"Never Let Me Go" is a song by English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...

from their second studio album, ''

Ceremonials ''Ceremonials'' is the second studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 28 October 2011 by Island Records. The band started working on the album in 2010 and finished it in 2011. The standard edition of ...

'' (2011). The song was written by

Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch (born 28 August 1986) is an English singer, the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The band's debut studio album, ''Lungs'' (2009), topped the UK Albums Chart and wo ...

and

Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member o ...

while production was handled by Epworth.

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

released the song as the third single from the album on 30 March 2012. The band first premiered the song during one of their concerts before the release of the album on 15 October 2011. A Clams Casino remix of the song was placed on the 12" white vinyl single which was available for pre-order on 22 March 2012. Musically, "Never Let Me Go" is a downtempo

baroque pop Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...

and

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

ballad in the key of A major completed with

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 ...

and

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 ...

while backing vocals repeatedly sing "never let me go" throughout the song. Many critics noted similarities between the song's composition and materials by other artists including

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

Evanescence Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...

and

Ryan Tedder Ryan Tedder (born June 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. As well as being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band OneRepublic, he has an independent career as a songwriter and producer for various artists since th ...

-produced songs. The song received acclaim by critics who praised Welch's vocals and its balladry nature. Commercially, "Never Let Me Go" reached the top 10 in Israel and Australia, where it has been certified multi-platinum. An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was released online on 8 March 2012. It was directed by

Tabitha Denholm Tabitha Denholm (born 14 January 1975) is a British director of music videos, documentary shorts and commercials. Denholm was a member of DJ duo Queens of Noize and later became art director for Florence and the Machine. Her work has been nominated ...

and stars actor

Jamie Campbell Bower James Metcalfe Campbell Bower (born 22 November 1988) is an English actor and singer. He made his feature film debut in 2007 with a supporting role in '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street''. He went on to feature in '' The Twiligh ...

, who plays Welch's love interest. The video features the pair together skating and shots of a dirty water trickling down Welch's face and hands are shown. Upon the release of the video, critics praised Welch's gothic look and the video's dark atmosphere. Florence and the Machine added the song to the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

of their second worldwide

Ceremonials Tour The Ceremonials Tour was the second concert tour by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The tour included performances at music festivals because it is lead singer Florence Welch's favourite way to perform live. Welch had origi ...

(2011–2012) where the song was performed during the encore of the concerts along with "

No Light, No Light "No Light, No Light" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their second studio album, ''Ceremonials'' (2011). The song was written by band members Florence Welch and Isabella Summers while the production was handled ...

Background and release

"Never Let Me Go" was written by

and

Kid Harpoon Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Career Already a fixture at local venues in his hometown of Chatham, Kid Harpoon first emerge ...

while production was handled by Epworth.

premiered "Never Let Me Go" along with two other songs from the album, "

Spectrum A spectrum (plural ''spectra'' or ''spectrums'') is a condition that is not limited to a specific set of values but can vary, without gaps, across a continuum. The word was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of colors i ...

" and "Heartlines" as part of their

at New York's Creators Project on 15 October 2011, two weeks before the release of the album. Speaking about the song, Welch told

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

, "The gospel thing comes from my obsession with hymns. I'm drawn to anything that has a hymnal quality, be it Spiritualized or dusty old albums by Georgian choirs."

released "Never Let Me Go" as the third single from the album on 2 April 2012. A Clams Casino remix of the song was placed on the 12" white vinyl single which was available for pre-order on 22 March 2012. The artwork for the vinyl single was shot by

Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...

and was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s Michael Cragg as "swanky". Andrew Martin of ''Prefix Magazine'' commented that the "Clams Casino's remix of

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

.. was the weirdest thing to happen to Florence Welch's voice". ''The Guardian''s Michael Cragg commented, "He takes the stately Never Let Me Go and adds gusts of distorted backing vocals, big drum claps and, midway through, pitches Florence Welch's vocals down a notch or two to create what sounds like an eerie duet recorded in a cave."

Composition

"Never Let Me Go" is a downtempo

ballad with elements of

. It has a

-led instrumentation accompanied by thumping

. Lyrically, the theme of the song revolves around the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

and the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

, interpreted in the lines "The arms of the ocean so sweet and so cold/And all this devotion I never knew at all". The song also talks about

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

and redemption. According to Michael Hann of ''The Guardian'', the opening lyrics "Looking out from underneath, fractured moonlight on the sea", of the song sound similar to the songs written by

Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963), is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician. Hailing from Grangemouth, Scotland, she is best known as the vocalist for the pioneering dream pop band Cocteau Twins who achieved international ...

in the group

This Mortal Coil This Mortal Coil were a British music collective led by Ivo Watts-Russell, founder of the British record label 4AD. Although Watts-Russell and John Fryer were the only two official members, the band's recorded output featured a large rotating ...

. Backing vocals are heard during the chorus repeatedly singing the lines "never let me go". Many critics noted similarities between "Never Let Me Go" and artists such as

and

. The production of the song was also compared with

-produced songs. Jillian Mapes of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine further noted that "Never Let Me Go" sounds more similar to the songs from the band's debut studio album ''

Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of th ...

'' (2009).

Critical reception

"Never Let Me Go" received critical acclaim by music critics. Neil McCormick of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' chose "Never Let Me Go" as a highlight on the whole album. Rebecca Nicholson of ''The Guardian'' praised the song saying that it has "thumping stadium drums and sounds like it has the US charts in its epic crosshairs." Similarly, Robert Copsey of Digital Spy said, "Big enough to bring a stadium audience to its knees, it's more structured and less hectic than anything on her debut, but still remains packed with eccentricities." In a separate review of the single, Copsey graded it with four out of five stars saying, "she chants with pent-up emotion over a neo-gothic piano riff, before letting it all pour out on a chorus of sweeping strings and crashing cymbals. The result is her least hectic cut to date, but much like her contemporaries, remains full of eccentricity." ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

''s Matthew Cole called the song "gorgeous... ndeasily the best ballad Florence has done yet". Another writer of the same publication commented that "Welch is perfectly capable of doing delicate too, as evidenced by... "Never Let Me Go". David Edwards of the website

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

commented that "by the end of the superb 'Never Let Me Go', you could easily be forgiven for thinking that you are listening to one of the most unexpected surprises of 2011, so strong and resonant is the roar of the opening salvo." Richard Smirke of ''

'' magazine called the song an "impassioned midpaced ballad". Ryan Reed of '' The Phoenix'' gave a mixed review for the song saying "When she exclaims, 'It's all over; I'm going under,' it's unclear whether she's committing suicide or practicing her can-opener dive. Either way, it's boring. On occasion, her show-off-y melisma floats past acquired taste into plain ol' ridiculousness.

Commercial performance

"Never Let Me Go" debuted at number 135 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

for the week ending 7 April 2012, peaking at number eighty-two the following week, making it their second lowest-charting single to date. The song entered the

Australian Singles Chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

at number nineteen and peaked three weeks later at number three, earning the band their highest-charting single to date in the country. In Belgium, the single charted on the

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

charts at number fifteen in Flanders and at number forty-three in Wallonia. In July 2018, its sales in the United Kingdom were 133,000, and in February 2021, it was certified Silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

for passing 200,000 combined sales and streams.

Music video

An accompanying

for the song was released on

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

on 7 March 2012. Along with the music video, behind-the-scenes video was also released. It was directed by

. The video stars actor

who plays Welch's love interest in the video. The video starts with Welch looking into an ice rink which holds an arcade. A man is seen using the arcade machines as Welch enters, wearing torn, worn away clothing. As the first chorus starts, the ice rink is lit up by the man with spotlights moving around. Several scenes are shown throughout the video of water e.g. an overflowing sink, a floor being mopped, watery footprints on the floor. What looks like dirty water is shown trickling down Welch's face and hands. She walks onto the ice rink and the man enters, leading them to dance with each other and hug. As Florence dances on her own, a cleaner is shown to be watching. Towards the end of the song, Welch looks at the man and starts to fall back, her face and hands engulfed by dirty water as the woman cleaner looks on. Nick Neyland of ''Prefix Magazine'' compared the video with

Kazuo Ishiguro Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most cr ...

's eponymous novel, '' Never Let Me Go'' (2005). Melinda Newman of the website

HitFix HitFix, or HitFix.com, was an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information, and reviews and critiques of film, music, and television. In mid-2010 HitFix crossed the 1,00 ...

praised Welch's

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

look and wrote, "It's spooky and we don't fully understand it. It’s one of those videos that creates an atmosphere more than a linear story." Leah Collins of the Canadian magazine '' Dose'' commented that in the video, "Welch is the sort of gal who busts into skating rinks after hours with her skid boyfriend... The kind of gal who dyes her hair by summoning dark, demonic spirits -- ones who ooze out of her pores, and various plumbing fixtures, until she's nothing but a black-haired creepy mist."

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

' James Montgomery called the video "ethereal" and said, "Never Let Me Go" is certainly visually arresting, but it also works on another level: Namely, it perfectly (and artfully) captures the experience of literally melting in the presence of a lover, the feeling of casting abandon to the wind and giving yourself away truly and completely."

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

's Alex Young commented briefly "Don’t watch this one before breakfast." A writer of ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' gave a mixed review for the video, saying that it had an unclear plot.

Live performances

Florence and the Machine added the song to the set list of their second worldwide

(2011–12) where the song was performed during the encore of the concerts along with "

". A live performance of the song is included in Florence and the Machine's live album ''

MTV Unplugged – A Live Album ''MTV Unplugged'' is the second live album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 6 April 2012 by Island Records. It was filmed on 15 December 2011 in New York City's oldest synagogue building, the Angel Orensanz Cent ...

'' (2012) which was recorded in December 2011. Since then "Never Let Me Go" has only been played on one subsequent tour, 2022's

Dance Fever Tour The Dance Fever Tour is the current concert tour by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The tour is in support of the band's fifth studio album '' Dance Fever'' (2022), and will visit North America, Europe and Oceania. The tour beg ...

Track listing

;Digital download and limited 12" single #"Never Let Me Go" #"Never Let Me Go" ( Clams Casino Remix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2011 songs 2012 singles Florence and the Machine songs Island Records singles Song recordings produced by Paul Epworth Songs written by Florence Welch Songs written by Kid Harpoon Songs written by Paul Epworth Soul ballads