Cover art for Never Know by Jack Johnson

Never Know

Mar. 1, 20051 viewer23.1K views

Never Know Lyrics

I heard this old story before
Where the people keep on killing for their metaphors
But don't leave much up to the imagination

So I want to give this imagery back
But I know it just ain't so easy like that

So I turn the page
And read the story again and again and again

[Pre-Chorus 1]
It sure seems the same
With a different name
We're breaking and rebuilding
And we're growing, always guessing


[Chorus 1]
Never knowing
We're shocking but we're nothing
We're just moments

We're clever but we're clueless
We're just human
Amusing and confusing
We're trying
But where is this all leading?
We'll never know


[Verse 2]
It all happened so much
Faster than you can say disaster

Want to take a time-lapse
And look at it backwards find the last word
And maybe that's just the answer
That we're after
But after all
We're just a bubble in a boiling pot just
One breath in a chain of thought

We're moments just combusting
We feel certain but we'll never never know
[Pre-Chorus 2]
It sure seems the same
Give it a different name

We're begging and we're needing
And we're trying and we're breathing

[Chorus 2]
Never knowing
We're shocking but we're nothing
We're just moments

We're clever but we're clueless
We're just human
Amusing and confusing

We're helping
Rebuilding, never growing
Never know, if you never know, never know, never know

[Bridge]
Knock knock, coming door to door
To tell you that their metaphor is better than yours

And you can either sink or swim
And things are looking pretty grim
If you don't believe in what they're spoon-feeding
It's got no feeling
So I read it again and again and again
[Pre-Chorus 3]
It sure seems the same
So many different names
Our hearts are strong, our heads are weak
We'll always be competing

[Chorus 3]
Never knowing
We're shocking but we're nothing
We're just moments

We're clever but we're clueless
We're just human
Amusing and confusing

But the true things
All we got is questions
We'll never know

[Outro]
Never know, never know, never know...

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Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Jack Johnson say about "Never Know"?
Genius Answer

That one’s about people pushing their religions on each other. I actually started writing it when I was in New York doing ‘Saturday Night Live’. I picked up the newspaper and on the cover was that horrible thing that happened in Fallujah where they killed those (four) Americans and dragged their bodies through the city. The cover of the newspaper had a photo of their burned bodies, and it was a horrible image. … I came up with just the line ‘I heard this old story before/Where the people keep on killing for their metaphors.’ Joseph Campbell is a writer that I like a lot. He talked about how there’s all these different metaphors and different ways of believing in what’s unexplainable and people are always getting into conflicts over it. The idea for the song is just about tolerance and not pushing your religion on each other.

Credits
Written By
Composed by
Recorded At
The Mango Tree, Hawaii
Release Date
March 1, 2005
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