Never Get Old

Album: The Lion and the Cobra (1987)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Sinead O'Connor wrote this when she was 16 about a boy she had a crush on at school named Ben Johnson. She recalled to Uncut: "He was this gorgeous guy that all the girls wanted to go out with. I went out with him for like a day and then he sensibly dumped me. Mainly I look back at it and I think, 'Gosh, I was a kid.'"

    According to Sinead, he had a hawk, and would let her feed it. What girl can resist that?
  • The song is a track from O'Connor's debut album, The Lion And The Cobra. The title of the LP is from Psalm 91:13, "you will tread upon the lion and cobra." This song opens with an Irish language recital of Psalm 91 by another famous Irish singer, Enya.
  • "Never Get Old" is one of three songs from O'Connor's demo for Ensign Records that made it on to The Lion And The Cobra. She was in a band called Ton Ton Macoute when Ensign spotted her (she was also a waitress at a place in Dublin called the Bad Ass Café, where she and the other girls wore T-shirts that said "Nice Pizza Ass"). The label flew her to London where she recorded four songs as a tryout - she passed the audition. The other songs from the demo to make the album are "Drink Before The War" and "Just Like U Said It Would B."

    O'Connor was 18 when she signed her record deal and 20 when the album was released. She had her first child, son Jake, three weeks before the album came out. The father, whom she married (and later divorced) is her drummer, John Reynolds.
  • Sinead O'Connor's guitarist for The Lion And The Cobra album was Robert Dean, who played in the British New Wave group Japan from 1975-1981. He has fond memories of working with Sinead. "I am extremely proud of that period and working with her was never less than a delight," he told Songfacts in 2025. "I think of her with nothing but admiration and warmth."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."