Songfacts®:

• This is a tale of a teenage girl who threatens to run away if her mother won't let her do as she pleases. The girl is advised not to leave home by another girl (the lead character) who did the same thing and now regrets it. When the lead girl fell in love with a boy, her mother told her to break up with him because she was too young to be in love. Strangely enough, after she left home, she forgot the boy completely, and her mind filled with memories of her caring mother. It's too late for the lead girl to return home because her mother died of a broken heart.
• This was the last big hit for the Shangri-Las, who are best known for "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" and "Leader Of The Pack." It was written by their producer, George "Shadow" Morton, who liked to ramp up the drama in his songs. Like the group's previous hits, "I Can Never Go Home Anymore" features a long spoken section.
• Originally, this was not included on the album. It was added after it became a hit single. Later on, the album's name was changed with this as the title track. >>

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• Shangri-Las lead singer Mary Weiss recalled in The Telegraph magazine April 14, 2007, "I had not been speaking to my mother for a few years at that point and when I was in the studios, I was crying."