Meaning of “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross
As an American musician, the late Luther Vandross (1951-2005) was ahead of his time. He possessed a style that wasn’t what you would call nonbinary but perhaps more along the lines of gender-nonspecific. For instance, it has been pointed out that he doesn’t use any gender pronouns in this piece (“Never Too Much”).
Under normal circumstances, that stylistic choice may not be particularly noteworthy. But as for Luther, many assumed that he was gay even though he, understandably given his day, never came out.
Lyrics of “Never Too Much”
That said, what we’re dealing with here is an honest-to-goodness love song. The first verse is dedicated to the vocalist poetically illustrating to his sweetheart how his thoughts are preoccupied with feelings about him or her. He went from daydreaming about this romance to it, via the compliance of the addressee, actually coming to pass. And now, the vocalist is enjoying it very much, i.e. just as he fantasized.
The second verse steers the listener into a slightly different direction though. Luther wakes up in the morning, calls his sweetheart and upon the addressee not responding, proceeds to get upset or “brokenhearted” as he puts it.
But that said, the vocalist still has to get his ass to work, as his employer isn’t the type to tolerate tardiness. However, just as Luther is stepping out the door, lo and behold, there stands his sweetheart. So he decides to stick it to the man, if you will, by more preferably spending the day with his significant other than showing up for work.
So whereas this song may in some ways be your quintessential love song, in other regards it is quite unique. For example, the two verses respectively feature their own distinct narratives. And even though, in actuality, the lyrics sport what can be taken as a couple of notable sexual innuendos, such as the vocalist saying that “a thousand kisses from (the addressee) is never too much”, Luther’s delivery is such that there’s really isn’t anything even remotely NSFW being relayed.
“Too much, never too much, never too much, never too much”
Release of “Never Too Much”
This was released through Epic Records on July 21 of 1981 as the 1st of two singles from Luther’s debut solo album of the same name, “Never Too Much.” The album’s 2nd single was another masterpiece, “Don’t You Know That?”
Credits
The song was written and produced by Luther Vandross himself.
