You Never Can Tell (song)

"You Never Can Tell" is a rock song by Chuck Berry. The song was originally released in 1964 on the album St. Louis to Liverpool. The song reached number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached 23rd on the UK music chart. Originally performed and released by Chuck Berry, the song has also been re-recorded by Emmylou Harris and Bob Seger, the latter of whom released it on his Greatest Hits album, under the title "C'est la Vie." Country music artist Chely Wright also released the song on her 2005 album "The Metropolitan Hotel"; her version was titled "C'est la Vie (You Never Can Tell)".

Description

The song describes a fictional wedding between a young couple and the events afterwards, specifically; living in a furnished apartment, buying a family car and taking their honeymoon to New Orleans. The chorus of the song is the five time repeated "'C'est la vie', say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell".

"Pulp Fiction"

The song became briefly popular for a time after the release of the Quentin Tarantino film "Pulp Fiction". The music was played for a contest at the fictional restaurant Jack Rabbit Slim's in which John Travolta as Vincent Vega and Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace danced for the contest's main prize.

Impact

Nick Lowe has indicated this song was a source of inspiration for his song "I Knew The Bride (When She Used To Rock'n'Roll)", which has been recorded by Dave Edmunds, Status Quo and Nick himself.

References