"Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer" is a 1971 song by Stevie Wonder. It comes from his album Where I'm Coming From. The song is a ballad, describing a failed relationship using the metaphor of changing seasons. Co-written by Syreeta Wright and released on Tamla 54202 in 1971 with the flip side of "We Can Work It Out", the single stalled at #78 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it remains one of Stevie Wonder's most popular ballads to this day. The song was remade by Joan Baez on her 1975 album Diamonds and Rust. It was also remade by Three Dog Night and included on their album Harmony.
Phil Collins also recorded the song for his album of soul covers, Going Back.
A large portion of the song is played during a scene in the film, Poetic Justice. The full song is on its accompanying soundtrack album.
A portion of this song was also remade by Lauryn Hill on Hip-Hop artist Common's "Retrospect For Life," found on his 1997 album One Day It'll All Make Sense.
Wonder performed a version of the song at Michael Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, his voice cracking with emotion as he called out his friend's name during the song's final refrain, "Why didn't you stay?"
Famous quotes containing the words dreamed, leave and/or summer:
“I am absolutely sure that a lot of Daddy anger has more to do with unrealized dreams than with messy rooms. Trust me. You’re not really angry at your kids. You’re angry at somebody else, somebody who is a far less distinguished person than he dreamed of being.”
—Hugh O’Neill (20th century)
“Acts themselves alone are history.... Tell me the acts, O historian, and leave me to reason upon them as I please; away with your reasoning and your rubbish! All that is not action is not worth reading.”
—William Blake (1757–1827)
“I think of no news to tell you. It is a serene summer day here, all above the snow. The hens steal their nests, and I steal their eggs still, as formerly. This is what I do with the hands. Ah, labor,—it is a divine institution, and conversation with many men and hens.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)