The Twelfth of Never Song Lyrics

Johnny Mathis Lyrics

"The Twelfth Of Never"

You ask how much I need you, must I explain?
I need you, oh my darling, like roses need rain.
You ask how long I'll love you; I'll tell you true:
Until the twelfth of never, I'll still be loving you.

Hold me close, never let me go.
Hold me close, melt my heart like April snow.

I'll love you till the bluebells forget to bloom;
I'll love you till the clover has lost its perfume.
I'll love you till the poets run out of rhyme,
Until the twelfth of never and that's a long, long time.

Hold me close, never let me go.
Hold me close, melt my heart like April snow.

I'll love you till the bluebells forget to bloom;
I'll love you till the clover has lost its perfume.
I'll love you till the poets run out of rhyme,
Until the twelfth of never and that's a long, long time.

Until the twelfth of never and that's a long, long time.

The popular song "The Twelfth of Never" was composed in 1956 and originally recorded by Johnny Mathis the following year. The title is a popular term used to indicate the date of a future event that will never occur. In the song, "the 12th of Never" is mentioned as the date when the singer will quit loving his sweetheart, implying that he will always adore her.

Mathis initially despised the song, which was issued as the flip side to his number one hit single "Chances Are".


It was composed by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster, with the melody (save for the bridge) derived from "The Riddle Song" (also known as "I Gave My Love a Cherry"), an old English folk ballad. Mathis' original version peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1957. Cliff Richard released a version in 1964 that peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom. Donny Osmond's version, produced by Mike Curb and Don Costa, became his second number one hit in the UK, spending one week at the top of the UK Singles Chart in March 1973. In the United States, it peaked at number eight.