The Twelfth of Never is a classic pop love song and one of the defining romantic hits for Johnny Mathis. The song was released in 1957 as the B-side to his major Pop hit, "Chances Are". The melody is derived from the old English folk song "The Riddle Song," and the phrase "the twelfth of never" is an idiom meaning a day that will never come – symbolizing an eternal, never-ending promise of love. Mathis's smooth, ethereal tenor vocals transformed the tune into a timeless standard of the era. (Wri