“You Never Can Tell”, also known as “C’est La Vie” or “Teenage Wedding”, is a song written by Chuck Berry. It was composed in the early 1960s while Berry was in federal prison for violating the Mann Act.[2] Released in 1964 on the album St. Louis to Liverpool and the follow-up single to Berry’s final Top Ten hit of the 1960s: “No Particular Place to Go”, “You Never Can Tell” reached number 14, becoming Berry’s final Top 40 hit until “My Ding-a-Ling”, a number 1 in October 1972. The song performed slightly better in Canada,[3] and also reached the Top 40 in the United Kingdom.
Berry’s recording features an iconic piano hook played by Johnnie Johnson. A 1977 Top Ten C&W hit for Emmylou Harris, the song has also been recorded or performed by Chely Wright, John Prine, New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Jerry Garcia Band,[4] Bruce Springsteen, the Mavericks, Buster Shuffle and Bob Seger.
