Roll of the Dice: Tomorrow Never Knows

It’s easy to forget about “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Bruce has never performed it live, and I’ve never seen a fan ask for it or heard Bruce talk about it. And yet, it’s arguably one of the songs that best defines the album on which it’s hidden away.

Bruce wrote “Tomorrow Never Knows” during the mixing stages of Magic–in fact, it was one of the very first songs written for the album that would become Working on a Dream.

That first group of songs also included “What Love Can Do,” “This Life,” “Life Itself,” and “My Lucky Day,” and together with “Tomorrow Never Knows,” it’s clear that Bruce was beginning to come to terms with aging in a way that he really hadn’t addressed before.

Working on a Dream would develop into a fascinating document of an artist taking stock of his life, love, family, friends and body of work. It’s the gateway to all of his later work, both musically and lyrically–and “Tomorrow Never Knows” is one of the plainest yet loveliest examples.

Take a careful listen to the song below, and use headphones if you have them to get the full effect.

When the album was first released, “Tomorrow Never Knows” struck me as what it would sound like if the Sessions Band covered a Beatles song (perhaps that was intentional given the song’s allusional title), but when I listen to it now, I hear a clear throughline to Western Stars.

Edward Horst’s string and horn arrangements (although not credited, there are clearly French horns in the mix) are understatedly perfect, and there’s a gentle ease to the entire track.

That ease is deliberate. Bruce uses it to underscore the song’s message, which is: Don’t waste the time you’ve been granted. Use it however you will, but use it well.

Beyond that, the song speaks for itself–until the last verse, that is. That one is worth discussing, so take a read through the lyrics, and I’ll meet you on the other side.

Where the cold wind blows
Tomorrow never knows
Where your sweet smile goes
Tomorrow never knows

You and me we been standing here my dear
Waiting for our time to come
Where the green grass grows
Tomorrow never knows

In the field your long hair flowed
Down by the Tildenberry tracks
There ‘neath the water tower
I carried you on my back

Over the rusted spikes of that highway of steel
When no more thunder sounds
Where the time goes
Tomorrow never knows

Well he who waits for the day’s riches will be lost
In the whispering tide
Where the river flows
Tomorrow never knows

Bruce has said on more than one occasion that most of his songs hide a single line that contain its key, and “Tomorrow Never Knows” is no exception. If you want to know the message of the song, look no further than:

“He who waits for the day’s riches will be lost in the whispering tide.”

That line is significant, because without it, “Tomorrow Never Knows” would be lyrically indistinguishable from “Kingdom of Days” on the same album.

In both songs, Bruce addresses his life partner, but where the latter song is time suspended, “Tomorrow Never Knows” seizes the day. “Kingdom of Days” revels in the richness of a lifelong love; “Tomorrow Never Knows” recognizes that even as our love grows deeper, we move ever closer to its end.

Although it almost always seems to earn me scorn when I say it, I consider Working on a Dream to be one of Bruce’s very best albums, and it’s certainly one of his most cohesive and considered.

Taken as a whole, it presents a snapshot of an artist truly coming to terms with aging and mortality, and rather than fear it, Bruce embraces it, setting an example for those of us coming up behind him.

“Tomorrow Never Knows” and “Kingdom of Days” contain words to live by, for those of us fortunate enough to be in a position to follow them.

Tomorrow Never Knows
Recorded: 2007-2008
Released: Working on a Dream (2009)
Never performed

Looking for your favorite Bruce song? Check our full index. New entries every week!