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Gagapedia

"I'll Never Love Again" is a song performed by Lady Gaga from the soundtrack to the 2018 musical A Star Is Born. The track was written by Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey and Aaron Raitiere, and produced by Gaga and Benjamin Rice.

The film's soundtrack has two versions of the song: a film version performed by Gaga featuring Bradley Cooper, and an extended version performed only by Gaga.

Background and composition

SPOILER ALERT!
At least some content in this article contains spoilers.

In the song, Ally (Lady Gaga) sings about her late husband Jackson (Bradley Cooper) who recently committed suicide in their garage while Ally performed her final concert on the tour.

It is later revealed that this song (which was written by Jack) was intended to be a duet with Ally. However, due to the embarrassment of Ally at the Grammy’s earlier in the movie, the song had no chance of boosting Ally’s popularity.

5-19-17 Clay Enos 001

Lady Gaga during the performance of the song.

When Gaga was getting ready to film the final scene of A Star Is Born, where she sings "I'll Never Love Again", she got a telephone call that her childhood friend Sonja Durham was in her last moments of Stage IV cancer. Gaga left the set and drove to meet Durham, but she was late by 15 minutes after her friend passed away. Durham's husband consoled her and asked to return for filming.

My very, very, very dear friend Sonja died of cancer that day. We were supposed to shoot in, like, 30 minutes, and I left the set because her husband called me and I could hear her in the background and I just got in the car and drove. I missed her by 15 minutes and she died. I literally laid with her, with her husband, and their dog, and his son…. When I came back, Bradley was so gentle with me and we got through it. I performed the song. He was like, ‘You don’t have to do it again. It’s okay.’ All I wanted to do was sing. I’ll never forget that day. It was really a special scene, and I’ll always remember that moment.

—Lady Gaga, 2018 Entertainment Weekly interview


In an interview for Front Row Japan (recorded on November 26th, 2018), Lady Gaga talked about the song and what she wanted to convey with this song.

We had a tall order, you know, I sort of walked in and said, 'Okay... we have to write a song that's bigger than "I Will Always Love You" [smiles] ...from the The Bodyguard.' And that's actually an impossible task and it can never be done. But, you know, that was sort of like the idea behind this end moment. And what I thought was so interesting about this song is that, you know, in a way it's kind of a negative title, 'I'll Never Love Again,' it's like, 'Of course you will! We all will!' But sometimes the heartbreak is so, so powerful, that you'll never love again in the same way. And I really love, I really love this song. And I remember when we were working on, it was very important to me that there was repetition in the chorus: 'Don't want to feel another touch / Don't want to start another fire / Don't want to know another kiss / No other name falling off my lips / Don't want to give my heart away / To another stranger / Or let another day begin / Won't even let the sunlight in / No I'll never love again!' I mean, to me, it was very very much about, like, this drive of, like, 'I don't want this! I don't want that! I don't! I don't! I don't!' because I'll never have what I had with him.

—Lady Gaga on Front Row Japan

Lyrics

Film Version

Wish I could
I could have said goodbye
I would have said what I wanted to
Maybe even cried for you

If I knew it would be the last time
I would have broke my heart in two
Tryin' to save a part of you

Don't want to feel another touch
Don't want to start another fire
Don't want to know another kiss
No other name falling off my lips
Don't want to give my heart away
To another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won't even let the sunlight in
No I'll never love again
I'll never love again
Oh, oh, oh

Oh

When we first met
I never thought that I would fall
I never thought that I'd find myself lyin' in your arms
Mmmm mmmm
And I wanna pretend that it's not true oh baby that you're gone
Cause my world keeps turnin' and turnin' and turnin' and I'm not movin' on

Don't want to feel another touch
Don't want to start another fire
Don't want to know another kiss
No other name falling off my lips
Don't want to give my heart away
To another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won't even let the sunlight in
No I'll never love

I don't wanna know this feeling unless it's you and me
I don't wanna waste a moment
Hoooo ouuu
And I don't wanna give somebody else the better part of me
I would rather wait for you
Hoooo ouuu

Don't want to feel another touch
Don't want to start another fire
Don't want to know another kiss
Baby unless they are your lips

[Outro: Bradley Cooper]
Don't want to give my heart away
To another stranger
Don't let another day begin
Won't let the sunlight in
Oh I'll never love again
Never love again
Never love again
Oh I'll never love again

Extended Version

Wish I could
I could have said goodbye
I would have said what
I wanted to
Maybe even cried for you

If I knew it would be the last time
I would have broke my heart in two
Tryin’ to save a part of you

Don’t want to feel another touch
Don’t want to start another fire
Don’t want to know another kiss
No other name falling off my lips
Don’t want to give my heart away
To another stranger
Or let another day begin Won’t even let the sunlight in
No I’ll never love again
I’ll never love again Ooouuu ooou oou

Oh

When we first met
I never thought that I would fall
I never thought that I’d find myself lyin’ in your arms
Mmmm mmmm
And I wanna pretend that it’s not true oh baby that you’re gone
Cause my world keeps turnin’ and turnin’ and turnin’ and I’m not movin’ on

Don’t want to feel another touch
Don’t want to start another fire
Don’t want to know another kiss
No other name falling off my lips
Don’t want to give my heart away
To another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won’t even let the sunlight in
No I’ll never love

I don’t wanna know this feeling unless it’s you and me
I don’t wanna waste a moment
Hoooo ouuu
And I don’t wanna give somebody else the better part of me
I would rather wait for you
Hoooo ouuu

Don’t want to feel another touch
Don’t want to start another fire
Don’t want to know another kiss
Baby unless they are your lips
Don’t want to give my heart away to another stranger
Or let another day begin
Won’t even let the sunlight in
Oooo I’ll never love again
Love again
I’ll never love again
I’ll never love
Again

I won’t I won’t
I swear I can’t
I wish I could but
I just won’t
I’ll never love again
I’ll never love
Again
Who oo oo oo oo Hmmm

Music video

I'll_Never_Love_Again
Premiere date October 19, 2018
Director(s) Bradley Cooper
Fashion director N/A
Choreographer N/A
Director of photography Matthew Libatique

The music video premiered on Apple Music on October 19, 2018 and week later it was released on YouTube.

Credits

Written by Lady Gaga, Natalie Hemby, Hillary Lindsey and Aaron Raitiere
Produced by Lady Gaga and Benjamin Rice
Recorded by Benjamin Rice at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA Us
Additional Recording at EastWest Studios, Los Angeles, CA and The Village Studios, Los Angeles, CA Us
Assisted by Bo Bodnar and Alex Williams
Mixed by Tom Elmhirst at Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY Us
Engineer for Mix by Brandon Bost
Mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound, New York, NY Us
Track Participants Drums by Chris Johnson
Bass by Jon Drummond
Keyboards by Brockett Parsons
Guitars by Tim Stewart and Ricky Tillo
Violins by Alyssa Park, Julie Gigante, Charlie Bisharat, Jessica Guideri, Bruce Dukov, Luanne Homzy, Benjamin Jacobson, Phillip Levy, Lisa Liu, Maya Magub, Lucia Micarelli and Josefina Vergara
Violas by Robert Brophy, Andrew Duckles, Matthew Funes, Darrin Mccann and David Walther
Celli by Steve Erdody, Jacob Braun, Eric Byers and Dennis Karmazyn
Contrabass by Michael Valerio and Geoffrey Osika
String Leader and Arranger - Stephan D. Oremus
String Contractor - Peter Rotter
Contains Audio from the Motion Picture, featuring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga
Published by
  • Sony/ATV Songs LLC / House of Gaga Publishing LLC (BMI)
  • BIRB Music (ASCAP) All Rights Administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
  • Happygowrucke/Creative Pulse Music/These Are Pulse Songs (BMI). All rights administered by These Are Pulse Songs
  • Warner Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Super LCS Publishing / One Tooth Productions (BMI), Warner-Barham Music LLC (BMI) Administered by Songs of Universal (BMI) / Warner-Olive Music Llc (ASCAP) Administered by Universal Music Corp. (ASCAP)


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