Songfacts®:

• Sum 41 frontman Derek Whibley grew up as an only child to a single teenage mother and has never met his father. He wrote this song about his absent dad. Whibley told Kerrang:
  
  "I've never met my father, and I don't really care about that; he's never been there and it's never been a 'thing' in my life, probably because my mom is so strong. I asked myself, 'What do I really think about essentially not having a father?' The one thing we share is this concept of missing out on that father-son relationship – he's the only person in my family I have that connection with, and it's the only connection we have."
• The song is also a nod to Whibley's mom. He told Kerrang in a separate interview she "was such a great, strong single mother, that I didn't need to think about him, it was sort of a subconscious thought. So it's kind of like all those three things wrapped up in one to me."
• Whibley didn't write "Never There" for Order In Decline. He explained in press materials that he played it for Sum 41's manager and asked him if he knew anyone they could give it to. The manager loved the track and wondered why he wanted to give it away. Whibley explained he didn't think it would fit with the rest of the album tracks, as it wasn't heavy enough. The manager's reply was: "This is a heavy song, just in a completely different way.'"