"Never Going Back Again" is a song written by Lindsey Buckingham that was first released by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac on their eleventh studio album Rumours (1977).
Music historian George Case described "Never Going Back Again" as a "gorgeous" song with "bubbly SoCal philosophies about relationships.
"[2] It is one of several songs on Rumours that Buckingham wrote in the wake of the breakup of his relationship with fellow Fleetwood Mac member Stevie Nicks.
[7] When he was overdubbing his vocals, Buckingham realized that he played his acoustic guitar parts in the wrong key, so he recorded the song from scratch the following day.
"[11] Another alternate mix of "Never Going Back Again" was found on the 35th anniversary deluxe edition of Rumours, which featured Nicks singing duet vocals with Buckingham.
[13] Rolling Stone critic John Swenson describes "Never Going Back Again" as "the prettiest thing on [Rumours]", noting that the "delightful" vocal "belies the bad-news subject matter.
"[16] Fleetwood Mac biographer Cath Carroll praises "Never Going Back Again" as "a melodically uncluttered song with a simple chorus and a sharp resolve that says everything in a few elegant phrases.
"[27] The guitar part from "Never Going Back Again" was used (albeit in a lower key than in the Fleetwood Mac version) in a 2014 television commercial for Bank of America.
[28] Danish experimental pop band Slaraffenland covered "Never Going Back Again", inserting free-form jazz figures and changing the instrumentation while keeping the "sunny" sound of the original.