"I Hope I Never" is a 1980 song by

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

group

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...

. It was released in May 1980 as the second single from their sixth studio album '' True Colours''.

Track listings

Australian release

;Side A #"I Hope I Never" - 3:56 (Tim Finn) ;Side B #"Hypnotised" (Tim Finn) #"Carried Away" (Neil Finn)

International release

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

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

—

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Noel Crombie Geoffrey Noel Crombie (born 17 April 1953) is a New Zealand percussionist and former member of the band Split Enz. He fulfilled multiple roles including costume and hair designer, singer, album cover designer, and music video director. Prior to ...

— vocals,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-19 ...

— vocals,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Malcolm Green — vocals,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Nigel Griggs Nigel Griggs (born 18 August 1949) is a musician who played bass guitar in Split Enz. He is the brother of Paul Griggs from the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls. A professional musician since 1963, Nigel Griggs played in a number of bands, not ...

— vocals, bass

Charts

Cover Versions

Colleen Hewett Colleen Hewett (born 16 April 1950) is an Australian singer and actress. Hewett's top 40 singles on the Kent Music Report include " Super Star", " Day by Day" (both 1971), " Carry That Weight" (1972), "Dreaming My Dreams with You" (1980) ...

from her album, '' Colleen'' (1983) *

ENZSO ENZSO was an orchestral project started by former Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner. It combines the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra with contemporary pop singers to perform Split Enz songs. History The project began with Eddie Rayner. He want ...

(1995), a collaboration between Split Enz's

and the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Symph ...

. The cover featured New Zealand singer

Annie Crummer Anne Crummer (born 1966) is a New Zealand pop singer and songwriter of Cook Islands descent who has seen success in both a solo career and as part of various musical groups. Biography Crummer grew up in West Auckland. Her father, Will Crummer ...

on vocals, changing only the lyrics to refer to herself as an "optimistic woman" rather than a man. * Australia's

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

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 ''They Will Have Their Way'' is a compilation album featuring covers by New Zealand & Australian artists of songs originally written and performed by brothers Tim & Neil Finn. A successor to the highly successful 2005 album ''She Will Have Her W ...

''.

Notes

{{authority control APRA Award winners Split Enz songs 1980 singles 1983 singles Songs written by Tim Finn 1980 songs Colleen Hewett songs Mushroom Records singles