Lyrics Page
I'll Never Be Free
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Aug 5, 2026 updated
Verified editorial review
Merle Haggard's "I'll Never Be Free" is a classic country love song about lingering romantic attachment. The narrator describes how no new relationship can replace a past love, and how memories of a former partner's smile and touch continue to haunt them. The lyrics use imagery like a train track through the heart to convey the lasting impact of that love. This is a secular song about human longing and heartbreak, with no Christian or gospel themes.
Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team
Each time I hold somebody new
My arms grow cold acing of you
No one can take your place
Darling, in my embrace
I'll never be free
And when my lips burn with desire
No other kiss puts out the fire
Though I may try and try
No one can satisfy this longing in me
I'll never be free from your smile so tender
The sweet surrender in your eyes
I cannot be free when I still remember
How you still thrill me with desire
Just like a train track through my heart
Your love remains though we're apart
Each kiss I gave to you made me a slave to you
I'll never be free
I'll never be free from your smile so tender
The sweet surrender in your eyes
I cannot be free when I remember
How you used to thrill me with desire
Just like a train track through my heart
Your love remains though we're apart
And each kiss I gave to you made me a slave to you
I'll never be free