The Twelfth of Never
"The Twelfth of Never" is a popular song written in 1956 and first recorded by Johnny Mathis the following year. The title is a popular expression, which is used as the date of a future occurrence that will never come to pass.[1] In the case of the song, "the 12th of Never" is given as the date on which the singer will stop loving his beloved, thus indicating that he will always love him or her.
This article is about the Johnny Mathis song. For the idiom, see List of idioms of improbability. For the James Patterson novel, see 12th of Never (novel)."The Twelfth of Never"
12 August 1957
2:25
"I'm Afraid to Go Home"
2 October 1964
23 June 1964
"Life Is Just What You Make It"
February 24, 1973
November 27, 1972
2:40
MGM Records 14503
Mathis initially disliked the song, which was released as the flip side to his number 1 hit single "Chances Are".[2]
It was written by Jerry Livingston and Paul Francis Webster, the tune (except for the bridge) being adapted from "The Riddle Song" (also known as "I Gave My Love a Cherry"), an old English folk song. Mathis's original version reached number 9 on what is now called the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA in 1957.[3] A version by Cliff Richard was released in 1964 and reached number 8 in the UK.[4] Donny Osmond's version, produced by Mike Curb and Don Costa, was his second number 1 single in the UK, spending a single week at the top of the UK Singles Chart in March 1973.[5] In the U.S. it peaked at number 8.[6]