to sending the music composition to All Saints. All Saints flew to the US where the song was recorded and produced by Mather and Jazayeri, but due to control issues, London records brought in Cameron McVey to do additional production on the track at London Records request because of time/distance constraints which were present at the time and Cameron's relationship with Shaznay. Jazayeri filed a lawsuit against London Records and All Saints Management which was settled amicably by the parties. All Saints flew to Washington DC where they recorded the vocals, except for the intro which was recorded at Battery Studios in the UK and were kept from the original demo. This was because the mood could not be replicated and everyone agreed to keep the demo vocals. The song won 1998 Brit Awards for Best Single and Best Video. All Saints disbanded acrimoniously in 2001, sisters Nicole and Natalie going on to form the duo Appleton, while Melanie and Shaznay went on to solo careers. All of them have enjoyed limited success since the band split. Fashion photographer Sean Ellis directed the video in which his bulldog can be seen. >>

A few questions that I need to know
How you could ever hurt me so?
I need to know what I've done wrong?
And how long it's been going on?
Was it that I never paid enough attention?
Or did I not give enough affection?
Not only will your answers keep me sane
But I'll know never to make the same mistake again
You can tell me to my face or even on the phone
You can write it in a letter, either way, I have to know
Did I never treat you right?
Did I always start the fight?
Either way, I'm going out of my mind
All the answers to my questions
I have to find

My head's spinning
Boy, I'm in a daze
I feel isolated
Don't wanna communicate

I'll take a shower, I will scour
I will rub
To find peace of mind
The happy mind I once owned, yeah

Flexing vocabulary runs right through me
The alphabet runs right from A to Z
Conversations, hesitations in my mind
You got my conscience asking questions that I can't find

I'm not crazy
I'm sure I ain't done nothing wrong, no
I'm just waiting
'Cause I heard that this feeling
Won't last that long

Never ever have I ever felt so low
When you gonna take me out of this black hole?
Never ever have I ever felt so sad
The way I'm feeling yeah, you got me feeling really bad

Never ever have I had to find
I've had to dig away to find my own peace of mind
I've never ever had my conscience to fight
The way I'm feeling, yeah, it just don't feel right

I'll keep searching
Deep within my soul
For all the answers
Don't wanna hurt no more

I need peace, gotta feel at ease
Need to be
Free from pain, going insane
My heart aches, yeah

Sometimes vocabulary runs through my head
The alphabet runs right from A to Z
Conversations, hesitations in my mind
You got my conscience asking questions that I can't find

I'm not crazy
I'm sure I ain't done nothing wrong
And now I'm just waiting
'Cause I heard that this feeling won't last that long

Never ever have I ever felt so low
When ya gonna take me out of this black hole?
Never ever have I ever felt so sad
The way I'm feeling yeah, you got me feeling really bad

Never ever have I had to find
I've had to dig away to find my own peace of mind
I've never ever had my conscience to fight
The way I'm feeling, yeah, it just don't feel right

Never ever have I ever felt so low