May You Never

Written by: 
J. Martyn
1 Nov 1971

May you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold

You're just like a great and strong brother of mine
You know that I love you true
And you never talk dirty behind my back
And I know that there's those that do 1

Oh please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind
Love is a lesson to learn in our time
Now please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind for me

May you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold

You're just like a good and close sister to me
You know that I love you true
And you hold no blade to stab me in the back
And I know that there's some that do

Oh please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind
Love is a lesson to learn in our time
And please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind for me

May you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold

You're just like a great and strong brother of mine
You know that I love you true
And you never talk dirty behind my back
And I know that there's those that do

Oh please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind
Love is a lesson to learn in our time
And please won't you, please won't you
Bear it in mind for me

May you never lose your temper
If you get hit in a bar-room fight
May you never lose your woman overnight
May you never lay your head down
Without a hand to hold
May you never make your bed out in the cold

May you never lose your temper
If you get hit in a bar-room fight
May you never lose your woman overnight
May you never lose your woman overnight
May you never lose your woman overnight

sitenotes:
1 There is a version with the following second verse:

You've been just like a good and close mother to me
And you know I love you like I should
You never talk about me behind my back
And I know that there's times you could

John's most famous song, May You Never is beautiful in its classic simplicity. It was written for either a friend or Beverley's son Wesley. It's basically a 12-bar blues pattern, altered to 16 bar and charged with harmonic density.
The John Wood liner notes claim the song was eventually recorded in one take. May You Never also featured in the Titanic Town movie soundtrack, however during the production credits. Judging by the guitar playing this was definitely another version from the same period.

John wrote the song just after having finished Bless The Weather, he told Richard Howell of Time Out magazine. In the first week of October 1971 the working title was "Close Brother".

First release: