Never There (Sum 41 song)

"Never There"
Single by Sum 41
from the album Order in Decline
Released	June 18, 2019 (2019-06-18)
Recorded	2019
Studio	Studio Mr. Biz (Deryck's home studio), Los Angeles
Genre	Pop rock [1] soft rock [2]
Length	4:20
Label	Hopeless
Songwriter(s)	Deryck Whibley
Producer(s)	Deryck Whibley
Sum 41 singles chronology
"A Death in the Family" (2019) "Never There" (2019) "45 (A Matter of Time)" (2019)

"Never There" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41, written by Deryck Whibley. It was released as the third single from the album Order in Decline on June 18, 2019, ^[3] a week after the release of the album's second single, "A Death in the Family".

Background

In an interview Deryck Whibley described the writing process, he said:

I never wanted to write this song, it just kind of poured out of me. I tried to fight it at first but there was no stopping it. I could tell I was writing about my dad, who I've never met and throughout my life it has always been a subject that I don't really think about or care about. It has never really bothered me and when I started thinking about why it never bothered me, I realized it was because my mum was so great and I have such a loving relationship with her. She was so strong as a single mother for my whole life that I never needed to think about my dad. ^[4]

— Deryck Whibley

In an interview with Kerrang, he added that the song speaks not only of getting to know his father, but also of the link of a "something missing" that he alone can share in the world and how his mother managed to be such a good single mother. ^[5]

Music video

The music video for the song was released on June 18, 2019, produced by Selfish Entertainment, and directed by John Asher. ^{[3] [4]} It features pro skateboarder Carl Jr Collins (better known as CJ Collins), actress Holly Lynch and the singer of the band, Deryck Whibley.

Personnel

• Deryck Whibley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, production, engineering, mixing
• Dave Baksh – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Tom Thacker – rhythm and lead guitars, backing vocals
• Jason McCaslin – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Frank Zummo – drums

Charts

Chart performance for "Never There"

Chart (2019–20)	Peak position
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [6]	32

References

1. Moyle, Tracey (July 8, 2019). "Album Review: Sum 41 – Order In Decline" . Retrieved July 20, 2019.
2. Hodgkinson, Will (July 19, 2019). "Sum 41: Order in Decline review — the pop punks grow up, a little" . Retrieved July 20, 2019.
3. Goeman, Collin (June 18, 2019). "Sum 41 unplug for touching acoustic single "Never There"" . Retrieved June 18, 2019.
4. Hughes, Josiah (June 18, 2019). "Sum 41 Share Sombre Piano Ballad for Single Parents Everywhere" . Retrieved July 18, 2019.
5. Hughes, Josiah. "Deryck Whibley Discusses Sum 41's Order in Decline Track By Track" . Retrieved July 19, 2019.
6. "Sum 41 Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2020.