"I Hope I Never" is a 1980 song by New Zealand art rock group Split Enz. It was released in May 1980 as the second single from their sixth studio album True Colours.
| "I Hope I Never" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Split Enz | ||||
| from the album True Colours | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | May 1980 | |||
| Recorded | Armstrong, Melbourne, 1979 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | Mushroom Records | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tim Finn | |||
| Producer(s) | David Tickle | |||
| Split Enz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative covers | ||||
 US cover | ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Dutch cover | ||||
Track listings edit
Australian release edit
- Side A
- "I Hope I Never" – 3:56 (Tim Finn)
- Side B
- "Hypnotised" (Tim Finn)
- "Carried Away" (Neil Finn)
International release edit
It was released in the US and in the Netherlands with the same track listing, but different artwork.
- "I Hope I Never" – 3:56 (Tim Finn)
- "The Choral Sea" – 4:38 (Eddie Rayner)
Personnel edit
- Tim Finn – vocals, piano
- Noel Crombie – vocals, percussion
- Eddie Rayner – vocals, keyboards
- Malcolm Green – vocals, drums
- Nigel Griggs – vocals, bass
Charts edit
| Chart (1980) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[1] | 18 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[2] | 30 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[3] | 33 |
Cover versions edit
- Colleen Hewett from her album, Colleen (1983)
- ENZSO (1995), a collaboration between Split Enz's Eddie Rayner and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The cover featured New Zealand singer Annie Crummer on vocals, changing only the lyrics to refer to herself as an "optimistic woman" rather than a man.
- Australia's Tina Arena recorded the song in 2008 with the London Studio Orchestra for her album Songs of Love & Loss 2, and similarly changed the lyrics to reflect her gender.
- Lisa Miller covered the song on the 2011 tribute album They Will Have Their Way.
- Elizabeth Maverick (Singer) aka Ghetto Rose.
Notes edit
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. p. 288. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Split Enz" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
- ^ "Split Enz – I Hope I Never". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 15 November 2020.