Already an emotional cornerstone of recent album Carolyn’s Boy from three-time GRAMMY Award-winner Darius Rucker, standout song “Never Been Over” now arrives as a duet with the captivating vocals of GRAMMY Award-winning entertainment powerhouse Jennifer Nettles adding a new dimension to the emotional ballad.
Penned by Rucker alongside Lee Thomas Miller and Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne, the original release of “Never Been Over” was celebrated by Billboard as a flipped perspective to Rucker’s chart-topping “It Won’t Be Like This For Long,” with the reflective song “looking back on a couple’s love nearly two decades later, chronicling years of emotional zeniths and low points, a duration spent raising kids and building a life together one day at a time:”
We’ve been good and bad, hot and cold
And fightin’ mad, solid gold
Been sunny days, straight-line winds
Been drivin’ slow and guilty as sin
Been back roads lost and blue lights found
Dead of quiet, rockstar loud
Been up and down like we’re built on springs
We’ve been a lot of things
But we’ve never been
Splittin’ up friends, splittin’ up records
Puttin’ up walls, burnin’ down letters
Grass is greener ‘cause there’s something better
Waitin’ down the line
We’ve never been a headlights weaving, taillights fadin’
So long, move on, goodbye waitin’
Never been one last long look across your shoulder
We’ve been a lot of things, but we’ve never been over
“Writing that was very cathartic,” Rucker shared with Garden & Gun of the song. “It was almost like therapy for me. It’s so honest and one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.”
“Now, to have Jennifer add her incredible voice to such an emotional song, you feel even more of what this couple is facing; unravelling the life they’ve built together,” reflects Rucker. “I’m so grateful she agreed to sing on it with me.”
“I’ve wanted to collaborate with Darius for such a long time! And when I heard the song, I loved its story,” adds Nettles. “But in addition to its theme of lifelong love, it feels so perfect for Darius and I to sing it together. Both of our careers have grown and changed so dramatically since we each started out. And, as the hook sings, ‘We’ve been a lot of things, but we’ve never been over.’ This song is a beautiful example and extension of that constant evolution.”
Currently on the road in Europe for a run of solo shows ahead of this summer’s Hootie & the Blowfish Summer Camp with Trucks Tour, Rucker is also preparing to share his first book with fans, a memoir titled “Life’s Too Short.” Set for release May 28, the memoir sees Rucker share the story of his life through the music that has defined it, offering readers an intimate glimpse into his journey from music enthusiast to music icon. Pre-order HERE.
For more information, visit DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.
Darius Rucker (getting Jennifer on Never Been Over) OC: …her so bad. :24
“We really just asked Jennifer to sing on the song, and she said yeah. It was one of those things where she came to town and we had it and we sent it to her, and what she sent back, it almost made me cry. I just couldn’t believe how much better the song was, and she takes it to a whole new level, and I was just so proud to be singing with her ‘cause I wanted to sing with her ever since the first time I heard ‘Stay.’ The first time I heard that song ‘Stay,’ I’ve wanted to sing with her so bad.”